DW Director General Peter Limbourg re-elected

DW Director General Peter Limbourg re-elected

30 September 2018

Second six-year mandate for Limbourg, first elected in 2013

 

Peter Limbourg has been re-elected as director general of Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) for another six years, his first mandate having been deemed very successful.

DW celebrated its 65th anniversary this year.

Limbourg’s record was praised earlier this year during a debate at the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament on 20 April 2018.

“Impressive track record” at DW

Addressing the Bundestag, the Christian Democrat (CDU) MP Elisabeth Motschmann rejected calls from the far-right Alternative for German (AfD) for changes to the law governing Deutsche Welle.

In her speech Motschmann commended Limbourg’s track record since his appointment in 2013, describing it as impressive. DW is “one of the top three foreign broadcasters” in 27 of the 30 languages in which it reports, and 97 per cent of users surveyed praise the broadcaster’s credibility, Motschmann said.

DW’s weekly audience across all media has gone up from 101 million to 157 million between 2014 and 2017, and its four TV channels in English Arabic, German and Spanish can potentially reach 465 million households, according to DW 2017 Management Report.

International background, extensive journalistic and managerial experience

The son of a diplomat Limbourg spent his childhood in Rome, Paris, Athens and Brussels. He studied law in Bonn and completed a journalistic traineeship at the German television news agency Deutsche Fernsehnachrichten Agentur (DFA) in Bonn and London (1988-1989).

Limbourg worked as a reporter in Iraq, Israel, Algeria and Leipzig, in the former East Germany, before becoming the Europe and NATO correspondent for DFA and private Sat.1 TV in Brussels in 1990.

Limbourg became head of the private TV ProSieben studio in Bonn in 1996 and also occupied senior positions with N24 (now WeltTV).

Limbourg was Senior Vice President of ProSiebenSat.1 (the 2000 merger of ProSieben and Sat.1) from 2010 to his appointment as DW Managing director in October 2013.

DW is set to forge ahead with a wider offer and gain an even larger audience under Limbourg’s next mandate.

 

 

Deutsche Welle at 65

Deutsche Welle at 65

25 May 2018

Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s public international broadcaster, marked its 65th anniversary in May.

DW was launched on 3 May 1953 with a speech by then Federal President Theodor Heuss who addressed the “dear listeners in faraway countries”. DW started broadcasting three hours a day on shortwave in German only. It added five-minute news bulletins in English, French, Spanish in October 1954 and gradually expanded its offer.

No longer just an international radio broadcaster DW is now a global multimedia network.

DW introduced television in 1992, DW TV is now available round-the-clock in four languages: German, English, Arabic (Middle East, North Africa and Europe) and Spanish (for Latin America).

DW offers a variety of audio content and publishes online news in 30 languages on dw.com. It is   seen as a trustworthy service, according to 96 per cent of its worldwide users.

In 1965 Deutsche Welle launched its Academy which has trained thousands of journalists from around the world.

Deutsche Welle’s 2017 budget was around €326m, from the federal tax budget.

DW says it employs some 3,400 people from 60 countries in Bonn and Berlin.

The Channel interviewed then DW DG Erik Bettermann in 2103 when DW marked its 60th anniversary.

Deutsche Welle launches DW Freedom

Deutsche Welle launches DW Freedom

1 February 2018

65 years ago, DW was founded to offer multilingual news to foreign audiences abroad and to promote democratic values. In our anniversary year, we are launching DW Freedom, an initiative encouraging freedom of speech.

Deutsche Welle launches DW Freedom

“Freedom of speech and media freedom are the foundations of our daily work,” said DW Director General Peter Limbourg. “It is the right of journalists to do their job. Like it is the right of artists to express themselves. As it should be the right of everybody on this planet to speak their minds freely, without fear of harassment or arrest.”

Highlighting the topics of free speech 

DW Freedom is an online and social media platform which highlights the topics of free speech and media freedom around the world. On the website dw.com/freedom, on Twitter (@dw_freedom), and Facebook (DW Freedom) users will find reports by and interviews with activists, academics, artists, cartoonists, hackers, and authors from all corners of the world. Digital privacy, secure communication and data protection, critical topics for journalists and free speech advocates, will also be discussed. User can engage in dialogue on social media and contact the DW editors directly.

Publishing and explaining content from all DW editorial teams and DW Akademie projects, DW Freedom strives to heighten DW’s coverage of complex issues surrounding free speech and media freedom. It sheds a light on – sometimes forgotten – crises, victims of human rights violations and initiatives striving to improve the current situation and fosters a greater debate on these issues.

Ines Pohl Kommentarbild App (DW/P. Böll)

DW Editor-in-chief Ines Pohl: ”Our journalists report on human rights in 30 languages. We believe that freedom is the ultimate human right, whether it concerns freedom of speech, of the media, of assembly or freedom of religion. So all of us at DW are supporting this important project whole-heartedly.”

In addition to providing news and information, Deutsche Welle also supports freedom of expression and media freedom through DW Akademie’s activities in 50 countries around the world.

DW Freedom of Speech Award

In 2015, Germany’s international broadcaster launched the DW Freedom of Speech Award to honor those engaged in a daily fight for free expression. The first winner was – still imprisoned – Saudi blogger Raif Badawi. In 2016 Sedat Ergin, former editor-in-chief of the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, received the award, and last year, DW recognized the US-American White House Correspondents’ Association.

From now on, DW Freedom will help promote the stories behind these free speech heroes.

(Source: DW press release)

Deutsche Welle correspondent in DR Congo is free

Deutsche Welle correspondent in DR Congo is free

23 May 2017

Germany’s international broadcaster DW  demanded the immediate release of its correspondent Antediteste Niragira, arrested by members of the Congolese intelligence service (ANR) while reporting on Burundian refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo .

In a statement issued on 21 May, DW said Congolese authorities were refusing to provide further information on accusations of espionage against Niragira.

‘Baseless accusations’

“The accusation that our correspondent is a spy is outrageous and baseless,” said DW spokesman Christoph Jumpelt. “We demand that the authorities in the DR Congo release Antediteste Niragira immediately and provide for his safe return to Burundi.”

Niragira had been preparing to file a report on Burundian refugees living in desolate conditions in a camp near the town of Kavimvira when he was arrested by ANR members and transferred to a prison in Uvira.

A lawyer commissioned by DW has been able to establish that Niragira has not been physically harmed.

Update – 23 May

Since news of his disappearance came through, DW has been working through all available channels to secure his release. On Tuesday 23 May, it was announced that Antediteste had been released and had returned to Burundi.

Deutsche Welle files suit against Turkish ministry

26 September 2016

Deutsche Welle has filed a claim in a civil court in Ankara for the return of video material containing an interview with a Turkish minister. Following the filming of a TV interview in Ankara on September 5, 2016 for the Deutsche Welle broadcast series “Conflict Zone” with Michel Friedman, the Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports, Akif Cagatay Kilic, the video material was confiscated by Turkish authorities.

The Turkish ministry allowed a deadline set by Deutsche Welle for the return of the materials on the following afternoon to pass without the materials’ return. Attorneys for Deutsche Welle thence set a second deadline for their return, which was ignored by Turkey. As a result, Deutsche Welle has filed suit at a court in Ankara.

Deutsche Welle’s Director General, Peter Limbourg, condemned the Turkish authorities: “This is an event that has nothing to do with rule of law and democracy. We are now using legal methods to demand the prompt return of our video material.”

DW’s Broadcasting Board met in Berlin on September 23, 2016, where they explicitly supported the filing of a suit for the return of the video material. Board Chairman Dr. Karl Jüsten said, “We advocate for unrestricted freedom of the press. Turkey is closely connected to Europe. Along with that comes respect for democratic foundational principles including press freedom. Comparable standards must be adhered to. It is deeply troubling that Deutsche Welle has been forced to file suit in court for the return of the video interview with the Turkish minister.”

The Broadcasting Board likewise welcomed the journalistic engagement that DW has shown in regards to Turkey as well as for Turkish speakers in Germany. The Board requested that DW be financially endowed accordingly in order to adequately fulfill their responsibilities as the provider of objective information in a politically significant region.

“We cannot accept what is happening in Turkey with regards to press freedom. DW is required to inform people in a comprehensive and objective way and to convey Germany’s positions,” Jüsten said.

“Conflict Zone” is DW’s most prominent political interview television show. The interviews that take place gain international attention – though most especially in the interview partner’s country. The interviews in the political broadcast “Conflict Zone” in DW’s English-language television program are confrontational. “Conflict Zone” is uncompromising as it strives for positions and authenticity. The moderators, Tim Sebastian and Michel Friedman, are unyielding in their approach to their guests.

(Source: DW press release)