Also, the journalists they employ are obviously beneficiaries of the freedom of press as well as of opinion, which drastically limits the influence of the government on their reporting.

Now legally speaking, they are an independent legal person of the public law. Meaning they have been granted a degree of freedom in the DWG (Deutsche Welle Law), § 68 DWG states that there is no legal way of taking influence on their journalistic work.

Now, any further legal dive would be too much to really follow, plus I am too lazy. They are however quite a unique legal product that is a beneficiary of the constitutional rights as well as having to follow them themselves