Dieter Nuhr loses the show
RBB cancels program and 100 jobs
2/22/2023 3:03 p.m
The crisis-plagued RBB speaks of reorganization. In plain language, this means the elimination of 100 positions. While the top managers are probably spared, the shows by Dieter Nuhr, Jörg Thadeusz and Sophie Passmann fall victim to the need to cut costs.
Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), which has fallen into a deep crisis, wants to cut a total of 100 jobs by the end of 2024. The background are planned savings of almost 50 million euros, as announced by the public broadcaster ARD in Berlin. There was talk of “mismanagement in recent years”. Interim director Katrin Vernau, who has been in office since autumn, said: “Without our decisive action in the current contribution period, we would be facing a financial abyss by the end of 2024 at the latest. Solvency would no longer be easily ensured.”
According to the announcement, RBB will concentrate on the television program between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. According to Vernau, the news flagships “rbb24 Abendschau” and “rbb24 Brandenburg aktuell” will continue to be maintained. According to the newspaper “BZ”, the programs by Dieter Nuhr, Jörg Thadeusz and Sophie Passmann are about to end.
Vernau wants to halve the number of non-tariff jobs in order to save wage costs. However, the around 40 top-supplied RBB managers would probably not have to fear any cuts, criticized the “BZ”. The broadcaster’s reasoning: “RBB is in competition for executives.” Oliver Jarasch is one of the RBB top earners. The 53-year-old husband of Berlin’s Greens traffic senator Bettina Jarasch. He recently had to explain his 150,000 euro salary to Brandenburg’s MPs, Berlin media reported.
Prosecutor determined
The RBB plunged into an unprecedented crisis in the summer of 2022 when media reports raised accusations of nepotism and wastefulness against the top. The entire management team at that time is no longer in office. At the center of the scandal are the director Patricia Schlesinger, who was fired without notice, and the chief supervisor of the station, Wolf-Dieter Wolf. Both rejected allegations.
The Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating, the presumption of innocence applies. Courts of auditors are also currently checking, and an external law firm is also working on a report. ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio are financed by broadcasting contributions paid by households and companies. The amount is 18.36 euros per month, the current contribution period lasts until the end of 2024. According to the broadcaster contribution service, RBB earned around 436 million euros in 2021.