Media and Communication
Munich ranks as the most important publishing centre in the world,
and is a close second to New York. Three hundred publishing houses
in Bavaria produce around one quarter of all the books published in
Germany. Additionally, 270 newspapers a day are published in their
main and local editions. For Bavaria this is an established
tradition. Back in the 16th century the
"Wochentlich-Ordinari-Post-Zeitung", one of the first newspapers in
Germany, was founded in Augsburg. After World War II, printed media
in Bavaria could only be printed by authorisation of the American
occupying forces. The first licensed daily paper to appear in winter
1945 was the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Bavaria is also one of the world's most important film and media
centres. Oscar-winning films such as "Das Boot" were produced in
Bavaria, and the International Film Festivals in Munich and Hof are
among the most important in the movie industry. Munich's suburb of
Unterföhring is the home of television stations such as MTV, tm3,
Pro Sieben or the Disney Channel. Bavarian Radio, with its five
radio stations and two television channels, is one of the largest
companies of its kind in Germany.
The first postage stamp in the former German Union appeared in
Bavaria in November 1849: the "Schwarzer Einser", Germany's
equivalent of Britain's "Penny Black". Only 800,000 or so were
produced, which makes them so valuable for today's collectors.