Quotes of the Day

Another day, another unmasked East German spy. That ho-hum attitude greeted news that Bernd Runge, the head of U.S. magazine publisher Condé Nast's German business, worked for the hated Stasi secret police as a young East German journalist in the 1980s. Last week two German magazines, Focus and Der Spiegel, revealed that Runge, now 43, informed on fellow students and his own family, and spied on Western journalists. What's fascinating is that Germans barely raised an eyebrow, and Runge's American boss said his past has "no relevance."

It's a far cry from the 1990s, when suspicion of a Stasi past was enough to force a politician or executive out of a job. "This period where uncovering Stasi involvement resulted in scandal is behind us," says social scientist Ralph Rytlewski of the Free University in Berlin.

In an open letter, Runge said his Stasi ties were "nothing to be proud of." But if the shrug that greeted his story means Germany is through torturing itself over the past, it may also have to do with Runge's recent triumphs. In January, German trade magazine Horizont named him Media Manager of the Year. Ad pages in his titles — including German Vogue, GQ, and Vanity Fair — were up 11.5% in 2003, a tough year for media. All the more reason to forgive and forget.

• WILLIAM BOSTON
• Does a magazine publisher's past merit press attention?