Hamburg (dpa-AfX)-The new NDR director Hendrik Lünenborg grants mistakes in dealing with the controversial personnel Julia Ruhs. The “communication was really not optimal at this point. You can’t say that otherwise, because we continued the format,” said Lünenborg in the interview of the German Press Agency. The NDR won a new moderator with Tanit Koch. “Nobody has been canceled,” he emphasized. Ruhs will continue to present the format at Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR).
Ruhs had moderated the pilot sequences of the format “clearly” – produced by NDR and BR. After the opening show on migration, in which she reported, among other things, about violence in connection with immigration, criticism had become sound. Around 250 NDR employees said in an internal letter that journalistic standards had been violated.
On Wednesday, the broadcaster decided to no longer use Ruh’s for the NDR editions of the format. However, the journalist will continue to moderate the “clear” programs at the BR. The decision, in turn, caused protests from politics: in particular the Union and AfD criticized the dismissal. Ruhs accused the NDR “Cancel Culture”.
Tanit Koch, former editor-in-chief of “Bild” and the RTL-Central editorial team, now takes her place. It should not only moderate, but also to work editorally. He is pleased “that we have won such a profiled, experienced journalist who has a very own look at our country and that will certainly be a kind,” said Lünenborg.
The director Armin Laschet, who was headed by the Bundestag election campaign of the then CDU Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet, sees: “We have to endure the spirits from time to time. We have to endure this because we otherwise limit ourselves too much. She is a trained journalist and she has proven that she can work independently.”
From 2026 the “clear” sequences will be produced alternately by the NDR and the BR. A higher episode number./SVV/DP/Stw is also planned