Major names characterise the well established publishing landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia. Traditional newspaper publishing houses like Funke, DuMont, Handelsblatt & Co. have since become diversified content enterprises with numerous digital services. Moreover, NRW is home to a quarter of all book publishers in Germany and also occupies a leading position for the bookshops. NRW can name Germany’s largest media concern and a real global player its own with Bertelsmann based in the East Westphalian town of Gütersloh. The Land of NRW has been supporting innovative journalism through the foundation „Stiftung Vielfalt und Partizipation“ which operates under the auspices of the Media Authority of NRW.
Facts and figures
- five of Germany‘s largest newspaper groups based in NRW: Funke Media Group, Handelsblatt Media Group, Ippen Group, Rheinische Post Media Group, DuMont Media Group
- 38 daily newspapers with a circulation of more than 2.2 million copies
- printed and digital content reach almost 13 million people
- greatest concentration of publishers and highest turnover in Germany with 419 companies
- around 758 bookshops in NRW
- Bertelsmann Printing Group: Europe‘s largest network of printing plants
- Bastei Lübbe: largest family concern in the German publishing world
- book publishers in NRW generate 45 per cent of the sector‘s national turnover with approx. 3.8 billion euros
- lit.Cologne, one of Europe’s largest literature festivals with 111,000 visitors in 2019
- drupa: the world‘s largest trade fair for print and crossmedia solutions
More information:
Publishers in NRW