German celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall lead Canadian headlines
Canadian media documented the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall with significant coverage.
By Jake English, for the International Reporting Bureau at Humber College
The gathering of nearly a million people in Berlin to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall led many Canadian headlines Monday.
The Globe and Mail ran its coverage on the front page with a headline quoting German Chancellor Angela Merkel: “We have the power to shape our destiny and make things better.” The Globe’s Joanna Slater covered the anniversary celebrations in Berlin. A photo showing floodlights shining directly through the Brandenburg Gate in the German capital accompanied the story.
The Toronto Star relied on The New York Times for its coverage featured on the front page with a throw to the inside. The story by Alison Smale ran under the headline “25 years later. . . ,” with a Berlin placeline.
CBC topped its online world section with an interactive photo gallery depicting the “Berlin Wall: Before and after.” Readers were able to interact with the contemporary Reuters’ photos to reveal what select locations in Berlin looked like in 1989.
CTV and Global News both featured the same Associated Press story by Frank Jordans from Berlin. CTV ran the headline “Germany celebrates 25 years since fall of Berlin Wall,” while Global’s read “Germany honours those who brought down Berlin Wall.” Global also added a video report by Mike Armstrong that told the history behind the formerly divided Berlin.
The National Post included the same New York Times report as the Star in its coverage of the German celebrations. The online story ran in the world section under the headline “Balloons and Beethoven: Fall of Berlin Wall ceremony sees only-in-Germany mix of triumph and tragedy.” The report was accompanied by a map illustrating the territory bisected by the Berlin Wall, a photo of Chancellor Merkel leaving a flower in a memorial fragment of the demolished Cold War structure and an AP video report backgrounding events leading up to the celebrations.
