Ostsee-Zeitung

The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) was the sole ruling Marxist-Leninist state party of the GDR from 1946 to 1989, exercising centralized control over all political, social, and cultural spheres of life. To enforce its ideology, it established a comprehensive media monopoly centered on the party's central organ, the daily newspaper Neues Deutschland.
In addition to Neues Deutschland, the SED published a district newspaper in each of the 14 GDR districts, functioning as the organ of the respective district leadership. The most well-known included Ostsee-Zeitung in Rostock, Leipziger Volkszeitung in Leipzig, and Sächsische Zeitung in Dresden. Together, these 15 district newspapers achieved a combined daily circulation of approximately 4.7 million copies in 1977; overall, more than 70% of the GDR's daily press circulation was accounted for by SED publications.
The SED controlled the press through the Press Office attached to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and the Department of Agitation and Propaganda in the Central Committee, while the central printing, purchasing, and auditing company (ZENTRAG) controlled 90% of printing capacity. Content was strictly predetermined and served primarily "socialist consciousness formation." Critical reporting was systematically excluded; interviews and foreign reporting often required approval.
The daily newspaper offering was supplemented by publications of mass organizations such as the Free German Youth (FDJ) newspaper Junge Welt, the Free German Trade Union (FDGB) newspaper Tribüne, and boulevard newspapers such as BZ am Abend. The high circulation figures resulted not from media diversity but from state paper allocation and pricing of only 10–15 pfennigs per issue, which led three of four households to subscribe to an SED district newspaper.
Following the political transition of 1989, the SED lost its monopoly position. Neues Deutschland was initially taken over by the successor party PDS, later became independent as a cooperative, and continues to appear today as a left-wing daily newspaper. The former district newspapers were privatized or discontinued. The SED itself transformed into the PDS in 1990 and continues to exist today as part of the party Die Linke.

Kathrin Schultka has been managing director of Ostsee-Zeitung since June 2024. Previously, she was head of marketing and distribution.

Rainer Strunk has been managing director of Ostsee-Zeitung since 2017. In parallel, he assumed management of Madsack Logistik Nord GmbH in October 2024, after serving as authorized signatory there since July 2009. Strunk is responsible for distribution, production, and logistics processes at Ostsee-Zeitung.

Bernhard Bahners studied economics and business administration in Berlin and Hamburg. In 2006, he was co-founder and managing director of the radio platform radio.de. From May 2019, he served as Chief Digital Officer responsible for digital transformation at Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland and Madsack. On January 1, 2023, he was appointed to the group management of Madsack Mediengruppe, where he served as CDO and board member until June 2025. He currently serves as managing director of RND and radio.de.

Andreas Ebel, born on August 27, 1968 in Göttingen, studied business administration in Lüneburg and began a traineeship at Ostsee-Zeitung in 1993. Following positions as local editor in Grevesmühlen and Rostock (since 2002), he assumed the position of editor-in-chief of Ostsee-Zeitung on April 1, 2012.