Dhe ARD directors have lost confidence in the current management of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) in dealing with the affair surrounding the dismissed broadcaster Patricia Schlesinger. “We, the directors of ARD, no longer have confidence that the station’s management will be able to process the various incidents quickly enough,” said ARD boss Tom Buhrow on Saturday.
According to information from the German Press Agency, a lack of education in the controversial bonus system for executives is said to have played a role. From ARD circles it was heard that sometimes after the director switched, there were completely new facts about allegations about RBB that had not previously been communicated by the broadcaster in the round.
This means that the pressure on the management team around the managing director Hagen Brandstätter to resign from office is also growing within the ARD. The ARD community, with its nine state broadcasters, traditionally attaches great importance to unity and acting with one voice. The position now communicated by the ARD houses is all the more remarkable.
Shortly before, Friederike von Kirchbach, chairwoman of the Broadcasting Council, had announced her immediate resignation from the RBB control committee. The RBB board of directors will meet on Monday to discuss the concrete termination of the contract for the recalled director Schlesinger.
ARD chairman Tom Buhrow spoke on Saturday on behalf of the ARD directors
Source: pa/dpa/Oliver Berg
Buhrow, who is also director of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), said in his function as ARD boss: “We want to send a signal: we want to help the station be stabilized and that trust can grow again, so that predictable transparency can be restored enter structures. We are convinced that this management is becoming more and more restless.” It is also becoming more and more restless in the RBB, among the employees, instead of calmer. Buhrow added: “It seems so unstable that one can say that there is a risk that the structures of the RBB will begin to dissolve.”
The loss of trust also has consequences for director meetings. Buhrow explained: “We have been asked by the group of directors to advise us on individual questions without the RBB. But that cannot and must not become a permanent condition in the ARD.
The director of North German Broadcasting (NDR), Joachim Knuth, made a similar statement on Saturday. He also justified the ARD’s loss of confidence in the RBB line with a lack of transparency in the processing of the Schlesinger case. Knuth told the German Press Agency: “The lack of trust applies to the executive management of the RBB, because the transparency that has been requested several times has not been created.”
At the same time, the NDR director emphasized: “Our solidarity applies to the employees of the RBB, they are and will remain part of the ARD family and can be sure of our support.” A speedy process is now necessary, from which the RBB as a whole is strengthened emerge.
Editorial Board for the immediate resignation of the management
The editorial committee, a representative of the journalists in the RBB, called on the management of the station to resign. In a statement by the editorial committee, which was available to the German Press Agency, it said on Saturday: “The RBB management no longer enjoys trust – neither in ARD nor in-house. Therefore, she must resign immediately.”
The committee also wrote: “We, as representatives of the journalists in the RBB, no longer trust that this management can provide complete information.” In addition, it is expected that the deputies or the main department heads will not automatically move up.
It went on to say: “Because everyone who benefited from bonuses in the Schlesinger era also supported this system. We need different, flatter and really transparent structures.” The committee demands that the workforce be involved in this process.
Expensive company car with massage seats and private chauffeur
The whole crisis at the RBB revolves around allegations of nepotism and the felt against the resigned and recalled director Schlesinger and the resigned chief controller Wolf-Dieter Wolf. The allegations revolve around agreements between the two about Schlesinger’s salary, which has not yet been fully disclosed.
There is a controversial bonus system for executives in the broadcaster, which only became known for the top directors after public and internal pressure. Schlesinger also received a substantial salary increase of 16 percent to 303,000 euros. Dinners for guests in their private apartment are said to have been billed at RBB costs with allegedly false bills.
The conversion of the station’s executive floor for 1.4 million euros also caused resentment, employees are angry because savings were made in the RBB program at the same time. An expensive Schlesinger company car with massage seats and a private chauffeur also caused a stir. Schlesinger’s husband and “Spiegel” journalist Gerhard Spörl also received orders from the state-owned Messe Berlin, where Wolf was also chief controller. In addition, there were controversial consulting contracts for an RBB construction project, which are said to come from Wolf’s environment. Schlesinger and Wolf rejected allegations against them.
The Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating against Schlesinger, Spörl and Wolf on suspicion of infidelity and acceptance of benefits. The presumption of innocence applies to all three. An outside law firm is investigating the whole case that has led RBB into an unprecedented crisis. The trade fair is also currently being investigated internally.