No money for me

Let me make two things clear right at the start of this post. First, I am going to be saying some positive things about Deutsche Bahn (DB), the German rail company. Second, I have not been paid to write these things.

OK, that second statement isn't quite true. Of course, I am being paid to write this blog. I'm not just doing it for love (sorry to disillusion anyone). I am being paid by Spotight Verlag, in the form of my monthly salary.

But Spotlight Verlag doesn't tell me what to write, nor does it censor what I write. Thankfully, I live in a country that, within reasonable legal limits, allows journalists to publish whatever they want.

What I meant when I said I wasn't being paid to write positive comments about DB was that I am not being paid by Deutsche Bahn.

And why should I be? Well, it seems that a lot of people have been. According to reports in Germany's media, Deutsche Bahn paid out €1.3 million in 2007 alone to generate fake positive publicity for itself in magazines, newspapers and online.

This tactic, known as "no badge" activities, took the form of readers' letters, blog entries (you see my point), comments in online forums, and opinion polls that were all used to manipulate the public perception of DB.

According to Handelsblatt, these activities were channelled through a lobby network, European Public Policy Advisors (EPPA), who in turn subcontracted the work to the Berlin think tank Berlinpolis. Berlinpolis has denied any direct involvement.

It is not clear whether DB used such PR tactics after 2007. Its new boss, Rüdiger Grube, has said that he categorically opposes these activities and will not use them.

Interestingly, it seems that these tactics were paid for by DB's marketing department and that its PR department knew nothing about them. Nevertheless, the case highlights the importance of maintaining editorial independence from PR (and advertising) activities.

Not surprisingly, I haven't received any money to write positively about DB. On the other hand, my last comment was so negative that I'm surprised they didn't pay me not to print it.

But in the interest of fairness, I should say that I had a very positive experience with DB last week, when I travelled from Munich to Duisburg (direct), and back from Aachen to Munich, changing at Cologne and Mannheim.

The service on all the trains was impeccable and friendly. I easily got both my connections on the way back. In fact, all the trains were on time, except for the last one, which arrived 30 minutes late in Munich. This was because there was a suspicion that someone wanted to commit suicide on the tracks outside Augsburg. Can't really blame DB for that.

So, well done this time, DB. And no, I haven't received a cent to say that.