Johannes Boie will be the new chairman of the “Bild” editorial team. The 37-year-old is currently editor-in-chief of the Springer newspaper “Welt am Sonntag”.
Springer justified the end of the cooperation with Reichelt at the head of Germany’s largest tabloid as follows: «As a result of press research, the company had gained new knowledge about the current behavior of Julian Reichelt in the last few days. The company investigated this information. The management board learned that Julian Reichelt did not clearly separate personal and professional matters even after completing the compliance procedure in spring 2021 and told the management board the untruth. “
Abuse of power and exploitation of relationships of dependency
Springer initiated the internal procedure in the spring. The media had reported allegations of abuse of power and exploitation of relationships of dependency. The group then examined allegations in an internal procedure and came to the conclusion that Reichelt should keep his post. After a temporary leave of absence, Reichelt initially returned to Germany’s largest tabloid.
The “New York Times” published a long report on the Axel Springer media group over the weekend, also with a view to the plans to take over the US media group Politico. The article also dealt with “Bild” editor-in-chief Reichelt and the allegations against him that became public for the first time in the spring. The newspaper also referred to previously unpublished months of research by an investigative team of the Ippen media group.
Springer boss Mathias Döpfner said on Monday: «Julian Reichelt developed ‹Bild› in an excellent journalistic way and made the brand future-proof with BILD LIVE. We would have liked to continue the path of cultural renewal we have taken with the editorial team and the publishing house at BILD together with Julian Reichelt. This is no longer possible. ” (SDA)