Alexander Teske, a long-time planning editor for the ARD Tagesschau, previously a MDR employee from 1998 to 2017, gave an exclusive interview to the Berliner Zeitung before the publication of his book “Inside Tagesschau” (paywall). Teske recounts that Tagesschau colleagues “tried on all fronts” to get a hold of the manuscript before publication. Long-time ARD editors had contacted the publisher, “under the pretext that they would discuss book publications”.
Teske emphasizes that he is “not a frustrated employee”. After six years of working as an ARD planning editor, he came to the realization that it was time to share the inner workings of the powerful broadcasting company with the public. His contract was not renewed beforehand. He explains:
“Each editor [of a broadcasting company] is sent to Hamburg for a limited time, almost as if on loan. I had a two-year contract that was always renewed. After six years, it was over, so as not to get stuck.”
The idea for the book developed from private conversations and a general societal perception of a lack of understanding about the broadcasting company. According to Teske, the book was initially intended to be an explanatory book, but during the writing process, he realized how many conflicts there were within the editorial team, and that this was the more interesting part.
Teske faced resistance when searching for a publisher, with several major publishing houses, including big ones, declining the book due to its content. One publisher mentioned that they did not want to risk damaging their relationship with the public broadcasting company, as they rely on the company’s publications and reports about their books and authors.
Another argument for the rejection was the fear of pleasing the “wrong side”. Teske reveals “no business secrets” and believes that there is a legitimate public interest in learning how the decision-making process works at the country’s most important news brand.
The ARD Tagesschau, considered the “flagship” of the broadcaster, had an average of around 9.55 million viewers in 2024. In 2020, the ARD, with its news programs Tagesschau and Tagesthemen, received a special award for outstanding performance in the Corona reporting from the “German Television Prize” jury, stating: “The Corona crisis has shown how high the information needs of the people are and how credible journalism can help find orientation.”
Teske recounts his experiences as a young East German editor under a predominantly West German team, saying that his first contribution was not broadcast because they “gossiped” about it:
“It was sent, but someone else wrote it. That Bavarians can speak Bavarian is something I didn’t notice at the time. I mostly had doubts about myself, not about the others.”
He quickly realized that “we had perhaps twelve East Germans out of a total of 300 editors”.
Teske describes internal opinion leaders in the editorial department, saying:
“It all depends on the influence of the individual ARD studios. Washington, for example, has enormous influence, and four editors can exert a lot of pressure. It’s harder for a single editor to cover the whole of South America. The dominance of the USA and the Western world is very strong, and the East is very weakly represented.”
Regarding the Ukraine reporting, Teske states:
“The Ukraine was covered by the Moscow studio until the Russian army’s invasion. Then, quickly, reporters were sent who couldn’t speak the language and didn’t have connections.”
An East German colleague, who had spoken out against weapon deliveries, was never put back on the air again:
“After her MDR comment, there was a counterwind in the editorial team, although many in this country think that way. . She was accused of having connections in the weapons lobby. And it was then said that that’s not true. But it is true. The Tagesschau’s reporting fits the worldview of the editors.”
The manipulative discrediting and stereotyping of East Germans during the Pegida demonstrations and the “famous hat man” peaked in the Spiegel headline “So isser, der Ossi” (That’s it, the Ossi). However, it was later revealed that the hat man actually worked for the State Criminal Office of Saxony.
The “worldview” of the ARD editors is characterized by the fact that “everyone is taken in by their own importance”. It is a “honor to work for the Tagesschau, but it’s just a job like any other”, Teske says. “It’s also instilled in them how important they are, how they influence public opinion.”
At the end of the very long interview, the former ARD employee admits that he “didn’t sleep well a few nights, also because the Tagesschau put so much pressure on him”. The editor-in-chief wrote to him, “as if I were still his subordinate”.
The descriptions and internal affairs described in the book are, according to Teske, “balanced and not a vendetta, I have checked the facts three times and tried to remove any emotions, not to sound angry”. However, he fears:
“They won’t like it.