About Stendaler Volksstimme

Stendaler Volksstimme

The Stendaler Volksstimme is the Stendal local edition of the Volksstimme, the regional daily newspaper serving northern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Published by the Magdeburger Verlags- und Druckhaus GmbH, which is part of the Bauer Media Group, it appears daily except Sundays with local pages dedicated to Stendal and the surrounding Altmark region, combined with the Volksstimme's comprehensive regional, national and international coverage. The Volksstimme has a circulation of around 161,000 copies, and its editor-in-chief is Marc Rath. Its content appears on the volksstimme.de portal.

Overview

The Stendaler Volksstimme is one of the local editions through which the Volksstimme covers northern Saxony-Anhalt, alongside editions for Magdeburg, the Börde district, the Salzlandkreis and the Harz region. The Volksstimme is the leading daily newspaper of northern Saxony-Anhalt, published in Magdeburg, with a circulation of around 161,000 copies. The paper appears daily except Sundays in print and is available as an e-paper and through the volksstimme.de portal.

Stendal is the historic capital of the Altmark, the northern region of Saxony-Anhalt, a Hanseatic town with a thousand years of history known for its Brick Gothic architecture, the Roland statue and the Winckelmann museum dedicated to the founder of classical archaeology. The town's Uenglingen Gate, its medieval churches and its well-preserved old town make it one of northern Germany's most atmospheric historic towns. The Stendaler Volksstimme's circulation area covers Stendal and the surrounding communities of the Stendal district. The paper's readership consists mainly of subscribers in the Altmark who rely on it for local politics, community life and the regional news of Saxony-Anhalt.

History

The Volksstimme's history reaches back to the post-war founding of the East German press, and the paper was re-established as an independent regional daily after German reunification in 1990. The paper is published by the Magdeburger Verlags- und Druckhaus GmbH, and since the Bauer Media Group's acquisition it has been part of one of Europe's major media houses; since January 2020 the Bauer Media Group has also owned the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, the second major daily of Saxony-Anhalt. The Volksstimme's circulation was around 343,000 copies in 1992, reflecting its position as the dominant daily of the northern part of the state.

The Stendaler Volksstimme developed as the Volksstimme's local edition for Stendal and the Altmark, chronicling the region's transformation after reunification: the restructuring of the agricultural and food industries, the development of the region's transport connections, and the civic rebuilding of the Hanseatic towns. The paper's editors-in-chief have included Alois Kösters, who led the paper from 2011 to 2023, and Marc Rath, who has held the position since 2023. The paper has navigated the digital transformation with the e-paper and the development of the volksstimme.de portal.

Coverage and Content

The Stendaler Volksstimme's local pages cover Stendal and the surrounding communities of the Stendal district and the Altmark. Municipal politics is a central beat, with reporting on the Stendal town council, the district council of the Stendal district, and the planning issues of a rural region managing demographic change. The paper follows the local economy, from the agricultural sector of the Altmark, one of Germany's traditional farming regions, to the food processing companies, logistics businesses and service providers of the district.

The paper gives extensive space to club and association life, with the region's sports clubs, cultural associations and volunteer fire brigades forming the backbone of community reporting. Stendal's Hanseatic heritage, with its Brick Gothic churches and the Winckelmann museum, provides distinctive material for the paper's cultural and local history coverage. The Altmark's village festivals, harvest traditions and equestrian culture are staples of the community pages. The region's landscape, with its wide fields, historic villages and the Elbe river, shapes the paper's reporting on agriculture, nature conservation and rural tourism. The paper follows the Altmark's efforts to attract young families and businesses, covering the infrastructure projects and cultural initiatives that aim to secure the region's future. School topics and family life receive regular attention. The paper's reporting on the Altmark's schools, kindergartens and youth clubs reflects the region's efforts to remain attractive for young families, a central theme of the district's demographic strategy and of the edition's community journalism, which treats the Altmark's future as its own cause. The Volksstimme's central newsroom in Magdeburg supplies the overregional sections: Saxony-Anhalt state politics, national news from Berlin, international reporting, business, culture and sports.

Organization and Ownership

The Stendaler Volksstimme is published by the Magdeburger Verlags- und Druckhaus GmbH, based in Magdeburg, which is part of the Bauer Media Group. The Bauer Media Group's ownership, extended in January 2020 to include the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, makes the group the dominant newspaper publisher in Saxony-Anhalt. The paper's editor-in-chief is Marc Rath, who has led the Volksstimme since 2023, following Alois Kösters and a line of editors reaching back to the paper's post-war founding.

The Volksstimme's local editions share the central newsroom in Magdeburg, with local editorial teams producing the district pages for each edition. The Stendal edition maintains its own local editorial presence, serving as the point of contact for readers, clubs, institutions and advertisers in the coverage area. Production is handled at the group's printing centre in Barleben near the A2 motorway, and distribution, subscription management and advertising sales are managed through the group's own organisations.

Readership and Market Position

The Stendaler Volksstimme operates within the Volksstimme's dominant position as the leading daily of northern Saxony-Anhalt, with a circulation of around 161,000 copies. In the Stendal district the paper is the established local daily, where its dedicated Altmark pages give the region's civic life exceptional prominence. The paper's market position rests on the Volksstimme's comprehensive regional journalism and its dedicated Stendal pages, and its readership is rooted in the Hanseatic towns and villages of the Altmark.

Like all German regional dailies, the Volksstimme has experienced significant circulation decline since the early 1990s, with circulation falling from around 343,000 copies in 1992, a trend addressed through e-paper subscriptions and the volksstimme.de portal. The Bauer Media Group's ownership of both the Volksstimme and the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung has concentrated Saxony-Anhalt's daily press. The Stendal edition's role as the reference medium for the Altmark's civic life gives it enduring value for readers and local advertisers. The paper's local pages serve as the bulletin board of the district's public life, and its Hanseatic heritage coverage connects the Altmark's thousand-year history with its present.

Digital Presence

The Stendaler Volksstimme's digital home is the volksstimme.de portal, the Volksstimme's online platform presenting continuously updated news from Saxony-Anhalt. Readers can access the complete printed edition as an e-paper, and the portal's online newsroom provides regional news throughout the day. The paper reaches readers through social media channels and newsletters, and the portal's local pages give the Stendal content a dedicated digital presence.

The digital offering follows a subscription model, with the e-paper available as part of print subscriptions or as a standalone digital subscription. The integration of the Stendaler Volksstimme into the large volksstimme.de platform gives the Stendal edition a modern digital infrastructure and extends its reach beyond the print circulation area. The combination of the print daily, the e-paper, the continuously updated portal and social media gives the Stendaler Volksstimme a comprehensive presence in the Altmark's media landscape.