Kurt Kuch

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Kurt Michael Kuch (born August 10, 1972 in Oberwart , Burgenland ; † January 3, 2015 in Graz ) was an Austrian journalist and author.

Life

Kurt Kuch comes from Oberwart and attended the Oberschützen grammar school and the BHAK / BHAS Oberwart. Kurt Kuch worked for the news magazine News from 1996 . In 2005 he became chief reporter, and from 2009 he also held the position of head of domestic affairs. In 2011 he became deputy editor-in-chief.

Detective journalist

Kuch was considered an investigative journalist and investigator . Among other things, he brought details and backgrounds to the Hypo Alpe Adria cause , the Telekom affair , the BUWOG affair and the Eurofighter affair . In 2013, Kuch published information from the offshore leaks datasets in News about letterbox companies from Herbert Stepic , who soon after resigned from his position as CEO of Raiffeisen International . Alfred Worm , editor of News until his death in 2007 , praised him as one of the best investigative journalists of the younger generation. Editor-in-chief Peter Pelinka said about Kuch that he had achieved something groundbreaking, especially in uncovering the telecommunications affair. For the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) of the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), Kuch worked as one of around 110 journalists worldwide.

Kuch's publications have also been cited in international magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post , the Philadelphia Inquirer , USA Today , in der Zeit , the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Welt .

Illness and death

In mid-February 2014, Kuch, who had previously been a chain smoker and consumed three packs a day, quit smoking. At the beginning of April 2014, Kuch went to the hospital because of a severe stabbing in his back with a medically suspected herniated disc. After a detailed examination, a lung tumor with a diameter of 11 cm and metastases in the bones was diagnosed: “In fact, I was already in the terminal stage. [...] It would have gone well for two or three weeks, then I would have been dead. ”After consulting with his family and consulting with the Green politician Karl Öllinger , who also had cancer , he went public shortly afterwards on social media, where he recorded his battle with cancer. When asked in an interview with the Falter , he justified this by saying that he could not demand transparency from others, but could withdraw himself into the snail shell. As a result, he supported the anti-smoking initiative Don't smoke , and campaigned aggressively against smoking and for the protection of non-smokers.

A few days before the turn of the year Kurt Kuch was admitted to the hospital treating him in Graz. On January 3, 2015, he died there in the presence of his family from cancer at the age of 42. He made his last Facebook entry on New Year's Eve. He posted a photo of the hospital bed with a bottle of champagne in his hand and noted with confidence: "We won't let the partying be taken away, especially since the best part of our life is not over yet!"

Key quotes on his illness

In a detailed interview in News magazine in November 2014, Kuch commented in detail on the background to his cancer as well as on his socio-political view against smoking and non-smoker protection.

When asked what his first thoughts were after being diagnosed with lung cancer:

“That I wouldn't see my daughter's wedding, now 12 years old. Everything passed by: her high school diploma, her first boyfriend - that I wouldn't be there for anything just because I, idiot, believed I had to smoke. I could have killed myself in that second out of sheer infinite stupidity. "

When Kuch started smoking:

“I started when I was 13. At the commercial college, I smoked about a box a day. I knew I needed around 50  schillings a day: that's a liter of gasoline for the Vespa , a pack of Tschick and a little brownie in the coffee house. And I always came up with this sum with student jobs. When I went to college it turned out to be two packs of cigarettes. And since I was 30, there have been three boxes. "

When asked how much has come together over the years:

“When I stopped smoking this year - a few weeks before I was diagnosed with cancer - I calculated that there were around 457,000 cigarettes. At that time, I did a health check-up that showed that I had smoked - purely mathematically - for 56 years. And I think that's enough. "

Private

Kuch was married for 13 years and had a daughter (* 2002). The family lives in Bad Tatzmannsdorf . He had a brother and a younger sister who took care of him as a senior physician. His father, who socialized him politically and “read the newspaper with me”, was the social democratic deputy mayor of Oberwart.

Awards

Publications

literature

  • Nina Bayer: Fight for life. (Portrait); “I decide when to go bald.” (Interview). In: Statement, June 2014 issue, pp. 16–18 ( PDF online ).
  • Ingrid Brodnig : “I won't let my illness shit my day.” […] A conversation about illness as a taboo and support via social media. In: Falter , August 28, 2014, edition 35/2014, p. 21 ( online at falter.at ).
  • Florian Klenk : The fearless one. News uncoverer Kurt Kuch is our journalist of the year. He reconciles the boulevard and quality journalism. In: Falter, edition 52/2014, December 23, 2014, p. 29f ( online at falter.at ).
  • Anna-Maria Wallner: Journalist Kurt Kuch has died. Detailed obituary in: Die Presse , print edition of January 4, 2015 ( online at diePresse.com ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Party, Gangoly Oberwart's funeral . Accessed January 6, 2015.
  2. ↑ a b c Die Presse, print edition from January 4, 2015, see literature .
  3. ↑ a b c perlentaucher.de - Kurt Kuch . Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  4. ↑ a b observer.at - Kurt Kuch becomes deputy editor-in-chief of News ( Memento from January 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). Article from October 13, 2011, accessed on January 3, 2015.
  5. ↑ ICIJ: Offshore Leaks Revelations Force Resignation of Top European Banker Article from May 24, 2013, accessed on January 3, 2015.
  6. ↑ derStandard.at - "News" uncoverer Kurt Kuch died of lung cancer . Article from January 3, 2015, accessed on January 3, 2015.
  7. ^ ICIJ - About This Project: Secrecy For Sale . Article from April 3, 2013, accessed on January 3, 2015.
  8. ↑ a b Kurt Kuch on Twitter : “Now I put myself under a bit of social pressure. The first two days without Marlboro are over. #rauchpause “. Entry from February 14, 2014.
  9. ↑ a b Note: Received many times in the Austrian media.
  10. ↑ a b c NEWS-Aufdecker: I fight against cancer. Kurt Kuch: "If I let myself go, the cancer won in the second" . In: News , November 6, 2014. Accessed January 3, 2015.
  11. ↑ Falter, edition 35/2014, p. 21, see literature .
  12. ↑ orf.at - Cancer: Kurt Kuch relies on the Internet . Article dated July 7, 2014, accessed on January 3, 2015.
  13. ↑ orf.at - Kurt Kuch supports anti-smoking campaign . Article of October 27, 2014, accessed on January 3, 2015.
  14. ↑ Quoted from: Michael Huber: Journalist Kurt Kuch lost his fight; and: KURIER colleagues say goodbye. Politics & Sunday KURIER boss Josef Votzi and editor Ida Metzger remember. In: Kurier , January 3, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  15. ↑ Entry from November 26, 2014 on Kurt Kuch's Twitter account. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  16. ↑ a b Falter, edition 52/2014, p. 29f, see literature .
  17. ↑ The Journalists of 2011 . The Austrian Journalist, issue 12/2011 and 01/2012, accessed on January 17, 2015.
  18. ↑ Journalist Prize - Honor for Kurt Kuch . Article dated December 16, 2011, accessed on January 17, 2015.
  19. ↑ Julia Ortner (ZIB 2), Johannes Kaup (Ö 1) and Kurt Kuch (News) were awarded the Renner Prize . APA notification dated December 19, 2012, accessed on January 3, 2015.
  20. ↑ derStandard.at - ORF correspondent Wehrschütz is journalist of the year . Article of December 16, 2014, accessed on January 3, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Kuch, Kurt
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kuch, Kurt Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian journalist and book author
DATE OF BIRTH August 10, 1972
PLACE OF BIRTH Oberwart
DATE OF DEATH January 3, 2015
Place of death Graz