Der Spiegel is one of the two largest circulating news magazines currently being published in Germany, with a weekly circulation of more than one million. Der Spiegel was founded in 1946, to act as Germany’s equivalent to America’s TIME and Newsweek magazines. Its first edition was published in 1947 with Rudolf Augstein acting as its first Editor-in-Chief. In 1974 Augstein restructured the company to allow employees with three or more years experience in senior positions to become shareholders and participate in the management of the company, receiving a share of the profits. Der Spiegel has a long history of investigative journalism and exposing political misconduct. Demonstrating this was the famed Spiegel Scandal of 1962 in which the magazine published a report about the low state of readiness of German armed forces. This article is still credited with altering the political culture of post-war Germany. In recent years the magazine has also exposed other political scandals, as well as supported other controversial political movements such as Wikileaks. Der Spiegel also has a concentrated regional and local interest, often producing feature articles on problems affecting the German population, as well as suggesting strategies to tackle the issues.

De Telegraaf is the Netherlands’s largest and most widely circulated daily newspaper. Founded in 1893 by Henry Tindal, it was acquired by HMC Holbert following Tindal’s death in 1902. Following his acquisition, Holbert set about implementing changes to the newspaper. During World War One, De Telegraaf encountered controversy when it took a pro-British standpoint whilst the Netherlands was still officially neutral. Following the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War Two De Telegraaf, like other newspapers was controlled by the SS and released only pro-German editions. This led to a thirty-year ban on publishing after the war, which was later lifted in 1949, allowing De Telegraaf to grow into the biggest newspaper in The Netherlands. The newspaper reaches a wide-ranging audience due to the broad range of topics covered in its publications.

Corriere Della Sera is Italy’s largest selling daily newspaper. It is one of Italy’s oldest and most reputable newspapers, managing to maintain independence throughout numerous periods of political turmoil. The newspaper was founded in 1876 by Eugenio Torelli Viollier and from its early beginnings it immediately established itself as the Italian paper of reference, providing a voice for the industrial bourgeoisie of the North. Luigi Albertini led the newspaper, and under his guidance it became the most widely read newspaper in Italy during the 1910′s and 1920′s. Its popularity has not declined since then either, as demonstrated by the fact that it still remains Italy’s most widely circulated newspaper. In the 1960′s Corriere Della Sera was acquired by the Rizzoli Group and listed on the Italian stock exchange, attracting some of the biggest Italian industrial and financial groups as shareholders. Its publications today are extremely diverse; publishing a range of supplements including, Ido Donno and the Corriere Della Sera Magazine. Corriere Della Sera has hosted a number of prominent Italian writers and intellectuals over the course of its history including Dino Buzzati, Italo Calvino, Eugenio Montale and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Casa Hogar Niñas Ciegas was founded as a home for blind girls in 1956 by the Dominica St. Thomas Aquinas congregation. The objective of the school is to support blind and visually impaired children. The majority of these girls come from small states such as Veracruz, Guerrero and Oaxaca. They receive education and rehabilitation at the National Institute of the Blind and as many are from low-income families and cannot afford to travel, the home is there to offer shelter and support. The home continues to run by selling clothes, food and through other fundraising activities.

Axel Springer Verlag is one of the largest media companies in Europe. It was founded in 1946 by Axel Springer and his father Hinrich Springer and began with the launch of the Nordwestdeutsche Hefte and Horzu publications. These were soon followed by the Hamburger Abendblatt, the Bild and the Sonntag. In 1953 Axel Springer expanded with the acquisition of Die Welt, Welt am and Das Neue Blatt. Axel Springer became known for promoting German reunification through his newspapers and publications and by the 1960′s and 1970′s the company came under attack from left wing groups. In 1972 The Red Army Faction claimed responsibility for six bombs being placed the company’s Hamburg headquarters. In contemporary times, the company has gone on to become the largest publishing house in Europe, as it accounts for a 23.6% share of the German daily newspaper market. One of the original newspapers acquired by Axel Springer continues to be the highest circulating newspaper in Europe with a daily readership of 12 million people. Today, its 230 publications are varied and include news, automobiles, sports, computers, electronics, women and lifestyle newspapers and magazines. Its expansion is also present internationally as it currently operates out of 36 countries and has 11,500 employees.

Antonio Saura was presented with the Gold Mercury Award for Culture and Media in 1986 for his work as an artist and writer. His distinctive artistic style and written creations have influenced generations around the world. He was born in Huesca, Spain in 1930 and after contracting tuberculosis in 1943, he experienced five years of immobility. It was during this time that he began to start painting and writing from the confines of his bed. His initial work had surrealist overtones, often featuring imaginary landscapes. Mr Saura held his first personal exhibition in 1950, the general theme of which was, ‘Constellations and Rayograms’. From 1954 to 1955 he lived in Paris and as his style matured and became more consistent and recognised he was associated with the surrealist school of art. In 1956 he exhibited his ‘Women and Self-portraits’ series at the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid. It was during this period that he discovered and exhibited the subjects that he would later become famous; works which featured women, nude portraits, self-portraits, shrouds, priests and scenes from the crucifixion. In 1957 Mr Saura founded the El Paso Group, which he led as Director until its dissolution in 1960. In 1960 he received the Guggenheim Award and the following year he held his first exhibition at the Pierre Matisse Gallery. In 1967 he moved permanently to Paris and became involved in politics, expressing his opposition to the Franco dictatorship and participating in numerous controversial debates. He continued to reinvent himself artistically and in 1968 he abandoned oil painting and instead devoted himself to working mainly with paper. In 1977 Mr Saura started to publish his writings, but continued to showcase his artistic works at various exhibitions and also create stage designs for the ballet and theatre.

Antonio Mingote was recognised by Gold Mercury International in 1986 for his contribution to Global Culture. Mr Mingote was born in 1919 and spent his childhood in Daroca, Catalayud, Teruel and Zaragoza. He studied Philosophy and Arts at the University of Zaragoza but, wishing to live in Madrid, left the university in 1944. In 1946 he began working at the highly influential weekly graphic humour magazine La Codorniz. In 1953 he began to draw a daily cartoon in the ABC newspaper. These cartoons were famed for their distinctive irony and humour. He continued to draw a daily cartoon in ABC until his death in 2012. In addition to his cartoons Mr Mingote was also an acclaimed author of several novels, an actor and a script writer who worked on several films and stage productions.

Al Ahram, founded in 1875, is Egypt’s largest news organisation. The newspaper publishes several editions; one geared towards a strictly Arab demographic and another aimed at international audiences, which has versions in both English and French. The newspaper was originally founded by the Lebanese brothers Beshara Takla and Saleem Takla, who were living in Alexandria at the time. In its early stages, it was a weekly newspaper that was published every Saturday. However two months after its creation it was turned into a daily newspaper and has been running as such ever since. During its time in publication Al Ahram has featured many prominent writers including the religious innovators Muhammad Abduh and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani. Furthermore, Nobel Prize winning writer Naguib Mahfouz, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein, Yusuf Idris, Edward Said, Anis Mansour and Mohammad Hassanein Heykal have also written for the newspaper.

Addis Zemen is an Ethiopian Amharic newspaper published by the federal government through the Ethiopian Press Agency. It is a daily newspaper, offering national and world news as well as weather, sports, entertainment, business and travel coverage.