Then it happened very quickly: Patricia Schlesinger, the director of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), did not make it into “Abendschau” and “Brandenburg aktuell” with the news of her resignation as chairwoman of the ARD – the fire was in the Grunewald the dominant theme.
But the announcement of her decision by “Tagesschau” spokesman Jens Riewa in the main edition of the ARD news program before the press release was published was also a statement. Here someone is serious about their responsibility, takes the consequences and doesn’t stick to posts, that’s Patricia Schlesinger’s message.
This decision was not only commendable, it was inevitable. The RBB director could no longer be held in the chair of the ARD chairmen.
Through her plans to build a media house, the financial extent of which is not foreseeable and whose usefulness is questioned, through the dinners with “multipliers”, through her company car with “acoustic glass” and massage seats, but also through the salary increase offered by 16 percent to 303,000 euros – through all this, she and the RBB gave the impression that money is not an issue even for one of the small ARD broadcasters.
This is grist to the mill of all opponents of public service broadcasting, who are looking to France and Britain right now, where France Télévisions and the BBC are being completely reorganized. Every hint of wasted fees is therefore feared more than anything else, not only by ARD, but by all directors, directors and employees of the public broadcasters in Germany.
Schlesinger’s departure from the ARD presidency is by no means an end to the horror, but it’s also not the end of the horror. She justified her decision by saying that she now wants to concentrate on the problems of her own station on the Spree and Havel.
But it’s no longer just about clarifying the many allegations – new ones are added almost every day. The broadcaster needs structures and committees that will prevent such undesirable developments in the future. Some allegations, by no means all, concern Patricia Schlesinger personally.
That’s why she can’t be a credible enlightener on her own behalf. Like the head of the board of directors, Wolf-Dieter Wolf, she should therefore rest her position as RBB director until the investigation is complete. This step is just as inevitable as your ARD decision on Thursday.
