--- title: Berlin Wall History 25 Years After the Fall: How Journalists Made News description: "The world press not only covered the dramatic events but actually helped to cause them as well" canonical: https://time.com/3557508/mary-sarotte-berlin-wall/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-10T16:00:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:40:36.294Z article:section: History og:title: Berlin Wall History 25 Years After the Fall: How Journalists Made News og:description: "The world press not only covered the dramatic events but actually helped to cause them as well" og:url: https://time.com/3557508/mary-sarotte-berlin-wall/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a642819e05af04b/698767b1428a9e4e4dcc543b/gdr-tv.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: News of German Television Broadcasting on 09 November 1989 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Berlin Wall History 25 Years After the Fall: How Journalists Made News twitter:description: "The world press not only covered the dramatic events but actually helped to cause them as well" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a642819e05af04b/698767b1428a9e4e4dcc543b/gdr-tv.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Journalists Helped to Open the Berlin Wall > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: TIME Remembers: The Day The Berlin Wall Fell [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Remembers: The Day The Berlin Wall Fell](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jV5CSSDl.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2014-11-07. Take a look back in time to the fall of the Berlin Wall with two reporters who were working when it happened_ by [Mary Elise Sarotte](https://time.com/author/mary-elise-sarotte/) ## Mary Elise Sarotte Nov 10, 2014 4:00 PM UTC  GDR television informs the population about new travelling rules for GDR citizens in the news programme 'Aktuelle Kamera' on the evening of Nov. 9, 1989. GDR television informs the population about new travelling rules for GDR citizens in the news programme 'Aktuelle Kamera' on the evening of Nov. 9, 1989. DB/picture-alliance/AP Images by [Mary Elise Sarotte](https://time.com/author/mary-elise-sarotte/) ## Mary Elise Sarotte Nov 10, 2014 4:00 PM UTC Twenty-five years ago, the Berlin Wall opened — suddenly, joyously, peacefully. On this important anniversary, the world press is once again full of images of this astounding, unexpected development. These images remind readers, viewers and listeners of the excitement of that time. One of the most interesting aspects of autumn 1989 is the way that the world press not only covered the dramatic events but actually helped to cause them as well. There were three particularly crucial times when members of the media actually help to drive the events that they were covering — moments when the news reports made the news. The first was not in Berlin but in another East German city, Leipzig. It took place a month earlier, on Oct. 9, 1989\. The events in this provincial city near the Czech border may have been physically remote from Berlin, but they were crucial steps on the path to the opening of the Wall a month later. In Leipzig, as in the rest of the country, the East German ruling regime was trying to maintain its dictatorial control – despite the reforms introduced by the leader of the Soviet Bloc, Mikhail Gorbachev. The East German rulers were not interested in such reforms, however, and brutally repressed protests. Despite the violence, a pattern of regular protest marches had nonetheless emerged. By October, these Leipzig marches were taking place every Monday night. While this fixed schedule meant that protesters knew when and where to turn up, it also meant that the dictators’ security forces also knew when and where to deploy. It soon became apparent to all involved that the night of Monday, Oct. 9, would be the showdown. The regime planned a Tiananmen-level event. It hoped not only to suppress all dissent but also to keep the suppression quiet. The dictators anticipated success on both counts, having at least 8,000 armed men at their disposal and full control over the state media. Meanwhile, dissidents knew that they had two jobs: they had to protest — and they had to get word about their protest out to the West. So, even as opposition leaders made plans for the enormous march that night around the ring road encircling the heart of Leipzig, another group of dissidents made their own plans: to film the protest march secretly, despite heavy surveillance, and then smuggle the video out to the West. The night of Oct. 9 turned out to be a major triumph for the protesters. Their sheer numbers — at least 100,000 — intimidated the security forces, who withdrew without using their weapons. And the secret videotaping succeeded as well. Protesters smuggled a videocassette showing the security forces’ retreat out to West German television stations, which broadcast it on news shows that could also be received in East Germany. The images made plain to ordinary people throughout the country that their regime was in retreat, something they would not have learned from their own media. Learning of the retreat, more people gained the courage to protest in their own hometowns, thus increasing pressure on the dictators. It is not too much to say that these press reports helped to hasten the end of the dictatorship. The second time the world press both covered and influenced events was on the night of Nov. 9 in divided Berlin. That night, coincidentally the anniversary of the major Nazi pogrom against Jews known as “Kristallnacht,” was about to become famous for another reason. At a press conference televised live, a member of the East German Politburo announced what were meant to be minor changes to travel regulations. They were only supposed to sound good — not to produce actual, significant change. That would have been the case, had he not botched the announcement. In and of itself, a Politburo member making a hash of a statement was nothing new. His mistakes would have been insignificant, but for the presence of the world media at the press conference where he made them. Before the Politburo member even finished speaking, wire reporters — the people who got the news out fastest in the pre-internet era — rushed out of the room to file reports saying that the Berlin Wall was open. It wasn’t, but average East Germans heard this coverage from Western broadcasters. Even though many of them doubted that it was true, they decided to go to the checkpoints in the Berlin Wall and on the border between the two Germanies to push the matter. Had the media reports not aired, this would not have happened, so the media once again drove the news. The third and final impact of the media on events was the most significant. The border guards at the checkpoints in the Berlin Wall, stunned by the press conference, double-checked with their superior officers whether what the Politburo member had said was accurate. In return, they received confirmation that the Wall was still firmly closed. Yet the crowds kept coming and growing larger. Overwhelmed by the sheer number of people demanding to get out and fearing that they might be overrun, the guards decided at one particular border crossing, Bornholmer Street, decided to open the gates under their control. This was their individual decision; they had no regular communication with the other checkpoints. Working for a highly centralized regime, they were supposed to communicate with their superiors, not improvise orders among themselves. The Bornholmer opening might have stayed isolated — but, once again, for the impact of press coverage. Images of East Germans flooding through the Bornholmer crossing quickly hit the airwaves. Seeing these images and hearing reports of them, other border guards at other crossings became motivated to open their own border crossings as well. In the wee hours of Nov. 10, in an ad hoc, uncoordinated fashion, one border crossing after another opened. Thus, as the world continues to celebrate the legacy of these happy developments, it should remember the important impact of journalists, who — at times unwittingly — helped to cause the peaceful, successful opening of the Berlin Wall. Put bluntly: journalists in 1989 both covered and helped to cause a peaceful revolution. One can only hope that they can be so helpful to the peaceful protesters of today.  Basic Books _Mary Elise Sarotte is the author of the new book_ The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall. _She is Dean’s Professor of History at the University of Southern California and a visiting professor of government and history at Harvard University._ ## Transcript [ NOISE ] 1989 was, was a year no one expected to be very interesting, and it turned out to be just revolutionary. That night is one that just stands out, it, it's like yesterday. That was huge. Well it was, it was stunning. I mean, nobody knew what was going on. Something was bubbling early in that week. They weren't sure what. And I was thinking the Wall will never fall. What are you thinking now? The Wall will fall. I mean, this represents a huge victory. Straight to the United States, after 40 years of the Cold War. It was huge. I mean, we got to the moon. We built three different kinds of nuclear weapons. [ MUSIC ] [ APPLAUSE ] People were cheering, and shouting, and laughing. And, it was very confused, nobody knew what to do. These people didn't know if they were going back or not. And he hooks the hand of stopping the West Berlin. And it's destroying the world with soot ash, it's dumped. And probably my most distinct memory of the whole night was this huge crowd, very happy, partying. I mean they were screaming tore out, tore out, open the gate. The reply was swift. And the next day, it was this bright, clear, just blindingly sunny day and I went out to one of the crossings. And if someone had laid planks across the sand into no man's land. And people were streaming through. They were just walking through from the east to the west. And as I got to the west side there was a crowd oh, several hundred people, West Germans. And they were just applauding. Nothing else no cheering, just applauding. And it was really just a stunning moment and I think I realized at that point, you know, this is done. I don't know what's gonna go on with reunification but the wall is, is history. 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