[Rezension] Alexander Teske - Inside Tagesschau - Wie wird entschieden
Alexander Teske is a German journalist who worked in the planning department of Tagesschau in Hamburg-Lockstedt for six years until the end of 2023. Prior to that Teske worked for fifteen years at MDR in Leipzig and five years at ProSieben, Sat.1, and RTL. With his book "Inside Tagesschau" Teske provides previously unknown insights into public broadcasting.
Where do the Duty Chiefs come from
The crucial question for the Tagesschau editorial team is who sets the tone. According to Teske this is the Duty Chiefs (Chefs vom Dienst) for each day not the editorial team. Whatever the Duty Chiefs (Chef vom Dienst) don't want to broadcast won't be broadcast. Whatever doesn't fit their worldview won't make it onto the show. [1, p.18-19]
Die meisten haben nie vor der Kamera gestanden oder Beiträge realisiert. Sie kennen die Bedingungen, unter denen diese vor Ort entstehen, nicht oder nicht mehr. Sie haben dadurch wenig Gespür für die Realität in einem Studio.
Most have never been in front of a camera or produced a piece. They don't know or no longer know the conditions under which these pieces are shot on location. As a result they have little sense of the reality of a studio. [1, p.18]
Es gibt keine Rotation oder Fluktuation bei den Duty Chiefs (Chefs vom Dienst). Ist es sonst in der Medienbranche üblich, seinen Job nach wenigen Jahren zu wechseln, eine neue Redaktion oder eine neue Stadt kennenzulernen, sitzt der typische Tagesschau Chef vom Dienst seit 20 Jahren auf seinen Stuhl. Es gibt keine Chefs vom Dienst, sie von ZDF, RTL oder ORF nach Hamburg gekommen sind.
There is no rotation or fluctuation among the editors-in-chief. While it's common in the media industry to change jobs after a few years to get to know a new editorial team or a new city, the typical Tagesschau Duty Chief (Chef vom Dienst) has been in his or her position for 20 years. There are no editors-in-chief who came to Hamburg from ZDF, RTL or ORF. [1, p.19]
What are the Duty Chiefs (Chefs vom Dienst) like
Teske describes the Duty Chiefs (Chefs vom Dienst) as left leaning and they make decisions individually or jointly against the editor-in-chief (Chefredaktion). And their positions influences reporting. It is striking however that the positions Teske describes are not of economic but rather social and domestic policy in nature. [1, p.22-24, 26-28]
Die Chefs vom Dienst eint: Sie sind meinungsstark und haben ihre persönlichen Vorlieben. Dies widerspricht dem Selbstbild der Tagesschau vom neutralen, objektiven Beobachter der Nachrichtenwelt.
The Duty Chiefs (Chefs vom Dienst) have one thing in common: They are opinionated and have their own personal preferences. This contradicts the Tagesschau's self-image as a neutral and objective observer of the news world. [1, p. 23]
Nachrichten, die nicht in ihr Weltbild passen, werden von den Chefs vom Dienst kein geredet und schaffen es nicht in die Sendung.
News that doesn't fit into their worldview is ignored by the Duty Chiefs (Chefs vom Dienst) and doesn't make it into the broadcast. [1, p.26]
Topics
Teske states that even within the Tagesschau there is a consensus that public broadcasting should compete with private news. In addition journalists from both sides are similarly socialized and thus reach similar conclusions. This results in public broadcasters and private news sometimes reporting the same things at the same time. Journalists are afraid to report differently and don't want to jeopardize their careers by attracting attention. Consequently journalists don't need instructions they know what's mainstream anyway and act accordingly. [1, p.108-110]
We learn that only those editors on a list are allowed to make comments. And they are included in this list because their home broadcaster suggests them although it remains unclear why. [1, p.37-39]
Internal Climate Report
Teske himself criticizes the working atmosphere in the editorial department but he also refers to a report on the working atmosphere that was preceded by a similar report. According to the report at least in the past a climate of intimidation by and loss of trust in management prevailed. This particularly applies to the former head of the political editorial department Julia Stein and her then superior and former head of the television division Norbert Lorentzen. Both are said to have single-handedly decided for their departments what to broadcast and often how.
The reports indicate that the Tagesschau's transition from a radio and TV station to a multi-media institution is the reason for this development. Managers are failing in their duties and employees are unable to understand the opaque decisions. In addition the situation is particularly difficult for freelancers creating a two-class society even though these freelancers are in the majority in some areas. Furthermore it is common practice for freelancers to be laid off after 15 years at the latest to prevent them from suing for being employed directly and permanent. However if freelancers become permanent employees they will be less involved in journalistic work and more involved in planning and approving contributions.
Finally it is noted that the high standards of quality and perfection leave little room for error. And for the editors-in-chief this is just a stepping stone on the way up. [1, p.55-56] [2] [3]
Political Media Complex
The press should actually monitor politics and hold them accountable. But Teske criticizes the increasingly worrying relationship between journalists and governments. While there are time limits on how long public broadcasting correspondents can spend in close proximity to politicians, there are massive gaps in this. Teske lists the public broadcasting journalists who went into politics as press spokespeople: Michael Stempfle, Florian Schäfer, Frank Wend, Annett Hoffmann, Sebastian Rudolph, Steffen Seibert, Ulrich Wilhelm and Ulrike Demmer. And those who returned: Ulla Fiebig and Christiane Wirtz. Teske also criticizes the fact that journalists' employment contracts are not terminated during this time but merely remain suspended. Teske suspects that the precarious employment conditions and the inevitable propaganda for future employment relationships are forcing this shift away from journalism. [1, p.60-67]
Expertocracy
Teske describes how the expertise of journalists at Tagesschau is being rendered redundant and diminished over time by an expertocracy. For example external experts are invited for many more complex topics such as Clemens Fuest (economist), Bastian Schweinsteiger (footballer), or Christian Drosten (physician). In the process responsibility for the statements is shifted to the experts. The interests and lobbies behind the respective experts are concealed. [1, p.70-84]
Die Zunahme von Experteninterviews hat auch mit dem Stellenabbau in den Sendern zu tun. Fachredakteure, die sich jahrzehntelang nur mit einem schmalen Themengebiet beschäftigen und damit Expertenwissen angehäuft haben, galten als Auslaufmodell. Die meisten Journalisten, die für TV-Nachrichten arbeiten, sind sogenannte Allrounder. Wir sind Experten für alles und nichts. Was bedeutet, dass wir bei allen Themen mitreden können, aber von keinem Thema richtig Ahnung haben.
The increase in expert interviews is also due to job cuts at broadcasters. Specialist editors who had spent decades focusing on a narrow subject area and thus accumulated expert knowledge were considered obsolete. Most journalists working for TV news are so-called all-rounders. We are experts in everything and nothing. Which means that we can contribute to all topics but we don't really have a solid understanding of any topic. [1, p.79]
Anyone who strayed from the permitted range of opinions was listed internally with corresponding comments and no longer invited. For example former Inspector General of the German Armed Forces Harald Kujat disappeared overnight after an interview on tagesschau24. Deputy Editor-in-Chief Helge Fuhst was upset about the interview because Kujat pointed out serious shortcomings and accusations against the West and expressed understanding for Russia's position. [1, p.83-84] [4]
Die Anweisung an die Redaktion ist klar: Keine Interviews mehr mit dem General, dieser sei untragbar. Ich bin irritiert. Was ist mit unserer viel gelobten Meinungsfreiheit und dem Auftrag der öffentlich-rechtlichen Sender, die Breite der Meinungen in der Bevölkerung abzubilden, solange sie auf dem Boden des Grundgesetzes stehen?
The instructions to the editorial team are clear: No more interviews with the general he is unacceptable. I'm confused. What about our much-praised freedom of expression and the mandate of public broadcasters to reflect the breadth of public opinion as long as they are based on the Basic Law? [1, p.83]
Werner Patzelt machte noch drastischere Erfahrungen. Der Passauer Wuschelkopf war Gründungsprofessor der Politikwissenschaften der TU Dresden. Immer wieder kommentierte er zahlreiche Medien des politischen Geschehens in Deutschland. Schlagfertigkeit und Humor machten ihn zu einem gefragten Gesprächspartner. Beim Aufstieg der AfD vertrat Patzelt die These, die CDU sei daran mitschuldig, da sie eine Lücke an rechten Rand hinterlassen habe, die nun von den Rechtspopulisten gefüllt wurde.
Werner Patzelt made even more drastic experiences. The shaggy-haired Passau native was a founding professor of political science at the Technical University of Dresden. He frequently commented on political events in Germany for numerous media outlets. His quick wit and humor made him a sought-after conversation partner. During the rise of the AfD Patzelt argued that the CDU was partly to blame having left a gap on the far right that was now being filled by right-wing populists. [1, p.84]
Later in the book Teske also notes the rapid pace of news and how this has affected the Tagesschau news program. He cites several examples where the Tagesschau wants to report on current developments immediately even before the situation is clear. Even though Teske doesn't directly link this to the criticized expertocracy he does describe how this is overloading the Tagesschau. [1, p.207-217]
Foreign reporting
Although foreign reporting is an essential part of Tagesschau the coverage of different regions of the world varies greatly. One reason for this is the disproportionate number of correspondents abroad. For example there are two correspondents in Israel and the West Bank but only one in all of South America. [1, p.86-88, 88-89]
The entire public broadcasting sector was surprised by Brexit, Trump, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite the deployment of the German Armed Forces in Mali and Niger public broadcasting was surprised by the changes of government in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Reporting for these three countries was conducted from other countries. Teske attests that public broadcasting exists in a parallel world with little or no contact with events abroad. [1, p.88-93]
Auch der Einmarsch der russischen Truppen im Februar 2022 in der Ukraine hat sie ARD Jahr erwischt. Obwohl dort bereits acht Jahre gekämpft wurde. Aber es gab nie feste Reporter in der Ukraine. Das flächenmäßig zweitgrößte lang Europas wurde von Studio Moskau aus mitbetreut. Wenn etwas passierte, wie sie Orange Revolution, wurden Reporter aus Köln oder Moskau für ein paar Tage eingeflogen. Beruhigte sich die Lage wieder, zogen sie wieder ab. >>Fallschirm-Journalismus<< heißt diese umstrittene Praxis.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops in February 2022 also affected ARD. Although fighting had already been going on there for eight years. But there were never permanent reporters in Ukraine. Europe's second-largest country in terms of area was supported from the Moscow studio. When something happened like the Orange Revolution reporters were flown in from Cologne or Moscow for a few days. When the situation calmed down again they left again. >>Parachute journalism<< is the name of this controversial practice. [1, p.90]
[Review] Alexander Teske - Inside Tagesschau - Blind Spots 2025-09-13
[Review] Alexander Teske - Inside Tagesschau - Moralizing instead of Reporting 2025-09-15
Src:
[1] Alexander Teske - Inside Tagesschau- ISBN 978-3-784437316
[2] Summary - Interne Aufarbeitung Landesfunkhaus Schleswig-Holstein 2022-09-22
https://www.ndr.de/der_ndr/unternehmen/pruefbericht104.pdf
[3] KLIMABERICHT - Analyse von Unternehmenskultur und Betriebsklima im Norddeutschen Rundfunk 2023 März
https://www.ndr.de/der_ndr/unternehmen/klimabericht120.pdf
[4] Harald Kujat, ehem. Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr, zur Kriegstaktik von Ukraine und Russland 2022-03-09
https://web.archive.org/web/20220309140411/https://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/video/video-1000197.html
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