Springer fires the Bild Editor after New York Times’ article on him
Julian Reichelt, editor-in-chief of Germany’s biggest tabloid Bild has been relieved of his duties, the newspaper’s publisher Axel Springer SE said in a statement. The announcement came days after a story in the New York Times alleging that Axel Springer SE, had tried to downplay an investigation of sexual misconduct and bullying at the Bild office.
“As a result of press investigations, the company gained new knowledge in the last few days about Julian Reichelt’s recent conduct. The company has followed up on that information. In the process, the Executive Board discovered that – even after conclusion of the compliance investigation in spring 2021 – Julian Reichelt still failed to maintain a clear boundary between private and professional matters and was also untruthful to the Executive Board in this regard”, the Springer statement said.
The new chairperson of the three-person editorial board, and also Member of the Bild Board, is to be Johannes Boie, 37, currently editor-in-chief at Welt am Sonntag. Alexandra Würzbach remains editor-in-chief of Bild am Sonntag and continues to be in charge of personnel and editorial management. Claus Strunz is editor-in-chief for video content.
Mathias Döpfner CEO of Springer said: “Julian Reichelt has done an outstanding job of advancing Bild’s development in journalistic terms and has made the brand fit for the future with Bild Live. We launched a process of cultural renewal with the Bild editorial and business teams together with Julian Reichelt and we would have liked to continue that process with him on board. That is now no longer possible. We have an outstanding successor in Johannes Boie. He possesses a proven ability to combine excellent journalism with a leadership style in keeping with today’s needs.”
Springer is one of the biggest publishers in Europe and have over the last few years expanded internationally by buying US media companies Insider and Politico.
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