In the more than two-year-old morality play at the top of the Springer Group, things are now getting down to business again. A week of decision may be upon us. Last Thursday, “Zeit” quoted extensively from private messages that Springer boss Mathias Döpfner exchanged primarily with former “Bild” editor-in-chief Julian Reichelt. The novel “Still awake?” by the publicist Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre will be published on Wednesday, which some expect to be the key to the Springer story. Before the exegesis begins, the lawyer for the former “Bild” editor-in-chief Reichelt now takes a preventive stance.
In view of the expected interest in reporting, the lawyer Ben M. Irle “politely” asks that one should not write about his client and the alleged “abuse of power” without acknowledging the “facts”. What “facts” are these? According to Irle, the allegations made by the main witness, a former “Bild” employee, against Reichelt are unfounded. That would mean: In the Reichelt story, most were and are wrong. Including Stuckrad-Barre, of course, whose novel nobody knows yet.