New WDR director-general: Vernau wins "criminal" election
Katrin Vernau is the new Intendant of WDR. The last meters of the way to the top of the largest ARD institution are tense: The former Administrative Director of WDR ran in a close race against prominent competitors.
Corinna Blümel, a member of the WDR Broadcasting Council, found the election of Katrin Vernau as the new WDR Intendant "really a bit criminal." The former WDR Administrative Director won the thrilling runoff election at the historic Cologne Tanzhaus Gürzenich against "Tagesthemen" moderator Helge Fuhst. Vernau received 36 votes, Fuhst 18. Previously, in the first round of voting, the two competitors, WDR Program Director and "Pressclub" moderator Jörg Schönenborn and ZDF Washington Studio Leader Elmar Theveßen, had already been eliminated.
"I'm a bit overwhelmed," Vernau said after the election. Before the election, it was not clear whether there would be a favorite, as all four candidates had long biographies and already held high positions in public-service broadcasting.
None of the original four candidates reached a majority in the first round of voting - at least 28 of 55 votes. Therefore, the second round was a runoff between the two top candidates. The vote distribution in the first round was as follows: Vernau received 17 votes, Fuhst 16, Schönenborn 15, and Theveßen 7 votes.
"Courage for Change"
The native of Baden-Württemberg Vernau succeeds Tom Buhrow, who did not seek a third term and resigned at the end of the year. The former "Tagesthemen" moderator had declared in 2013 after his own election as Intendant that he would bring love with him. Asked what she would bring, Vernau now answered: "Courage. The courage to change."
Buhrow leaves big footprints. He reformed the largest ARD broadcaster. In recent years, there was a cost-cutting program with the elimination of hundreds of jobs. Most recently, Buhrow designed a large image of public-service broadcasting for the future.
Vernau is "a completely honest person," Buhrow assured. "She conducts her actions according to principles, and she sticks to them. She is not just a numbers person, but she is a person who is interested in the entire mission of public-service broadcasting." The Media Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Nathanael Liminski, described Vernau as an experienced leadership figure.
A Lot of Money, Great Pressure
WDR holds a special power position within the ARD due to its size. The revenues from the broadcasting fee in the most populous federal state were around 1.3 billion Euros in the year 2023, with about 4100 permanent employees and over 2400 freelance workers active for the broadcaster. Argus eyes should be kept on how Vernau works with the other ARD program directors and also with the ZDF in the future. The public-service broadcasting sector is currently under high budget and reform pressure.
"In the presentation round before the Radio Council, Vernau presented eight points on how she intends to lead the publicly-funded ARD broadcaster into the future. She spoke in favor of more regionality, more courage in shaping ARD reforms, and more collaborations with private companies, for instance in the field of Artificial Intelligence. The necessary transformation of the WDR goes significantly beyond a journalistic task, Vernau stated.
Unlike the three other candidates, the business economist Vernau is not a journalist by training. A notable detail emerged during the election: The Radio Council members had no open questions left for Vernau at the end - the predefined 20 minutes question time, displayed on a large screen, were not utilized by the Manager.
"A Great Day for the WDR"
In response to the Radio Council's question as to why one could trust her, she replied: "Because I have done it before." In 2022, she was elected as the interim manager of the Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) in a crisis situation for one year. Her mission was considered successful, yet she was still sent back to Cologne. Was it a fortunate turn of events because the WDR is much larger than the RBB? She is absolutely not career-driven, and therefore the size of the broadcaster does not play a decisive role, Buhrow answered on her behalf.
The interim CEO had returned structure to the RBB at a remarkable pace. She clarified internally, ended the cost-exploding Digitales Medienhaus project, strengthened the internal audit, revealed the impending million-dollar gap, and introduced a 49-million-euro savings plan with staff reductions. She reported to the Landtags of Brandenburg and Berlin. She announced management team members. All this earned her respect. As Buhrow left the Gürzenich today, he assured her: "A great day for the WDR."
WDR's new Intendant, Katrin Vernau, has expressed her intentions to bring "Courage for Change" to her role, following in the footsteps of her predecessor, Tom Buhrow, who reformed the largest ARD broadcaster. As a part of public-service broadcasting, WDR, with its significant revenue and workforce, faces high budget and reform pressure, making decisions like Vernau's crucial for the sector.
ARD, which WDR is a part of, is an international public broadcasting organization. Along with WDR, other ARD institutions like SWR, NDR, and NDR also contribute to this collective. As the new Intendant, Vernau's decisions will impact not only WDR but also the overall direction of ARD's public service broadcasting.
