Television - Former ZDF director Dieter Stolte dies
Former ZDF director Dieter Stolte is dead. He died on Sunday in Berlin at the age of 89, the public broadcaster announced on Monday evening in Mainz. Stolte was at the helm of ZDF from 1982 to 2002. Director General Norbert Himmler paid tribute to him as a staunch advocate of the public broadcasting system.
"For Dieter Stolte, television was not only a reporter, but also the motor of German unity," Himmler was quoted as saying in the press release. With the accession of the new federal states to the ZDF State Treaty in 1990, ZDF was given a nationwide program mandate as a national broadcaster.
According to ZDF, many of the station's major program brands such as "Terra X", "The TV Movie of the Week" and the "Saturday Thriller" were launched during Stolte's time in office. The "ZDF-Mittagsmagazin" was launched in 1989, followed by the "ZDF-Morgenmagazin" in 1992.
"Dieter Stolte built ZDF into a modern, competitive media company," said Himmler. "3sat, Arte, KiKa, Phoenix, ZDF's first digital channels - all of this happened during his four terms in office." Former ZDF editor-in-chief Klaus Bresser told Bild: "Dieter was a good friend and an outstanding director who always had ZDF's well-being firmly in mind."
Under his aegis, public broadcaster ZDF had to prepare itself for the new competition from private television - and had to decide on the first drastic cost-cutting measures due to a dramatic fall in advertising revenue.
Stolte was born in Cologne in 1934 and joined ZDF in 1962 as personal assistant to the founding director Karl Holzamer. In 1967, he reportedly became head of the newly created program planning department. In 1976, he took up the post of program director. In 2002, Stolte handed over his post to Markus Schächter.
ZDF statement on Stolte
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- Dieter Stolte, the former director of ZDF, was praised by his successor Norbert Himmler as a strong advocate for the public broadcasting system in Germany.
- After the new federal states joined the ZDF State Treaty in 1990, ZDF gained a nationwide program mandate, thanks in part to Stolte's leadership.
- Under Stolte's leadership, ZDF launched several popular program brands, such as "Terra X" and "The TV Movie of the Week," and introduced programs like "ZDF-Mittagsmagazin" and "ZDF-Morgenmagazin."
- Born in Cologne in 1934, Stolte joined ZDF in 1962 as personal assistant to the founding director and later became head of the program planning department and program director.
- As the director of ZDF, Dieter Stolte had to navigate the challenges of new competition from private television and implement cost-cutting measures due to a decline in advertising revenue.
Source: www.stern.de
