BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Germany’s largest news agency dpa brings the Xing manager Astrid Maier into the editor-in-chief. The 48-year-old former editor-in-chief of the job network platform will change on October 1st and become deputy editor-in-chief and chief of strategy, as the German Press Agency (dpa) announced on Wednesday. In the newly created role, Maier is to further advance the transformation of the agency and develop additional possible uses of artificial intelligence for the news agency.
At the same time, it was announced that Antje Homburger, who has been the deputy editor-in-chief for many years, will be retiring at the end of June 2024. The then 60-year-old has been in charge of current affairs for years.
dpa editor-in-chief Sven Gösmann said: “We are very much looking forward to Astrid Maier’s ideas and impulses for dpa. With her, a proven technology expert and recognized strategist of modern journalism is coming to dpa, who will greatly advance our editorial team and products.”
At the same time, he praised Antje Homburger as “a brilliant news journalist of a kind that few exist. She is driving the change in the dpa editorial offices in line with today’s media requirements, which she has once again impressively demonstrated with her most recent project, the new multimedia newsdesk in Berlin.” One regrets her departure, as one can understand after almost 30 years in agency journalism.
In addition to editor-in-chief Gösmann (57), the dpa editor-in-chief also includes the deputy editors-in-chief Jutta Steinhoff (56, head of network) and Silke Brüggemeier (49, head of audiovisual). Change management manager Susanne Goldstein (49) is also part of the management team. The agency recently moved into a new newsroom in Berlin.
Astrid Maier said of the move to dpa: “I am extremely pleased to be able to shape the future of dpa together with the editor-in-chief and all my colleagues at this crucial time for journalism. My strategy will be to seize the many opportunities that arise for a data platform like the dpa in order to promote new applications that are even more relevant and tailor-made for customers and thus for users.” At the same time, she stands up to defend the rights of dpa and its shareholders against international tech players.
The 48-year-old was born in Suceava, Romania. After graduating in China Studies in Cologne and Beijing, she began her journalistic career at the “Financial Times Deutschland”. She later became a technology correspondent for “Manager Magazin”. Another station was the management of the company department of “Wirtschaftswoche” before she became editor-in-chief of the Xing network in 2019, whose management she is also a member of./rin/DP/ngu