Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

The paper runs its own network of correspondents. Its editorial policy is not determined by a single editor, but cooperatively by four editors.

History

The first edition of the FAZ appeared on 1 November 1949; its founding editors were Hans Baumgarten, Erich Dombrowski, Karl Korn, Paul Sethe and Erich Welter. Welter acted as editor until 1980. Some editors had worked for the moderate Frankfurter Zeitung, which had been banned in 1943. However, in their first issue, the FAZ editorial expressly refuted the notion of being the earlier paper's successor, or of continuing its legacy:

Arising from the fact that some of our colleagues previously were members of the Frankfurter Zeitung, it often has been suggested an attempt was being made here to be the successor to that newspaper. Such an assumption misjudges our intentions. Like everyone, we too admired the high quality of that paper; ... however, showing respect for an outstanding achievement does not imply a desire to copy it.

— FAZ Editorial board, Dohrendorf, 1990.

Until 30 September 1950, the FAZ was printed in Mainz.

Traditionally, many of the headlines in the FAZ were styled in blackletter format, and no photographs appeared on the title page. Some of the rare exceptions were a picture of celebrating people in front of the Berlin Reichstag on 4 October 1990 (German Unity Day), and two pictures in the edition on 12 September 2001 (one day after the September 11 attacks) showing the collapsing World Trade Center and American president George W. Bush.

In the early 2000s, FAZ expanded aggressively, with customized sections for Berlin and Munich. An eight-page six-day-a-week English-language edition was distributed as an insert in The International Herald Tribune (which is owned by The New York Times Company); the articles were selected and translated from the same day's edition of the parent newspaper by the FAZ staff in Frankfurt. However, FAZ group suffered a loss of 60.6 million euros in 2002. By 2004, the customized sections were scrapped. The English edition shrank to a tabloid published once a week.

On 5 October 2007, the FAZ altered its traditional layout to include color photographs on the front page, and replaced blackletter typeface outside the nameplate. Due to its traditionally sober layout, the introduction of color photographs was controversially discussed by FAZ readers, becoming the subject of a 2009 comedy film.

As of 2024, the FAZ is produced electronically using the IBM Networked Interactive Content Access (NICA) software and Unisys Hermes. For its characteristic comment headings, a digital Fraktur font was ordered. This font has since been abandoned, due to the above-mentioned change of layout.

After introducing the new spelling prescribed by the German orthography reform of 1996 on 1 August 1999, the paper returned to the old spelling exactly one year later, declaring that the reform had failed to achieve its primary goals of improving language mastery and strengthening the unity of the language. After several changes had been made to the new spelling, FAZ accepted it and started using it (in a custom version) on 1 January 2007.

In December 1999, future German Chancellor Angela Merkel published an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, lamenting the "tragedy" that had befallen the party (CDU donations scandal), blaming former Chancellor Helmut Kohl and urging a new course. On 16 February 2000, Wolfgang Schäuble, Leader of the CDU since 7 November 1998, stepped back, and Merkel became his successor.