BR and ARD: How director Katja Wildermuth imagines the future

Created: 10/18/2022, 11:05 am

By: Rudolf Ogiermann

"The headline is: 'Less is more'": BR wants to consistently produce lean under the leadership of its director Katja Wildermuth.

© Michaela Rehle

Allegations of nepotism and waste, managers who have been fired or put on leave in rows, debates initiated by politicians about the salaries of the directors and the amount of the contribution - at the moment the ARD is making headlines less with innovative programs than with fundamental discussions about its structure.

We spoke to director Katja Wildermuth (57) about the situation at Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR).

In view of the recent scandals at Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, one wonders why there are supervisory bodies if they obviously do not perform their task or only insufficiently.

Katja Wildermuth:

You can't lump everything together here.

Some of the committees are set up very differently.

The Bavarian Broadcasting Act, for example, states the level of qualification that board members of the BR must have.

And we don't have the close bilateral relationship between directorship and chairman of the board of directors that we used to have with RBB.

So is everything in order at BR, does nothing have to be readjusted after the events at RBB?

Wildermuth:

I'm sure that the broadcasting and administrative boards want to decide for themselves whether to change the way they work.

But my impression is that the constitution of the supervisory bodies at BR is something that others can use as a guide.

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner recently called for a cap on directors' salaries.

They should not be higher than the Chancellor's salary.

How does it feel for you, perhaps now having to explain to yourself that you deserve what you deserve?

Wildermuth:

I don't set my salary myself, the board of directors does that, and if the board of directors decides to offer the directors other contracts, then they will do so.

Of course, there has always been the question of what work is worth.

What payment is appropriate?

For a nurse, a top manager, a politician?

I'm afraid our society will never reach a consensus on this.

Politicians also say that the radio contribution should be frozen or even shortened once and for all...

Wildermuth:

There is a clear, legally defined procedure for determining the amount of the contribution.

It is recommended by an independent commission of experts, the KEF.

Politicians write in the broadcasting laws what we should do.

We calculate how much money we need to be able to do exactly that.

The independent KEF then checks the calculation and makes a proposal to the politicians on the amount of the contribution.

There is no better system in Europe because, unlike a tax-financed system, for example, it guarantees exactly what the founding fathers of ARD and later ZDF wanted, and what I also think is the indispensable basis of our public broadcasting in Germany - political and economic independence.

We would all do well to respect this.

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Not only politicians, but also many citizens express the opinion - sometimes loudly - that public broadcasting is too expensive, some consider it dispensable.

Wildermuth:

Not everything that is loudly expressed is majority opinion.

We experience this in direct conversations with the users of our offers every day.

We feel great appreciation for that.

But of course, the media world has changed, there are many other providers.

With Netflix, Sky & Co., people experience that they have to pay for what they want to see and not for what they don't want to see.

What distinguishes public service broadcasting is its importance as a basic democratic service.

Because a functioning democracy needs economically and politically independent quality journalism, as shown by dozens of scientific studies.

It's different whether someone cares about a certain series or a certain sport.

This is about

that we ensure social cohesion with our overall offer, for the common factual basis on which discussions are held, beyond filter bubbles.

We see in other countries what happens when public service systems are attacked or marginalized - in the USA, in Hungary, Poland, Turkey.

Currently also in the discussions in Great Britain and France.

Your SWR colleague Kai Gniffke recently admitted that the range of opinions on the "daily topics" comments in the past was probably too narrow.

Do you agree with him?

There is the accusation of "instructional" or "re-educational journalism"?

Wildermuth:

I can't do anything with statements like "re-education" - this term alone makes my historian's hair stand on end - because they are simply not true.

The challenge – and this applies not only to us, but also to political parties, for example – is to adequately reflect the diversity of opinion in a society that is becoming more and more differentiated.

For a long time now there hasn't been the pure dualism between right and left, black and red - but lots of nuances in between.

That doesn't mean that you have to offer a broad platform to every erroneous individual opinion.

But of course we have to ensure that the plurality of opinions is also reflected in the programme.

However, journalistic decisions will continue to be made according to journalistic criteria and not according to proportional representation.

Let's talk about money again.

What do you want to do to keep the contribution as stable as possible after 2024?

Wildermuth:

We want to drive the change that we have already initiated even more consistently.

And on two levels - at Bayerischer Rundfunk and within ARD.

For me, the motto here is: "Less is more".

For example, we have decided to no longer operate a separate media library and to discontinue 30 other offers to strengthen other programs - such as podcasts or BR24.

We want to consistently continue this prioritization process.

"Less is more" also means consistently lean production, i.e. making clever use of the new technical possibilities of so-called Smart Production.

Since the spring, I have been making decisions with my directors that will bring BR savings of around 25 million euros in the production area in the future.

Which you now want to suggest to your fellow directors?

Wildermuth:

In my opinion, at the ARD level, we must take decisive steps towards centers of excellence.

Everyone no longer has to do everything.

We don't need regionality in administration and IT.

For example, the goal must be a travel expense center for everyone.

And that also applies to program content with national importance - such as consumer and health issues, literary criticism, royals.

You have to see which station has which strengths and, as a respective competence center, can supply others.

We need a lot more cooperation here.

But the others must be willing to work together.

But what if a station absolutely wants to keep its own responsibilities?

Wildermuth:

I know that I have many supporters in the network of stations and I'm sure that if we think about centers of excellence, we can take a big step forward in terms of focus and synergies.

What would then be specifically located at BR?

Wildermuth:

I don't want to start staking out territories until we've discussed it on ARD.

But the BR is traditionally strong in the fields of education and science as well as in the field of classics, we also have the coordination of the documentaries within the ARD and a strength in high-quality fiction.

We can definitely contribute a lot there.

The most recent report by the Supreme Court of Auditors stated that the reserves of Bavarian Broadcasting would be used up in 2024.

Is the broadcaster facing bankruptcy?

Wildermuth:

No.

In the interest of profitability and economy, we are not allowed to build up any reserves beyond the necessary liquidity.

This is not an entrepreneurial decision, it is a requirement of the KEF in order to keep the broadcasting contribution as stable as possible.

The auditors have attested to a balanced contribution period for the past few years.

It sounds different in the test report.

There is also talk of “balance sheet over-indebtedness”.

Wildermuth

: If you mean the provisions for old-age pensions – the ORH addressed a purely arithmetical figure here.

If the BR had to put all the money it needs in the next 30 years to finance pensions on the table in one fell swoop, it would actually be missing 28 percent of the total.

But that's not the practice.

Incidentally, these claims are legacy issues, they go back to contracts before 1993.

That will gradually decrease in five years.

And - to make the dimension clear to you - old-age provision accounts for seven percent of our total expenditure.

However, this means that you are dependent on a contribution increase one way or another without reserves.

Wildermuth:

There is currently no discussion about what contribution level the KEF will recommend for the next period from 2025.

As you know, we are currently experiencing high inflation rates and a heated media market.

Nevertheless, the BR will of course follow the highest maxims of economy and economy when registering requirements.

"Everyone no longer has to do everything": Katja Wildermuth in conversation with media editor Rudolf Ogiermann.

© Michaela Rehle