taz was born out of the Tunix Congress in 1978, a gathering of left-leaning thinkers, students, and all-around world-changers. They didn’t just want to read the news - they wanted to turn journalism upside down. Instead of stiff, suit-and-tie editors, taz began as a self-managed collective, launched by idealists who believed everyone should get the same salary, no matter if you were the editor or brewing the coffee. The first “dummy edition” was crafted like a zine by students in a cramped Berlin kitchen. Max Thomas Mehr, a former bookseller with a head full of revolutionary ideas, teamed with Hans-Christian Ströbele, and they drummed up support from all corners for a new kind of paper - one not afraid to poke fun, question authority, and share the news their way.
A newspaper with anarchic humor, taz’s staff even once used the “trick with the bosoms” - that’s right, the first women’s quota in German journalism was demanded when women bared their chests at a meeting. You’ve got to appreciate their… boldness! From the very start, taz was out to rattle cages, with headlines that bit back and coverage of topics the big papers shied away from. They kept office politics playful: every worker received the same pay - total equality, if not total comfort. Imagine opening the paper in those years and finding a report on house squatting, a cartoon lampooning the chancellor, and advice for the next big left-wing demo, all squeezed between anti-nuclear manifestos and “what’s on at the co-op café tonight?”
The first regular edition came out on April 17, 1979. Its target audience? Rebels, students, Greens, social democrats, and anyone feeling a bit alternative. One early edition quoted Gabriel García Márquez and interviewed a peepshow performer - you can’t make this up!
Things got dicey, as start-ups often do. By the early 1990s, taz teetered on bankruptcy. But, instead of folding, the paper transformed into a cooperative, owned by its readers. Now there are more than 22,000 coop members, each with a stake in the paper’s independent spirit. Talk about people power!
Over the decades, taz has been a journalist’s boot camp and a launching pad: ministers, chancellors’ speechwriters, and more passed through its doors. Staff turnover is famously high - other newsrooms sneak in hoping to “borrow” their writers. You could call taz a “talent furnace” - or maybe just an office with great coffee and even better ideas.
Time marched on and so did technology. By the 2000s, taz was one of the first German dailies online. Today, you can get all their stories via ePaper, app, or good old print - though by the end of 2025, the daily print editions (except the weekend “wochentaz”) will go fully digital. Even online, there’s a twist: articles are free, but readers can pay whatever they think is fair. “Paywahl” instead of paywall. It’s like leaving a tip for the chef after a satisfying meal.
And about those quirky side projects: the taz once included a Turkish-German section for Berlin’s big Turkish community, and its offices host the annual “taz lab,” a festival of debate and public forums. Oh, and the logo? A bear pawprint, which got the paper into an odd trademark scandal with an outdoor clothing company. Let’s just say, taz didn’t roll over and play dead.
As for the headquarters you’re looking at, this new eco-friendly building was finished in 2018. It’s powered by a rooftop solar array and heated with the waste warmth of computer servers and the taz canteen. So, the next time someone accuses the “lefty press” of being full of hot air, well… I guess they’re right, in a way!
The newsroom here is a lively jumble, with meetings that can sound more like lively debates or perhaps friendly bickering. Today, taz is run by two women at the top - a first for a major German daily. Their stories still ruffle feathers, make waves, and, at times, spark a little outrage. That’s how they like it.
So, whether you hold a paper copy, browse an app, or just stop by their annual open house, you’re tapping into a living, breathing legacy of independent thought that refuses to go quietly. That’s taz for you - Berlin’s unruly, unforgettable daily newspaper. Now, ready to take the next step on our tour?
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