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dailies was 4 to 6 pages, with the exception of the 15 dailies sponsored by the SED, which average 6 to 8 pages. As in other European countries, the papers published in the capital generally have the greatest prestige and largest circulation. Some of these papers are published in as many as 23 editions, each edition carrying a separate section devoted to news about a particular area for regional distribution.

In contrast to the declining fortunes of the printed media in the West, the East German press enjoys a relatively high newspaper circulation. This is not attributable to any virtuosity on the part of the papers' editors but to the fact that one can be more selective in obtaining information from the press and can more easily filter out the pervasive propaganda than is the case with the other media. The following tabulation compares newspaper circulation, i.e., the number of purchasers, per 1,000 inhabitants in 1969:

By far the most important of all the East German dailies is the SED's central organ Neues Deutschland (New Germany), which is published every day in two editions, a city edition and one for distribution throughout East Germany. Neues Deutschland is the most authoritative East German publication and reflects party policy more accurately than any other publication. It sets the tone and style for all other press reporting, and many of its stories are printed verbatim in provincial newspapers. While policy direction for Neues Deutschland comes from the SED Central Committee, the paper is run on a day-to-day basis by an editorial collegium consisting of the chief editor, five or six deputies, one secretary, and four or five party ideologues. The paper maintains a network of editorial offices in major East German cities and foreign correspondents in all East European capitals as well as in several West European countries, including France, Italy, and the Scandinavian states. The paper usually runs eight pages, with major sports events sometimes vying with important political news on the front page. On Saturdays it carries a six- to eight-page supplement on cultural, historical, and scientific subjects and prints a page devoted to such items in the weekday editions. Most sports reporting and foreign news appear on the last three pages. There is only limited advertising.

In addition to the 41 daily newspapers with a combined circulation of 7.6 million, there are more than 500 lesser newspapers. Most of the 218 county governments publish newspapers that appear one or more times a week, but their number is diminishing as the authorities amalgamate facilities sin order to reduce

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