The state broadcasting house director of the North German Broadcasting Corporation in Hamburg, Sabine Rossbach, is resting her work. This is happening “until the test results on the allegations in the room are available,” according to a statement from the broadcaster. Rossbach also announced that she would not return to her position on a permanent basis.
The director of the NDR, Joachim Knuth, says: “In the coming months, Sabine Rossbach will clear the way for a new start at the Hamburg broadcasting center. We are now taking the time to clarify the allegations that are being made.”
The case is about possible violations of the broadcaster’s compliance rules and a possible favoring of relatives. Employees of the NDR in Hamburg recently informed the director Knuth in a letter that they “could no longer imagine a trusting cooperation with Sabine Rossbach”. Previously, two executives of the NDR in Kiel had rested their offices, there are allegations of political influence. The broadcaster also wants to clarify this at the moment.
According to NDR, Rossbach’s previous deputy, Ilka Steinhausen, will take over the provisional management of the Hamburg state radio station. Together with the deputy NDR director Andrea Lütke, she should also take responsibility for the investigation processes. An independent team in the NDR takes care of the journalistic processing of the allegations. A further investigation by the anti-corruption officers of the NDR runs independently of this.