Reputation's Underbelly
Renowned German journalist and documentary filmmaker Hubert Seipel, an imposing 73-year-old figure and the most popular professional Putin observer, flaunting in his white coat, boasting about his objectivity and measured approach to Russian authorities, turns out to have done so not entirely selflessly. The results of a self-investigation by German media were revealed on the Frontal program on ZDF channel on Tuesday evening.
What a passage. Some call it bribery.
Hard to believe.
Many Germans saw Putin through Seipel's eyes. How to live with this now?
Sponsorship
Document leaks revealed:
Seipel received hundreds of thousands of euros through intermediary companies, meaning from offshore entities linked to influential Russian billionaire and owner of "Power Machines" and "Severstal" companies, Mordashov. (Alexey Mordashov is one of the wealthiest individuals in Russia and is on the sanctions lists of the EU and the USA.)
These are the findings of an investigation by 69 global media outlets under the headline "Cyprus Confidential," under the auspices of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and German Paper Trail Media.
According to documents obtained by journalists, five years ago Seipel – with ink or blood? – signed a sponsorship agreement. He was supposed to bring in a minimum of 600,000 euros for the journalist. This amount was allocated for the creation and promotion of a book on the "political climate in Russia."
Sales of books by a Kremlin-friendly German journalist have been halted following #CyprusConfidential revelations he had a secret book deal with an oligarch. Here’s what ICIJ’s media partners uncovered:https://t.co/QGlDAggbag
— ICIJ (@ICIJorg) November 20, 2023
Such a book became "Putin's Power. Why Russia to Europe?" It was published in 2021 by the Hamburg-based Hoffmann und Campe publishing house. Additionally, the documents indicate that, apparently, a similar agreement for a separate amount was made for the preparation of Seipel's previous book "Putin: The Logic of Power" (2015).
Readers remained in the dark about sponsorship agreements and conflicts of interest. There was silence about them in Seipel's books. It turns out that even the publisher of bestsellers was unaware of them. This is stated in Hoffmann und Campe's response to the investigators' inquiry.
Hubert Seipel and Russian money
Hubert, you're not young anymore, why do you need this shame? That's what he should have asked himself. But he didn't, and now he's unconvincingly making excuses.
In an interview on the radio show SWR1 People in 2021, Seipel was asked if he ever received fees from Russia. Initially, he refused to answer the question, saying "Geht's noch?" But he eventually responded with a clear "No".
Now, with incriminating evidence at hand, the reluctant recipient of Mordashov's money finally, and belatedly, admitted that books about Putin were sponsored by the Russian billionaire. However, notably, he does not believe that this discredits his writings. A blind eye, as they say.
Firstly, argues the seasoned pro, the contract includes a provision: the writer has no obligations to the sponsor regarding the "composition and content of the book." Also, because "Mordashov is an entrepreneur; he sponsors projects with private funds."
The German journalists' benefactor, Mordashov, asked for nothing but convincingly remained silent!
Seipel specifies that the money went to support his book projects, not his film or public activities. "My books have sparked active debate and ideological battles. Nevertheless, no specific factual errors have been found in any of them," Seipel awkwardly justifies himself.
But the aftertaste remains. Seipel is one of the few journalists who had direct contact with the Russian leader. He claimed to have "spoken a hundred times" with Putin. It didn't pass without a trace.
"The struggle in the 1990s, when the state went bankrupt, and superpowers plundered the country in the most barbaric way, tempered Putin. [...] Since then, Putin has tirelessly traveled across the vast territory of Russia. If necessary, he is ready to personally fly through all nine time zones to make sure everything is in order. Almost a hopeless task for one person in such a gigantic country. [...] He rules for the good of the country: one man, one mission," journalists quote an excerpt from Seipel's speeches.
There's no need to distort facts; you can just carefully select them. They say Pol Pot loved ballpoint pens; it's so touching. Well, and evaluations – can't they be given? After all, we live in a free country!
Dubious incense spread throughout Germany, on the airwaves, and in books published in several languages.
Seipel's film "Giant 'Gazprom' – Germans and Their Gas from the East" (2009) was nominated for the Grimme Award. And the documentary shown on ZDF, "I, Putin. Portrait" (2012), is nominated for the German Television Award for Best Reportage. The film shows how Putin hunts, plays hockey, and travels around Moscow in a limousine with Seipel. Emotionally shot.
"Previously, shots where Seipel confidentially looks into Putin's eyes were considered evidence of journalistic skill and the ability to speak soulfully with any interview partner. Now they are given a different interpretation – against the backdrop of 'support' through Mordashov's firm," notes journalist Anna Rose. – The scandal is particularly painful because the ARD broadcasting company is part of Germany's public-law television. And it is funded by citizens' subscription fees and is supposed to provide them with objective, independent information. The NDR (North German Broadcasting) television company is the western German branch of ARD.
Seeing is Easy. Predicting is Hard
Temptation proved irresistible. It can be assumed that at the moment when the first financial tranches were deposited into the designated account, things were far from being so compromised. We are reminded that just two years ago, the majority in Germany paid little attention to the fact that former Chancellor Schröder was receiving a fantastic salary from Moscow.
The NDR channel has now stated that it knows nothing about the financing of books and temporarily blocked access to Seipel's films. Hoffmann und Campe publishing house has halted the sale of books written by Seipel.
Now, reporter Paul Ronzheimer judges harshly:
"As a journalist and a person, I feel nothing but contempt for Hubert Seipel's behavior. Seipel allowed himself to be bribed by a war criminal and told journalists, like me and others, on talk shows, especially after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, that we are all naive and that Putin is largely right in his criticism of NATO, etc. It's so disgusting that you don't even know what to say about it.In the case of Hubert Seipel, the question also arises as to how one could tolerate and glorify this tendentious Putin journalism on public television in Germany for more than ten years without critical questions and discussions. Those who hired him and invited him to talk shows must now explain why no one questioned this Putin propaganda. And those who awarded him journalism prizes (Telepreis, Grimme) must urgently revoke them"
Im Fall Hubert Seipel stellt sich auch die Frage, wie dieser tendenziöse Putin-Journalismus im öffentlich rechtlichen Fernsehen über ein Jahrzehnt lang in Deutschland geduldet und gefeiert werden konnte ohne kritische Nachfragen oder Diskussionen. Diejenigen, die ihn beschäftigt…
— Paul Ronzheimer (@ronzheimer) November 14, 2023
And the tireless Seipel is working on a new book. It "will take into account the modern geopolitical context." Perhaps selflessly. For this, he met with Putin in the autumn of 2022.
