About Trott-war

Trott-war

Trott-war is the Stuttgart street newspaper, published monthly since November 17, 1994 by the association of the same name under the motto Arbeit, Selbstvertrauen, Perspektive: work, self-confidence, perspective, the motto the Wikipedia article records. The newspaper supports people in hardship, from homelessness and unemployment to drug, family, and relationship problems, the Notlagen the article lists, offering the socially disadvantaged an additional income and a path to integration into the community. All sellers were in social hardship, the Alle Verkäuferinnen und Verkäufer waren in sozialen Notlagen the issue states; of the 2.60 euro sales price, the sellers keep 1.30 euros.

Overview

The street newspaper model gives the sellers their livelihood mechanics: of the 2.60 euro sales price per newspaper, the sellers keep 1.30 euros for themselves. All sellers were in social hardship, in the January 2020 issue's words: the vendors who sell Trott-war on Stuttgart's streets come from homelessness, unemployment, addiction, and family breakdown, and the newspaper sale gives them the additional income and the daily structure that the association's motto promises.

The project portfolio extends the association's social mission: the alternative city tour, running since May 2006, takes visitors through Stuttgart from the perspective of those who have lived its streets; the Spende dein Pfand project collects deposit bottles for the social cause; the theater team gives the participants the stage; the housing project addresses the homelessness at its root; the art project with its gallery gives the creative outlet; and the TW-Grabfürsorge tends the graves. Each project translates the Arbeit, Selbstvertrauen, Perspektive motto into practice.

The financing mix shows the nonprofit publishing model: the sales proceeds from the street vendors, the donations, the sponsoring, the subscriptions, the advertisements, and the membership fees. The association's independence from state funding, in the street newspaper tradition, preserves its editorial autonomy.

Trott-war is a Straßenzeitung: a street newspaper sold by people in social hardship on Stuttgart's streets and in the surrounding region. The association behind it was founded by socially engaged journalists and private individuals, the sozial engagierten Journalisten und Privatleuten the article names, and it supports further projects beyond the newspaper: the alternative city tour since May 2006, the Spende dein Pfand deposit donation project, the Trott-war theater team, the housing project, an art project with a gallery, and the TW-Grabfürsorge grave care service.

The newspaper is financed through the sales proceeds as well as donations, sponsoring, subscriptions, advertisements, and membership fees, the Finanzierungsmix the article documents. The January 2020 issue's preview shows the editorial mix: the literary short story on homelessness, the social hotel report, the interview with the poverty doctor Gerhard Trabert, the seller's contribution on escaping poverty, the book reviews, the Literatour, the crossword, Sudoku, caricature, and culture tips.

History

The November 17, 1994 founding places Trott-war in the second wave of German street newspapers: after the 1992 Cologne BankExpress and the October 1993 Munich BISS and Hamburg Hinz und Kunzt, the Stuttgart paper joined the movement that the London Big Issue had inspired across Europe. The Big Issue, founded in 1991 by John Bird with Body Shop support after the 1989 New York Streetnews model, was the template that the German papers adapted.

The three decades of Trott-war document Stuttgart's social history from the street level: the homelessness, the poverty, and the exclusion that the newspaper's sellers experience and report. The association's growth from the monthly newspaper to the multi-project social enterprise, with the 2006 city tour, the theater team, the housing and art projects, and the grave care, shows the street newspaper model's evolution into comprehensive social work.

The German street newspaper landscape's scale, around 30 papers by 2006 with a 250,000 combined monthly circulation in 2010, gives Trott-war its national context: the Stuttgart paper is one of the movement's established regional pillars, with its three-decade continuity among the longest in the country.

Trott-war has been published monthly since November 17, 1994 for the Stuttgart city areas and the surrounding region, making it one of Germany's longer-running street newspapers. The German street newspaper movement began in 1992 with the Cologne BankExpress, followed in October 1993 by Munich's BISS and Hamburg's Hinz und Kunzt; by 2006 there were around 30 street newspapers in Germany with a combined monthly circulation of 250,000 in 2010.

The Trott-war association's project portfolio has grown over the three decades: the alternative city tour since May 2006, the deposit donation project, the theater team, the housing project, the art project with its gallery, and the grave care service. Each project extends the association's mission of work, self-confidence, and perspective beyond the newspaper sale.

Coverage and Content

The social reporting covers the hardship realities: the homelessness that the literary short story approaches, the social hotel's housing and aid services, the men's shelter as the state's only men's house, and the poverty that the seller's contribution documents from the inside. The interview with the poverty doctor Gerhard Trabert, under the headline Mensch bleibt Mensch, brings the medical perspective on poverty to the pages.

The investigative journalism extends to the institutional exposés: the Pius Brotherhood and its German seat in Stuttgart, reported under the headline more papal than the Pope, shows the street newspaper's willingness to tackle the powerful. The nature reporting, with the lynx's quiet return to Baden-Württemberg, gives the readers the environmental journalism alongside the social coverage.

The service journalism serves the readers' practical needs: the crossword, Sudoku, and caricature pages, the Geistesblitze, the culture tips, and the book reviews. The Literatour column and the literary contributions give the newspaper its cultural depth, with the former homeless Richard Brox reading from his successful novel as the January 2020 issue's literary highlight.

Trott-war covers the social issues that its sellers live: homelessness, poverty, addiction, and exclusion, alongside the cultural journalism that the street newspaper format carries. The January 2020 issue's themes show the range: the literary approach to homelessness, the social hotel Weimar's housing and aid, the men's shelter as Baden-Württemberg's only men's house, the Pius Brotherhood's German seat in Stuttgart, and the lynx's return to Baden-Württemberg.

The seller's voice is the newspaper's distinctive journalism: the Verkäuferinnen-Beitrag on escaping poverty, the interviews with the sellers, and the first-person accounts of life in social hardship. The cultural pages, with the book reviews, the Literatour, and the culture tips, give the readers the arts coverage that the street newspaper's educated readership expects.

Organization and Ownership

Trott-war is published by the Trott-war association, founded by socially engaged journalists and private individuals. The association runs the newspaper and its project portfolio: the alternative city tour, the deposit project, the theater team, the housing project, the art project with gallery, and the grave care.

Current editorial team details are not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed beyond the association; the Verein's project portfolio is the organizational record the sources carry.

Digital Presence

Trott-war.de is the newspaper's digital home, with the issue previews like the January 2020 PDF, the project pages, and the subscription and donation information. The January 2020 issue preview PDF documents the digital issue marketing.

Dedicated apps or podcasts for the Trott-war brand are not detailed in the sources reviewed; the brand's digital presence rests on its website and the monthly street newspaper's social journalism since 1994.