Broadcasting
NDR directoral election for the time being failed
The personnel proposal was unusual. An external manager competed for the director of the NDR. Now the result of the choice is also a surprise.
The intendant election at North German Rundfunk (NDR) failed for the time being. The only candidate, former Bertelsmann manager Sandra Harzer-Kux, missed the necessary majority.
There will be no second ballot. Within a month, the Board of Directors can again submit a personnel proposal. The next regular session of the Rundfunkrat is mid -May. According to committees, it must not be the same person as in the first ballot. It is unclear how things are going on.
The 52-year-old manager Harzer-Kux would have needed 34 votes in favor. However, only 30 guns with yes were right. There were also 14 votes and 6 abstentions.
The control committee Rundfunkrat, which chooses the tip of the station, then criticized, among other things, that there was no choice between several candidates. This is due to the NDR-State Treaty, which stipulates that the board of directors can make a personnel proposal.
We were looking for a successor to the broadcaster Joachim Knuth. The 65-year-old had offered an early transition to September 1st. Knuth has been the director of the third largest ARD station since January 2020. His contract actually runs regularly until mid -January 2026.
External people at the top rarely
The Harzer-Kux personnel was considered a surprise. It often happens that top costs in public service broadcasting are also occupied by managers from their own houses because of the complex structure.
According to the board of directors, there was initially a closer applicant environment of four women and four men. In the end, the advice between two men and Harzer-Kux decided.
“The transformation is our everyday life”
Harzer-Kux worked in the Bertelsmann cosmos for many years. The 52-year-old worked as a manager, especially at the Hamburg publishing house Gruner + Jahr, which belongs to the group. She worked in the marketing area and also brings experience with moving and audio. If you listened to the media industry, you got different answers. Harzer-Kux is considered to be well networked. For others it is a blank leaf.
In her introductory speech in front of the Rundfunkrat, Harzer-Kux spoke before the election about the importance of good organization and transformation. “The transformation is our everyday life.” She also spoke about open communication and leadership culture that is necessary. She wanted the NDR younger, digital and more efficient.
Employees want to integrate them. Harzer-Kux also emphasized that the support and acceptance among the population were crucial for the NDR, not politics. At one point or another of her speech – for example when dealing with error culture – criticism of the current state of the station shimmered through. Harzer-Kux did not respond specifically to the program if you have any questions from the circular funeral.
The broadcasting council, who chose, is the second control committee of the station and is intended to represent various social groups. Representatives from organizations, politics, business and religious communities sit in the council. It controls whether the broadcaster complies with the programms and can give feedback after the broadcast.
dpa
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
