Program Director Norbert Himmler becomes the new Director of ZDF.
After three elections it was clear: Program Director Norbert Himmler would be the new director of the ZDF in Mainz. On Friday’s third ballot, 57 people voted for it in the Television Council, with one vote against and two abstentions. After the second ballot, Tina Hassell, head of the DC studio at ARD, withdrew her nomination. Choosing with real alternatives, she said, is the “crown of democracy”. Now, by pulling out, you want to help turn a small majority into a large majority.
In the first ballot, 34 television officials voted for Himmler and 24 for Hassel. On the second ballot, Himmler received 32 votes, and Hassel 28. He will succeed current program director Thomas Bilott in March 2022. He is the sixth man at the head of the ZDF, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2023.
In the morning, Himmler and Hassell presented their plans for ZDF to the Television Board. Himmler announced his desire to strengthen ZDF as a “modern media company” and make it more diversified. He wanted “ZDF for all”, as well as “against all divisive forces”. He promised that he wanted to create clear career prospects for women and “make the ZDF management more feminine”. He also announced more partnerships and networks with cultural and social institutions.
Hassell also said in her application that she wanted to make the station more diverse. ZDF should become a “space for us” and “a place for good struggles”. However, it was notable in her presentation that she was not as familiar with the station as the accomplished media director Himmler, who had drafted the program for many years. Hassell has remained fairly generic in her vision of ZDF: She advocated “renewal and new beginnings,” “diversity and humility,” she said, and advocated common-law journalism.
Born in 1971, Himmler has been the director of ZDF programs since 2012, and thus, to some extent, the natural heir to the throne of current director Thomas Bilott. For nearly 40 years, it has been a tradition at ZDF for program directors to move to the top of Europe’s largest television station.
Himmler’s “masterpiece” is the development of the special interest channel ZDFneo as the “innovation engine” for the ZDF family. The program director was responsible for the main editorial department of ZDF’s feature film from 2008 to 2012 and was also responsible for the special interest channel, which began in November 2009. At ZDFneo, known as Experimental Field, Joko, Klaas and Jan Bhmermann became known before he moved on. One to the Pro 7 and one to the main ZDF program.
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