NDR state broadcasting council takes allegations against Rossbach “very seriously”

The Hamburg NDR State Broadcasting Council dealt with the allegations against the director of the state broadcasting center in the Hanseatic city, Sabine Rossbach, on Wednesday. The allegations were "taken very seriously," said the chairman of the state broadcasting council, Thomas Kärst, after the extraordinary meeting. The State Broadcasting Council supports the efforts to clarify and particularly welcomes the examination of the allegations by the anti-corruption officer Cora Sternsdorff. The State Broadcasting Council will soon seek talks with the staff council, editorial committee and employees of the State Broadcasting House in order to be able to comprehensively assess the situation.

It was agreed that further steps would be reported to the committee on an ongoing basis and that the results of the investigation would be presented to it. "The State Broadcasting Council will examine this carefully and reserves the right to further investigations," said Kärst. He expressly acknowledged the commitment of all NDR employees "who are committed to clarifying the events and improving the situation in the NDR state broadcasting center in Hamburg".

According to research by the news platform “Business Insider”, state broadcasting director Rossbach is said to have enabled her older daughter, as the owner of a PR agency, to place her customers in NDR programs for years. The younger daughter got a permanent job at the station. Rossbach denies the allegations. She is currently resting her work at the Landesfunkhaus and does not want to return to her position permanently.

In a letter to director Joachim Knuth, employees at the state broadcasting center in Hamburg called for a “new corporate and management culture”. They reported influencing reporting contrary to editorial decisions and a "climate of fear". "We can no longer imagine a trusting cooperation with Sabine Rossbach," the letter said.