“News from the institution” is the name of an avuncular cabaret format on ZDF. However, the Mainz station provides the best jokes in everyday operation. Recent example: The “accidental” censorship of “Opus Klassik” in Berlin last Sunday
The 2022 award ceremony took place on October 9th in the elegant Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt, charmingly moderated by actress Désirée Nosbusch. In addition to the Russian-born pianist Igor Levit (about whom a documentary film has just been released), the mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre and the tenor Jonas Kaufmann also received awards. The Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
So far, so normal in an evening dress.
The fact that there was still something like excitement about the classic prize is thanks to TV partner ZDF. Rapper Danger Dan ended the eulogy for Igor Levit, who is Jewish, with a well-aimed insult to right-wing extremists, among whom he also counted “AfD sympathizers”.
In the ZDF version, the AfD fanboys and girls were no longer mentioned in the media library. Can words spoken live disappear in the media?
Here is Danger Dan’s quote: “I would like to end this eulogy, simply to make Igor happy, with a message to all anti-Semites, racists, anti-feminists and AfD sympathizers in front of the television sets: You are complete idiots!”
At the Mainz broadcaster, the word “AfD sympathizers” in the media library version initially disappeared without comment. When asked by specialist media such as netzpolitik.org, ZDF initially responded by going underground.
If the cut should be justified with “non-partisanship” (netzpolitik.org wanted to know), does that also apply to guests, laudators or interviewees? And why actually? It was only after hours of silence that the ZDF press department said cryptically: “Under time pressure, an error happened that will be corrected”.
Digital laughter erupted on Twitter and other socials. “The broadcaster left it open how such a precise intervention and time pressure go together,” said Fuchsbau22, for example. All sorts of jokes about the sometimes idiosyncratic practice in public broadcasting are circulating under the hashtag “#MausGerutscht”. There must have been at least one person in charge (m/f/d) who told his editor: “Get it out!” Someone who hastily put the concept of “scissors in the head” into practice …
To the background:
The “Opus Klassik” is an award for classical music that has been presented by the “Association for the Promotion of Classical Music eV” since 2018. Established at the time as a reaction to the end of the “Echo Klassik”, this prize is now a recognized factor in the world of serious music.