Der Spiegel
The political emergence of reunited Germany as a great power with a decisive hand in world events -- as reluctant and historically fraught as it must be -- was a central theme in 2012, and the editors and journalists at Der Spiegel brought us a front-row seat. The publication didn't simply cover the ins and outs of the backroom deal-making to save the Eurozone, but offered insightful articles that framed the stakes of the crisis for the West and global capitalism itself. Der Spiegel pulled back the curtain on the complex reality of 21st century Germany with two fascinating looks at the "Rise, Fall and Rebirth" of Berlin as a global capital at the center of world politics, and the ominous rise of the far right in Germany -- a force that has grown as Germany finds itself footing the bill for Europe's indebted south. The publication was also active beyond the boundaries of Europe, explained editor Daryl Lindsey. "Since the start of the Syrian insurgency, Spiegel reporter Christoph Reuter has traveled across the country seven times -- on foot, by motorcycle and even on vegetable trucks. He visited abandoned and destroyed villages, met refugees fleeing the violence and spoke with rebels and village committees trying to build a new state out of the rubble. No other German journalist traveled to Syria as frequently in 2012 as Reuter -- and few chronicled the horrors as poignantly."
