Schroder's battle against 'biased' coverage sparks media backlash
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder has decided to no longer give interviews to Germany's largest newspaper Bild, saying its coverage of his centre-left coalition is biased.
Mr Schroder's top spokesman, Bela Anda, announced the boycott, citing what the chancellor considered a clear campaign by the paper to undermine the government. Bild reporters would no longer be guaranteed spots accompanying the chancellor on official trips abroad, the spokesman said.
'The manner in which the government's policies are handled [by Bild] is a mixture of malice, provocation and distain garnished with half-truths,' Mr Anda said.
It is not the first time Mr Schroder - a Social Democrat - has been angered by the newspaper. Published by the influential Axel-Springer group, it has a long tradition of championing conservative causes.
But the move marks a dramatic about-face for a politician who has styled himself as a 'media chancellor'. Revelling in the contrast to his often press-phobic predecessor, Helmut Kohl, Mr Schroder once even famously said all he needed to govern was Bild and television.
