Sabine Rossbach, head of the NDR radio station in Hamburg, is faced with several allegations of cheating. Rossbach is said to have placed a bizarre television report to do a favor to a confidante. And her own daughters also play a role.
The director of the NDR radio station in Hamburg, Sabine Rossbach, has to defend herself against serious allegations of nepotism. According to a report by “Business Insider” (BI), Rossbach is said to have campaigned for a series called “Dogs in Hamburg” to be included in the program. Responsible for this: the daughter of a confidante of Rossbach, the then program manager of NDR Kultur Barbara Mirow.
According to “BI”, NDR employees said that Rossbach personally commissioned the series from Mirow’s daughter. A post featuring a seer was also published in the series. She claimed she could put people in touch with her dead dogs. The post generated a lot of criticism, from viewers but also from employees. NDR editors called the article “charlatanry” and “rip-off”, it is said. The accusation: There was no classification of the strange methods of the seer.
An internal editorial committee was formed and Rossbach questioned. According to “BI”, Rossbach not only commissioned the series himself, but also accepted the content of the contributions. According to NDR, this is not an unusual procedure. Rossbach said before the committee that the post in question was intended to show what “quirky things there are about dogs in Hamburg”. There was no “knowledge goal” in the sense of a critical examination, quoted “BI” from the survey.
Spicy: Around the same time, Rossbach’s younger daughter got a coveted permanent position at NDR Kultur – the very department where Barbara Mirow worked as program manager. It is unclear whether there is a connection between the serial order for the daughter of one and the permanent position for the daughter of the other.
According to “BI”, NDR employees say that there was definitely a better applicant. This was then moved to the radio station NDR 90.3. A spokeswoman for the NDR, in turn, told the “BI” that Rossbach and Mirow were not close confidants and that positions would go to the one who was best suited for it.
Rossbach’s older daughter, in turn, is a co-owner of the PR agency Hesse and Hallermann. This repeatedly brings articles about their customers in the NDR. According to “BI”, employees of the station say that Rossbach “encouraged” them to go to events and occasions of the PR agency’s customers. “It’s felt,” quotes the “BI” NDR journalists.
A spokeswoman for the station says the family involvement was known to the employees. The decision for or against reporting lies with the editors. Only: Rossbach is also head of television and thus heads the said editorial team.
According to “BI”, the PR agency is of the opinion that NDR reports on customer events just like other media. There are also occasions that others report on, but not on the NDR. “Your accusation that the agency would have benefited from a family connection, which was known at all times, is not correct.”
