After allegations against RBB boss Schlesinger: Sender initiates investigation

Patricia Schlesinger
After allegations against RBB boss: broadcaster initiates investigation, editors speak of “climate of fear”

Following allegations against director Patricia Schlesinger, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) has launched an independent investigation. Schlesinger (60) said on Thursday in an RBB message that the management of the house had dealt with the allegations made in media reports against the public broadcaster and them personally. “They clothe themselves in a mixture of conjecture, insinuation and false conclusions.” According to information from “Welt”, however, the editorial office is bubbling up. There is talk of a “climate of fear”.

The online portal “Business Insider” started criticizing RBB a few days ago. The case is very convoluted. In essence, the question was raised as to whether certain limits could have been exceeded in the professional relationship between Artistic Director Schlesinger and the RBB board of directors and whether collisions of interests were dealt with too laxly.

Report accuses RBB director and head of administration of consultant cheating

According to the Business Insider report published on Wednesday, Schlesinger regularly invites guests from politics, business and culture to private dinners in her Berlin apartment. Not reprehensible in itself. But as the magazine claims to have learned, the contributors should ultimately foot the bill. Not only that: the dinner parties were not billed properly – the catering service changed the bills several times at the request of the RBB. The amount remained the same in the end, but the number of guests was reduced. The “Business Insider” raises the question of whether Schlesinger wanted to hide the fact that the supposed business lunches were in fact private celebrations.

But another allegation weighs much heavier. Documents available to “Business Insider” are said to prove that RBB chief executive Wolf-Dieter Wolf Schlesinger’s husband cobbled on lucrative contracts. Among other things, its business partners are said to have received consultancy contracts for the planned construction of the digital media house in Berlin and other real estate projects. There is talk of six-figure fees. The magazine claims to have previously revealed that Wolf, in his capacity as chairman of the supervisory board of the Berlin trade fair, has repeatedly placed orders with Schlesinger’s spouse since the end of 2020.

RBB wants to subject the allegations to a “comprehensive examination”

The broadcaster pointed out on Thursday that there was no evidence that anything outside of the so-called compliance rules – these are guidelines that a company gives itself – had happened. We want to create the greatest possible transparency. Schlesinger added: “It is important to us that an independent body is involved in this process.” The day before, the broadcaster’s audit and compliance officers had been asked “to subject the issues addressed in the reporting to a comprehensive examination as quickly as possible and, if necessary, to also consult external expertise”.

Schlesinger said about the investigation: “The RBB management and I are convinced that the necessary clarity about what actually happened can best be achieved through an independent examination and that this is the right way to permanently refute the allegations.” At the same time, the broadcaster is examining further legal steps against “incorrect and distorting forms of reporting”.

The broadcaster also started a dialogue within its own workforce and, according to DPA information on the intranet, wants to document and refute the reporting of the allegations against the broadcaster and Schlesinger. Employees should also be able to ask questions there.

RBB editors speak of a “climate of fear”

As the “world” claims to have learned, according to an article published on Saturday, RBB is brewing internally. In a letter, according to the newspaper, the staff council and the editors settled accounts with Schlesinger’s crisis communication. In the resolution, they apparently demand that “all allegations in the room be cleared up immediately in order to restore the shattered trust”. The “purely legal review” scheduled by the broadcaster will not be sufficient – after all, the allegations against Schlesinger would “take joint liability” on the credibility of all employees.

At a works meeting, the statement said, the director “created a climate of fear and distrust right from the start with threats and accusations.”

Sources: DPA; “Business Insider“; “World“

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