Top German Editor Fired After Report On Workplace Behavior - Forbes

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Topline

The co-editor-in-chief of influential German center-right tabloid Bild, Julian Reichelt, was relieved of his duties by parent company Axel Springer on Monday, a day after a report was published in the New York Times detailing allegations of inappropriate behavior with female subordinates.

Key Facts

Times media columnist Ben Smith described uncovering “a workplace culture that mixed sex, journalism and company cash” at Bild, Axel Springer’s flagship publication.

Reichelt, whom the Times called as “perhaps the most powerful newspaper editor in Europe,” apparently had a relationship with a young trainee, who testified as part of a company investigation that he took her to a hotel for sex and told her to keep a special €5,000 payment secret.

Axel Springer said in a press released Monday that though Reichelt was cleared of sexual harassment or coercion in March, he “still failed to maintain a clear boundary between private and professional matters and was also untruthful to the Executive Board in this regard.”

Reichelt was promoted to the top job in 2017 and, after a 12-day leave of absence following the investigation earlier this year, was made co-editor with Alexandra Würzbach.

He will be replaced by Johannes Boie, editor-in-chief of another Axel Springer publication, Welt am Sonntag.

Crucial Quote

“That’s how it always goes at Bild,” the female employee told investigators from a law firm hired by Axel Springer, according to the Times report. “Those who sleep with the boss get a better job.” A spokeswoman for Axel Springer and Reichelt told the paper that her testimony contained “some inaccurate facts” but did not provide any specifics.

Key Background

Axel Springer has been making moves beyond Germany in recent years with its $450 million purchase of Insider, formerly Business Insider in 2015 and Politico for $1 billion this summer. A “sneaky” deal by the publisher to merge Politico with its rival Axios ultimately fell through, according to Smith’s column. The Times characterized Bild’s center-right slant as growing particularly “sharp-edged” during Reichelt’s tenure, pointing to its criticism of immigration and Covid-19 restrictions.