Editing Performativity (section)

=== Journalism ===

The German news anchorman [[Hanns Joachim Friedrichs]] once argued that a good journalist should never act in collusion with anything, not even with a good thing. In the evening of November 9, 1989, the evening of the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]], however, Friedrichs reportedly broke his own rule when he announced: "The gates of the wall are wide open." („Die Tore in der Mauer stehen weit offen.”) In reality, the gates were still closed. According to a historian, it was this announcement that encouraged thousands of East Berliners to march towards the wall, finally forcing the border guards to open the gates. In the sense of performativity, Friedrichs's words became a reality.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bild.de/unterhaltung/tv/mauerfall/der-schoenste-fehler-in-40-jahren-tagesthemen-54357108.bild.html | title=Zum Jubiläum - der schönste Fehler in 40 Jahren "Tagesthemen"| date=2 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/30/AR2009103001846.html | title=Mary Elise Sarotte -- How an accident caused the Berlin Wall to come down| date=November 2009| last1=Sarotte| first1=Mary Elise}}</ref>