"Germany looks back at a long history of mass media. Some of the first newspapers started here roughly 400 years ago. During the years of the Nazi domain the mass media had become a tool of the dictatorship. In 1945 the media experienced an "hour zero" and started nearly completely anew. The post-war media system was based on the principle of press freedom as stipulated in the Basic Law (constitution) of 1949." (Quoted from article)