Johannes Boie ran the largest German daily newspaper for just over a year. His designated successor, Robert Schneider, began his career at the tabloid. The change should not remain the only change in “Bild”.
The daily newspaper with the highest circulation in Germany gets a new boss.
rew. Germany’s highest-circulation newspaper is getting a new management: According to media reports, Johannes Boie is stepping down as editor-in-chief after just over a year. He is to be followed by Robert Schneider, currently editor-in-chief of the news magazine “Focus”. The “Spiegel” first reported on the change. Internal sources at “Bild” have confirmed the news to the NZZ.
Boie himself is to remain chief editor, Schneider will report to him. Boie’s resignation takes place in the context of a broader restructuring of the “Bild” editor-in-chief. Schneider should not have any deputies, and the responsibility of “Bild am Sonntag” will be dissolved. The previous editor-in-chief of the weekend edition, Alexandra Würzbach, is to be replaced. Also the previous boss of the television format “Bild Live”, Claus Strunz, should leave the medium, reports the industry magazine “Medieninsider”.
Boie, 38, took over as editor-in-chief last October after his predecessor Julian Reichelt had to leave. This was canceled when allegations of abuse of power and affairs with employees became public. Previously, Boie was Editor-in-Chief of the weekly newspaper “Welt am Sonntag”, also from Axel Springer.
The successor began his career as a tabloid reporter
The designated new “Bild” boss can look back on a long tabloid career: At the age of 17, Robert Schneider became a reporter for the local edition of “Bild” in Leipzig and at the age of 24 he became head of department at the Springer tabloid “BZ”. Only a year later he took over the deputy management of the “Bild am Sonntag”.
In 2011, Schneider became editor-in-chief of the East German magazine “Super-Illu”, which belongs to Burda-Verlag. In 2016 he moved to the head position of the Burda magazine “Focus”. Leipziger will be the first East German born in the GDR to take over as editor-in-chief of «Bild».