In a meeting of editors with around 700 participants, WDR employees complained on Tuesday afternoon in Cologne about the lack of backing by director Tom Buhrow. His rapid distancing from the "environmental sow" song had unsettled many, according to a participant told the German Press Agency at the non-public meeting. For these employees, the question arises as to whether one can even venture into satire in the future.
Buhrow then emphasized that, according to the information, everyone should continue as before, nothing has changed, and they should and should continue to experiment. The broadcaster also pointed out that the "environmental sow" video was taken to protect the children from the side.
In the video, a children's choir sang on the melody of "My grandma is riding a motorcycle in the hen house", among other things, "My grandma is an old environmental pig". After a wave of outrage, those responsible for the program removed the video from the network, and Buhrow subsequently apologized for the song.
A participant in the meeting told SPIEGEL that Buhrow basically said that he would do the same thing again. Around 30 speakers had their say at the emotional event. It had been pointed out several times that the ZDF acted significantly more confidently in comparable cases.
Buhrow, who has also been ARD chairman since the beginning of the year, had objected to the accusation in an interview with SPIEGEL that he had buckled before right-wing propaganda: "We could recognize the mechanisms, but we could also distinguish between what is orchestrated, and what real emotions are from otherwise well-meaning listeners, "he said.
The DR director was recently accused in an open letter by over 40 freelance TV authors that he had fallen into a trap of right-wing trolls.
For the broadcaster, the meeting was an "open, critical and constructive exchange that will continue with a view to the future". Buhrow and his management felt it was "important to be able to transparently answer questions from the employees".