Former RBB Media Director
Schlesinger must be recalled on Monday with immediate effect
Situation: 11:54 am | Reading time: 2 minutes
“Artistic directors who want to reform must be supported”
“We need public service broadcasting. In its current form, however, it cannot remain that way,” says WELT editor-in-chief Ulf Poschardt. The case surrounding fired artistic director Patricia Schlesinger was an occasion for “bold reform steps”.
The term of fired RBB director Patricia Schlesinger could definitely come to an end on Monday. According to the Broadcasting Council’s draft resolution, which “Bild” cites, the 61-year-old’s dismissal must be voted on with immediate effect.
The RBB Broadcasting Board wants to discuss the immediate termination of the contract of the fired director Patricia Schlesinger, who is currently officially on vacation, on Monday afternoon, starting at 4 pm.
“Bild” quoted Sunday night from the draft resolution for the meeting: “The RBB broadcasting board removes Patricia Schlesinger from her position as director of the RBB with immediate effect. The resignation is due to reasons in the person of Ms. Schlesinger that would justify the extraordinary termination of the service contract by RBB.
The reason is “the settlement of entertainment costs for an invitation to dinner at Ms. Schlesinger’s private apartment on 12 February 2022 to RBB as an officer, although this was wholly or at least partially of a purely private nature”.
The 30-seat governing body currently includes 28 women and men representing social, associative and political trends. The president is evangelical theologian Friederike von Kirchbach.
Schlesinger had announced his resignation as head of the Berlin-Brandenburg radio station a week ago on Sunday. The background of this are allegations of nepotism and exploitation in relation to the management position.
Schlesinger dismissed from Degeto supervisory board
Following his resignation from the leadership of ARD and RBB, there are also consequences for Schlesinger on the supervisory board of ARD’s film subsidiary Degeto. Frankfurt am Main-based Degeto Film GmbH said on Sunday, at the request of the German Press Agency: “The acting director of RBB, Hagen Brandstätter, has dismissed Ms. Schlesinger as a member of Degeto’s supervisory board.”
Brandstätter, who took over the business at the head of public broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) after resigning a week ago, had previously told RBB “Medienmagazin” on Saturday that he had signed a letter on Friday that this cannot be maintained by more time.
Schlesinger was previously the head of the supervisory board. Degeto is an ARD community facility responsible for fiction series and films, for example.
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The 61-year-old has faced mounting accusations of nepotism for weeks. The prosecutor’s office is investigating against her, her husband and former “Spiegel” journalist Gerhard Spörl and against the chief controller of RBB, Wolf-Dieter Wolf, on suspicion of infidelity and taking advantage. An external investigation by a law firm is also ongoing, but results are not yet available.
The case plunged RBB into a deep crisis, which also affected the reputation of the entire public broadcaster in Germany.