RBB scandal
ARD directors withdraw trust from the current RBB leadership – “want to help stabilize the station”
ARD chairman Tom Buhrow does not believe that “the station’s executive management will be able to process the various incidents quickly enough.”
© Oliver Berg / DPA
The pressure on Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) is growing. After the recently announced resignation of the chair of the Broadcasting Council, ARD withdraws its trust in the business broadcaster. Dramatic consequences are already emerging.
The ARD directors have lost confidence in the current management of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) in dealing with the affair surrounding the recalled 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 DPA information, 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.
Buhrow: “There is a risk that RBB structures will dissolve”
Buhrow, who is also director of West German Broadcasting (WDR), said in his function as ARD boss: “We want to send a signal: we want to help stabilize the broadcaster and that trust can grow again, so that predictable transparent Structures are coming in. We are convinced that things are getting more and more restless with this management.” 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 this cannot and must not become a permanent situation in the ARD.” It was reported from circles that there was an intendant switch without the RBB for the first time on Friday evening.
Nepotism, bonus system and massage chairs
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.