2024-02-18 19:25:53
The former “Bild” boss Julian Reichelt has recently become managing director of the rowdy Internet portal “Nius”. This now has to answer unpleasant questions from media supervision.
The confession under the article on the “Nius” site was embarrassing: “In a first version, the ARD magazines ‘Kontraste’ and ‘Monitor’ were confused,” was written under a text in which the portal made accusations against the editorial director of “Kontraste “, Georg Heil, raised. In addition, the editorial team initially “wrote that a request remained unanswered even though it had not been sent.”
The portal had published a scandalous story with allegations against Heil, but had forgotten to send him questions about it – and also mixed up the programs in the text without his statement.
The text has not been available for a few days. But one thing is clear: the article was probably a new low point for the former “Bild” editor-in-chief and current “Nius” creator Julian Reichelt – and very inappropriately timed. According to information from t-online, Reichelt’s online portal “nius.de” landed on the radar of the responsible media authority Berlin-Brandenburg (Mabb). Several complaints to the institution have raised the question of the extent to which “Nius” violates the journalistic duty of care.
According to the imprint, Reichelt is now responsible
You have to know that, unlike the “Bild” newspaper, “Nius” is not subject to the Press Council’s self-regulation. He can issue reprimands on his own initiative and in response to reader complaints; “Bild” and its then boss Reichelt were far ahead in the inglorious ranking.
But with “Nius” different rules apply. For commercial offers with journalistic content that have operated for years without any supervision, the State Media Treaty, which has been in force since 2020, stipulates that the state media authorities can check the content for compliance with minimum journalistic standards.
Now Reichelt, who had to leave “Bild” after allegations of abuse of power, is listed as the person responsible in the “Nius” imprint: Since Monday, he has been entered in the commercial register as a managing director of Vius Management SE, the company behind the portal operator Vius SE & Co .KGaA.
Initially ridiculed as a conservative niche medium, the portal has often sparked outrage in recent months and received several injunctions against its articles. The criticism of “Nius” is again and again that it shows a distorted picture by omitting important information. t-online wanted to give the “Nius” creators the opportunity to present their own view of the criticism. But within around 24 hours there was no response, and after another extension of the deadline, the message was that they didn’t want to say anything.
He does “opinion journalism, but based on facts,” Reichelt said in a recent interview. “Extremely a lot of research, extremely busy work” precedes his contributions, he said in the “Weltwoche” interview with the right-wing populist Swiss politician Roger Köppel. For him that means something like: “I don’t think anyone in Germany watches so many Baerbock, Habeck and Ricarda Lang videos.”
Reichelt: “Blowing up left-wing language”
Reichelt seems almost obsessed with the Greens. The 43-year-old no longer calls the party and its members by name. “Green” sounds too positive, he explained. He speaks of “eco-socialists” or at most the “Green Party”. So he doesn’t call them what they are called, but rather what seems to fit the concept better.
Reichelt also makes no secret of the fact that he chooses brutal means to achieve his political goals. He recognized that the “left-wing language of the German media and politics must be blown up.” He puts a lot of effort into “deciphering the left-wing propaganda language.” That means: He “translates” what he thinks is meant – even if it wasn’t actually said that way.
Political scientist Markus Linden, on the other hand, sees the offer from “Nius” as a “right-wing populist agitation format with a journalistic touch”. At the University of Trier, the professor researches the theory and empiricism of democracy; among other things, he deals with the New Right and the relevance of so-called alternative media. In an interview with t-online, he says that he sees a double strategy at the portal: on the one hand, “moderate” formats with democratic politicians, and on the other hand, “sensational, riotous formats in which there is no visible connection to journalistic duties of care.”