It’s bubbling up in the RBB. After the ARD directors had withdrawn their trust from the management, the employees also rebelled. The broadcaster’s editorial board is demanding that management resign “immediately.”
The editorial committee of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) has asked management to resign. The directors of the other ARD houses had previously spoken of a loss of trust in the processing of the affair surrounding the dismissed station boss Patricia Schlesinger and distanced themselves from the management around the managing director Hagen Brandstätter.
In a statement by the editorial committee, which was available to the German Press Agency, it now said: “The RBB management no longer enjoys trust – neither in ARD nor in-house. Therefore, you 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, one expects that the deputies or the main department heads will not simply move up automatically. It went on to say: “Because everyone who benefited from bonuses in the Schlesinger era also supported this system. We need other, flatter and really transparent structures.” The Committee requests that the workforce be involved in this process. “Only those who enjoy the trust of the workforce can work through credibly and reposition the station.”
Meanwhile, the director of North German Broadcasting (NDR), Joachim Knuth, commented on ARD’s loss of confidence in the RBB line. “The lack of trust is in the executive management of the RBB, because the transparency that has been demanded several times has not been created,” he said and emphasized at the same time: “Our solidarity applies to the employees of the RBB, they are and will remain part of the ARD family and can rest assured of our support.” A speedy process is now necessary, from which the RBB as a whole emerges stronger.
ARD chairman Tom Buhrow had previously said: “We, the directors of ARD, no longer have confidence that the broadcaster’s management will be able to process the various incidents quickly enough.” According to dpa information, a lack of education in the controversial bonus system for executives is said to have played a role.
The RBB has fallen into a deep crisis because of the allegations of nepotism against Schlesinger and the resigned chief controller Wolf-Dieter Wolf. The 61-year-old resigned from the ARD chairmanship and later also from the RBB leadership under enormous pressure.
