Schlesinger scandal: "Lost the moral compass"

Created: 08/11/2022, 16:07

By: Stefanie Thyssen

Patricia Schlesinger, former director of the RBB.

© Britta Pedersen/dpa

Jo Groebel is one of the most renowned media experts in Germany.

In our interview, the 71-year-old psychologist analyzes the RBB scandal surrounding ex-director Patricia Schlesinger.

Jo Groebel is one of the most renowned media experts in Germany.

In an interview with "Münchner Merkur", the 71-year-old psychologist analyzed the RBB scandal surrounding ex-director Patricia Schlesinger, in which new details came to light every day.

Are we dealing with the transgression of an individual?

Or isn't the lack of control of the management team a problem for ARD as a whole - keyword self-service mentality?

What Groebel says:

Media scientist Jo Groebel.

© dpa

You have been observing and supporting public service broadcasting for decades.

How much did the scandal surrounding Patricia Schlesinger surprise you personally?

Jo Groebel:

He surprised me.

With such a huge organization as ARD, you can always assume that there are individual deviations from what is on offer.

But this shape and size surprised me.

Patricia Schlesinger, to put it bluntly, went way overboard.

And it shows, on top of that, that so far there has hardly been any public awareness of wrongdoing.

She even sees a campaign against her.

How can such a thing be?

Jo Groebel:

On the one hand, this is a problem with the moral compass, which she has evidently lost.

And then she simply didn't see the – it must be said – unwritten laws.

Her self-interest seems to have supplanted the detached and necessary consideration of whether this behavior is truly wise.

Then one thing led to another.

She didn't feel any resistance either.

Which speaks for a failure of the control mechanisms, doesn't it?

Office equipment in the six-figure range, a luxury car as a company car, expense reports, trips, etc. must be signed off by someone, even with a director.

Even the judiciary is now dealing with these issues.

Jo Groebel:

Yes, it is indeed difficult to grasp and explain.

I think the point is this: every incident here is an isolated case.

The expensive office, sure, is difficult, but it's not that big of a deal right now.

The car, ok.

A dinner, yes.

The scandal comes from the accumulation.

This makes it a system.

And because it was a gradual process, it was at least more difficult to control.

Of course, alarm bells should have rung anyway.

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The fact that Schlesinger shows no sense of wrongdoing is perhaps due to the fact that her behavior is not all that unusual?

Maybe other directors are also splurging, but no one has revealed it yet.

Jo Groebel:

To be honest, I don't think so.

I don't know all of them, but many directors.

And I haven't seen them throw out the money like they're senseless.

As a rule, they – men and women – act very self-confidently, to put it positively, but also very prudently and with a good sense of what is ethical and smart.

One is careful to comply with formalities.

It sounds as if you don't see an ARD problem, but "only" a "Schlesinger system".

Jo Groebel:

Yes.

I don't really see a structural problem.

It's just a fact that people don't behave appropriately from time to time.

I don't want this to sound like the Schlesinger case is trivial.

Of course, it did a lot of damage to the reputation of public service broadcasting.

Some speak of the biggest scandal in ARD history.

Jo Groebel:

I would be extremely careful with that.

Again: Far be it from me to trivialize the case.

But I think it weighs more heavily - and we've had that in the past at ARD - if program content is affected.

We remember the surreptitious advertising scandal surrounding the “Marienhof” or, in the area of ​​television films, the case of an NDR editor who wrote screenplays under a pseudonym, which she then had filmed herself.

It's about journalistic credibility.

With all due respect: the credibility and seriousness of an artistic director are very important.

But the credibility of journalism is much more the core of what a public institution must stand for.

How do you rate the type of processing?

Patricia Schlesinger is more or less dead – the RBB reports remarkably openly in its programs (TV, radio, online).

Jo Groebel:

Great, yes.

The fact that there was a reaction in this form and so quickly, in special programs and in the news, is also a great moment for RBB, given all the negative things we see.

This reappraisal is basically the best argument why public service broadcasting is sorely needed.

In what way?

Jo Groebel:

Simply because its basic structure guarantees that it works independently.

That's not to say that media houses that work privately don't also stand for independent journalism.

But the guarantee that journalists can work independently even under the greatest economic difficulties can only be provided by public broadcasting in the interests of society and democracy.

In short: In the case of ex-director Patricia Schlesinger, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg showed itself from its ugliest and its best side.