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“important today”
The Patricia Schlesinger affair: the control does not work for public broadcasters
The RBB Broadcasting Council has now even terminated Patricia Schlesinger’s contract
© Britta Pedersen / DPA
The Schlesinger case has thrown the public service broadcaster into chaos. Today this is more important than ever, and at the same time more than in need of reform.
Nepotism and the waste of public funds – Patricia Schlesinger currently has to put up with these allegations. The former ARD boss and RBB director has already resigned from her post, but was officially recalled from the broadcaster on Monday evening. The allegations also annoy some employees internally, explains the business journalist and media observer Lutz Meier in the 340th episode of “today important”. “Everything is saved in the editorial offices, and the boss had a luxurious executive floor built for 1.4 million euros. Nobody in the RBB understands that and it also discredits the work of the people there, who have to save every day.” In addition, there is a salary increase of 16 percent, which was approved by the relevant control bodies. But the controls don’t work, according to Lutz Meier: “This affair would be a good opportunity to think about other control structures.”
Patricia Schlesinger: You need fewer inspectors, but better ones
Today’s business editor at the magazine “Capital” was previously responsible for media reporting at the “Financial Times Deutschland”. For Lutz Meier, public broadcasting (ÖRR) is needed more than ever, he says in the podcast. But a reform, especially of the control bodies, is essential. Meier calls for fewer controllers, but better ones. Because so far, the Broadcasting Council has had representatives from social groups who only do this job on the side. But that’s not how the control works: “These are mostly people who can’t control. They can’t read balance sheets and don’t have the capacity because they do it part-time, to look closely at it.” Their competence is more important than as many representatives as possible: “They should either be familiar with finances, with media structures or with the cultural tasks of these institutions.”
Public service broadcasting is an important authority in a democracy
Despite all the mistakes and the need for reform, public service broadcasting is more important than ever, says Lutz Meier. Because there correspondents not only observe all countries in the world. They are also in many corners of Germany, where the local newspapers are unfortunately shrinking more and more: “This view into all areas of society and into all corners of the world is one reason why we urgently need public broadcasting.” A core area of the ÖRR is the months-long reporting on wars and crises all over the world: “The media landscape needs that.”
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