Hamburg, 09/25/2019

Bertelsmann Content Alliance Goes Aboard The ‘Polarstern’

Scientists from 19 countries have taken up residence aboard the research vessel. Their destination is the North Pole. In a unique expedition they intend to explore the arctic climate for one year. UFA, G+J, Verlagsgruppe Random House, and the Audio Alliance accompany them. For one year, they will be providing their audiences with unique impressions from the Arctic.

The Polarstern is en route to the North Pole. The ice-breaking research vessel set off last weekend for the largest and most extensive Arctic expedition to date. The Bertelsmann Content Alliance is accompanying them, virtually, as the Polarstern expedition’s exclusive German media partner. The Content Alliance companies are accompanying the one-year Mosaic expedition exclusively for the German-speaking public in pictures, sound, and words. UFA Show & Factual, Gruner + Jahr, Verlagsgruppe Random House, and the Audio Alliance are all “on board.”

The video production company UFA Show & Factual will accompany the entire voyage, providing unique images of the extraordinary expedition. The footage will be used to create a high-end documentary will be produced for ARD, which will air in late 2020. The first pictures from the mission are expected in mid-November 2019. For each leg of the journey, the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) is making parts of this material available at https://multimedia.awi.de/Mosaicvideo/.  Gruner + Jahr is dispatching the reporter Marlene Göring, who will report in several articles for “Stern,” “Geo,” “Geolino,” and “P.M.” Her first reports from the Arctic will be published at the beginning of 2020. “Stern” and “Geo” will also run digital reports on the expedition.

The photographer Esther Horvath will capture the expedition in pictures. Her photographs will appear in G+J magazines and in an international illustrated book with exclusive photos to be published by Prestel Verlag (Verlagsgruppe Random House) in fall 2020. Verlagsgruppe will also be publishing the expedition report by expedition leader Markus Rex in 2020, through its C. Bertelsmann imprint, and CBJ is planning a children’s book. The Audio Alliance is accompanying Mosaic with unique audio content. An audio logbook with the working title “Departure into the Ice,” which focuses on the expedition’s scientific leader, will appear regularly throughout the duration of the expedition. Another podcast format with the working title “Arctic Audio” will be published in English, providing extensive insights into the expedition’s individual scientific areas and voyage segments.

Julia Jäkel, Chair of the Bertelsmann Content Alliance Board, says: “Being able to accompany this important research voyage with the power of our media and our reach means a great deal to us. The expedition is one-of-a-kind. Our content will be unique, too. Listeners, readers, and viewers can look forward to a great program. For us, this is really a project of the heart.”

Mosaic, the name of the expedition, stands for Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate. On this expedition, scientists from 19 countries will investigate the Arctic over the course of the year. From fall 2019 to fall 2020, the German icebreaker Polarstern will drift through the Arctic Ocean, frozen in the ice. Mosaic is being realized under the direction of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). More than 70 institutions are working together in a research consortium to ensure that this unique project succeeds and it obtains data that is as valuable as possible. Mosaic’s budget is around €140 million. News directly from the Arctic can be found via the Mosaic channels on Twitter and Instagram under the hashtags #Mosaicexpedition, #Arctic, and #icedrift. Further information about the expedition can be found at: www.mosaic-expedition.org.  Polarstern’s drift route can also be followed live on the Mosaic web app: follow.mosaic-expedition.org.