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Former government spokesperson Ulrike Demmer

Photo: Karlheinz Schindler/ dpa

Almost a year after reports in the »Business Insider« shook the Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) and finally led to the resignation of the then director Patricia Schlesinger, the search for a new directorship could finally come to an end. Tomorrow, Tuesday, the broadcaster will propose a list of candidates for the post. According to SPIEGEL information, there is a prominent name on it.

The journalist Ulrike Demmer, who worked until 2021 as deputy spokeswoman for the federal government under Chancellor Angela Merkel, is therefore seeking the office. This was reported by several sources to SPIEGEL, and the "Tagesspiegel" had first written about the possible personnel.

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Demmers are given good chances internally. In addition to her positions in the private media market, she also has experience in public broadcasting: The journalist worked as a project manager in the communications and marketing department of Radio Eins from 1998 to 2000, completed a traineeship at ZDF and worked as a reporter and editor at ZDF Morgenmagazin. Later, she worked for SPIEGEL as a correspondent for defense and security policy and headed the capital office of the »Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland«.

Artistic director without application

Originally, RBB had received almost 50 applications for the top job, but a selection committee had reduced the broad field to a "low single-digit number", as an insider says.

According to the Tagesspiegel, at least one other candidate has remained in the race: Jan Weyrauch, current program director of Radio Bremen. The 55-year-old's experience in the young and digital world speaks for itself: Weyrauch was co-founder of the rbb youth wave Radio Fritz and played a key role in the creation of »funk«, the digital content network of ARD and ZDF, and he also accompanied the creation of the ARD Audiothek.

It is still unclear whether the incumbent RBB director Katrin Vernau could find a majority in the Broadcasting Council. She did not participate in the application for the leadership position, but at the same time declared her willingness to remain in office. Vernau had taken over the office after Schlesinger's resignation on an interim basis and prescribed an austerity course for the station. It is possible that she will be named as a candidate at a later moment.

According to SPIEGEL information, the candidates are to present themselves to the RBB Broadcasting Council next Thursday in an extraordinary meeting, where the modalities for the Internet election are also to be discussed. This is scheduled for 16 June.