The NDR's internal audit report on allegations of possible political influence in the Schleswig-Holstein broadcasting center did not identify any "political filters".
They could not have recognized any journalistically unjustified interventions by the editorial board when researching an article about homes for children who had been deported and also when canceling an interview with the former state interior minister Hans-Joachim Grote (CDU), "no journalistic principles were violated," write the two NDR journalists Carsten Löding and Thomas Berbner commissioned with the examination in their report, which the broadcaster distributed on Tuesday.
The "Stern" had reported on an alleged problematic influence of the editor-in-chief of the Schleswig-Holstein state radio station, Norbert Lorentzen, and the head of politics Julia Stein.
In autumn 2020 you wanted to protect the German Red Cross as the operator of homes for deported children and therefore intervened in the research for the article.
In addition, there was a private relationship between the chairwoman of the DRK Schleswig-Holstein, Annette Langner, and the then chairwoman of the Schleswig-Holstein Broadcasting Council, Jutta Schümann.
The director of the Landesfunkhaus, Volker Thormählen, is currently on unpaid leave.
The journalists involved in the examination in Schleswig-Holstein found the editorial climate to be a major problem in some areas, which was characterized in part by a lack of communication and a lack of trust, reports the NDR.
The independent team put together for the work-up conducted 66 detailed discussions and evaluated six written statements.
NDR Director General Joachim Knuth said the investigation showed that some of the allegations made were unfounded.
But they also showed "that we urgently need a cultural change in leadership and editorial cooperation in order to regain trust".
Berbner underlined that there were individual decisions "that we also view critically in retrospect".
The debate about possible influence put a heavy strain on the editorial climate in the Landesfunkhaus.
Löding explained that there were "many deficits" in the research into the deportation children, but the public allegations did not reflect the facts.
"Research went wrong here, but neither should the DRK be protected nor should research material be passed on," said Löding.
The director of the NDR state broadcasting center in Hamburg, Sabine Rossbach, had recently resigned from her positions due to allegations of influence.
According to research by "Business Insider", she is said to have enabled her older daughter, as the owner of a PR agency, to place her customers in NDR programs for years.
Rossbach is currently resting her work.
She denies the allegations.
The allegations against her are being examined by anti-corruption officer Cora Sternsdorff.
An independent team should clarify how the editorial processes were and work them up journalistically.