2023-11-21 19:39:45
The Grimme Awards have been something like the German TV Oscars for over 50 years, and the Grimme Institute is an important media authority. Filmmakers warn of cuts.
Marl.
In view of the Grimme Institute’s current financial difficulties, prominent actors and TV personalities have warned of cuts and called for the institute to be adequately funded. “We learned with great concern about the economic situation of the Grimme Institute and the staff cuts you are planning,” says the letter to the Grimme shareholders, which was distributed via a Cologne agency.
Actresses, presenters and TV creators such as Hannes Jaenicke, Maren Kroymann, Carolin Kebekus, Anke Engelke, Joko Winterscheid, Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, Charly Hübner and Veronica Ferres have signed.
The Grimme Institute is best known for its renowned TV awards. It is said that it has been providing audiences with valuable guidance for over 50 years. “This traditional media institution must be protected,” demand the media professionals.
The media institute, which currently has 21 full-time positions, was founded in 1973 by the German Adult Education Association (DVV). The comparatively small institute with its budget of a good three million euros got into financial problems due, among other things, to higher collective agreements, higher event and energy costs for the Marl institute headquarters, as Grimme boss Frauke Gerlach recently reported on the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebration. She announced that a deficit of around 430,000 euros is expected for 2024.
In addition to the DVV, the shareholders are the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which accounts for 80 percent of the budget, the WDR and ZDF, the state media authority as well as the Media Foundation NRW and the city of Marl.
“As the difficult financing situation worsened in spring 2023, the shareholders provided the management with external consulting expertise,” the institute said in a statement. The contracted management consultancy suggested necessary restructuring measures for implementation at the end of October 2023, it said. What they consist of remains unclear for the time being. A shareholders’ meeting is planned for this Wednesday (November 22nd). A decision should be made at another meeting in mid-December at the latest. (dpa)
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