Read!

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Television broadcast
Original title Read! with Elke Heidenreich
Country of production Germany
original language German
Year (s) 2003-2009
genre Literary broadcast
Theme music Element of Crime : "More than it allows"
Moderation Elke Heidenreich
First broadcast April 29, 2003 on ZDF

Read! was a German literary program by and with Elke Heidenreich .

Form and content

The literary program was produced by the Second German Television from April 2003 to September 2008 and was recorded in front of an audience at the Children's Opera in Cologne soon after . From November 2008 Reading! Produced monthly in the Cologne Südstadt -neipe Backes and published on the internet at the literary portal litCOLONY.

Once a month Elke Heidenreich presented the latest new releases, but also little-known classics and audio books. Because of the short airtime of half an hour, Heidenreich limited himself to reading recommendations of around five to six books, which she considered important and of high quality, and largely dispensed with detailed literary criticism. In every program she received a prominent guest such as Marcel Reich-Ranicki , Joschka Fischer , Mario Adorf or Cordula Stratmann , who brought a book that was talked about in the program and read from it.

Read! had a major influence on the book market; after the programs, the books discussed were in high demand. Heidenreich attributed this consequence to her credibility, which she had earned through her decades of commitment to good literature.

Controversy about the program quality of the ZDF

On October 12, 2008, Heidenreich expressed his solidarity in the FAZ with Marcel Reich-Ranicki's criticism of the increasing neglect of the cultural mandate of public television on the occasion of the 2008 German TV Prize . She sharply criticized the program quality of these channels and the ZDF in particular and apparently seriously put her employment contract up for discussion. In fact, in a subsequent FAZ article after the end of the Frankfurt Book Fair , where she received a lot of support and encouragement from colleagues , she reaffirmed her will to continue the show. For over a year she had been in negotiations with ZDF about a better broadcast date without any results. When she was honored with the " Hans Bausch Mediapreis " she regretted her comments afterwards that she had "not meant all of it that way." In connection with a controversial newspaper advertisement for the Telekom subsidiary T-Home , Reich-Ranicki denied criticizing the program quality as such to have, he only meant the performances on the evening of the awards ceremony. Both Dieter Bohlen and Günter Grass then accused Reich-Ranicki of doing the same thing as what he had criticized, namely, like Bohlen, to call "dirt" dirt and to entertain it with a literary program. After that, Reich-Ranicki Heidenreich assumed an "intrigue" to want to hold the laudation on him, and took moderator and duo friend Thomas Gottschalk in protection from their criticism. On the other hand, from their point of view, this appreciation was agreed with Reich-Ranicki and a generous and rare offer, which the program makers would have brusquely rejected. When Reich-Ranicki denied having criticized the quality of television programming itself, he contradicted himself in 'his' newspaper, the FAZ .

Cancellation of the broadcast

The next morning after Reich-Ranicki's accusations, on October 23, 2008, ZDF director Markus Schächter and program director Thomas Bellut canceled the existing contract with Heidenreich by email and post. The two readings still outstanding for 2008 ! - Programs were removed from the program schedule without replacement. Although she did not hold any ZDF employees personally responsible except for Gottschalk, the termination was justified on a personal level. The journalist Bettina Röhl suspected a lack of duty of care or "duty of care" and lack of advice from FAZ co-editor Frank Schirrmacher in the two attacks by Heidenreich in the FAZ on the ZDF. In an open letter , 15 German publishers and editors asked Schächter and Bellut to reconsider the termination and to reverse it. She “broadened the discussion about books and authors in this country through the program 'Read!' fired ” , and “ brought literature to a wide audience in a unique way ” . Schächter, however, could not be changed and assigned Heidenreich the sole responsibility for her termination. In an interview with Reich-Ranicki in the magazine Cicero , a journalist claimed that the publishers had used the “sensitive argument” in their “ fire letter ” that their “Christmas business was threatened”, but this is not the case. Another example of disinformation was the assertion that the publishers described Heidenreich's literary program “with the greatest openness” as an “important sales booster” , which is also not true. This makes their credibility, their supposedly strongest quality, implausible. The same journalist also disapproved of Heidenreich's intended continued reading! , because at the beginning of 2009 she would take up a new position as a publisher with the Random House publishing group , which was only announced for autumn 2009.

Reich-Ranicki showed understanding for the termination of Heidenreich by the ZDF and also wanted to “help the ZDF”, “if the broadcaster turned to him”. In fact, program director Bellut initially wanted to ask Reich-Ranicki for help in looking for a successor to the literary program he had canceled. Such a request on the part of the ZDF was not made to him after all, as he later said. The question of succession gave many newspaper editors an opportunity to satire, and prominent people were suggested who are not primarily associated with literature. Heidenreich himself proposed the rap singer Bushido and the tabloid star Dieter Bohlen as their successors, which would finally guarantee an earlier broadcast date on ZDF. While she later reconciled with Gottschalk, she described Reich-Ranicki as a "traitor if he then says I behaved miserably and advised ZDF on a new literary program." Reich-Ranicki escalated the dispute in the magazine Cicero (December 2008) by returning took his previous praise for sending back: "what we did in the ' Literary quartet have made', took on a different intellectual level rather than the Heidenreich program" , the "halt a program for women" have been be. When asked about this, said Heidenreich: "About Marcel Reich-Ranicki is to lose no more word, this Nachtreten that we must now not comment more." She admitted that their criticism of the ZDF "maybe added a little too crass" had been , but do not regret this on the matter. "ZDF is simply a broadcaster with very stuck structures, where the same things have been running at the same times for years."

Heidenreich then received several offers from television stations, including Swiss television, to continue broadcasting in the same or a similar manner.

Read! on the Internet

Contrary to the general speculation about the future television station as Heidenreich's new employer, Heidenreich surprised with her announcement that she will be putting her program online every month from November 2008. A program is always produced and activated in the first week of the month, which corresponds to twice the number of programs as before on ZDF. It would no longer be tied to a fixed slot in the late evening and the program could be viewed around the clock.

The organizers of the lit.Cologne literary festival in Cologne could have convinced them to take this step into a new medium, claiming that the Internet was “the medium of the future”. The producers have invested half a million euros in the literature portal litCOLONY.de . According to the wish of the makers, litCOLONY.de should become the most important German literature portal . As further authors could u. a. so far Roger Willemsen and Cordula Stratmann have been won. Like Heidenreich, the portal sees itself primarily as a "mediator between publisher and reader who wants to bring more insight into the world of the unmanageable number of new publications." In particular, important authors from small publishers are to be introduced. The recording location changed from the Cologne children's opera in Heidenreich's regular bar Backes , which is very popular with artists and guests. The first guest on the new location was punk singer Campino .

At the end of April 2009, Heidenreich changed the format again and has since discussed a single publication in about five minutes as the book of the week in her library at home . In an interview with Bayerischer Rundfunk at the 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair , Heidenreich announced her withdrawal from the Internet program Reading! known at the end of the year. However, she did not rule out a continuation in the form of another literary program. In a conversation with hr2-kultur , she explained that the effort to prepare the programs had become too great for her. To be able to recommend a book, she has to read about seven books. For the near future, at least, she wants to distance herself from it.

criticism

  • The literary critic Reich-Ranicki admitted to Heidenreich in July 2007 that the public placed a great deal of trust in her judgment - regardless of the decided subjectivity of her book recommendations.
  • "Credibility. That was the formula of their success, the basis of everything that made the show the most effective literary program that German television had seen so far. ” Volker Weidermann , FAZ , October 25, 2008
  • In the book “Buy! instead of reading! ”accuses the publisher, Gunther Nickel, of Elke Heidenreich that their program could also be called“ Buy! ”without having to change the concept on which the program is based. In any case, the effect of the program is that immediately after the program has been broadcast, sales of the books discussed skyrocket.

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Tischer: Instead of electric blankets to pensioners: Heidenreich is now selling books on the Internet. November 28, 2008, accessed on August 4, 2020 (German).
  2. ↑ a b “The Backes - Center for the Essentials” ( Memento from December 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), koeln-suedstadt.de
  3. ↑ litCOLONY (text only, no video) ( Memento from December 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ a b Elke Heidenreich - in person! TV report, 2008, 30 min., First broadcast: February 16, 2008, director: Claudia Müller, production: Radio Bremen , summary ( memento from December 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) of ARD with a film excerpt. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on August 4, 2020 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.radiobremen.de , 4 min.
  5. ↑ Elke Heidenreich: "Reich-Ranicki's just anger" , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , October 12, 2008
  6. ↑ a b Elke Heidenreich: "I'll stay in it before I'm not thrown out for bad work." In: "Heidenreich against ZDF. The fight is only just beginning! ” FAZ, October 19, 2008
  7. ^ "Heidenreich and the ZDF. Taken literally ” , FAZ, October 17, 2008
  8. ↑ "If you'd just kept your mouth shut" , Süddeutsche Zeitung , October 16, 2008
  9. ^ "Reich-Ranicki speaks of" misunderstanding "" ( Memento of August 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), netzeitung , October 21, 2008
  10. ↑ DER SPIEGEL: TV scandal: Bohlen attacks Reich-Ranicki with "Vollpfosten" - DER SPIEGEL - Kultur. Retrieved August 4, 2020 .
  11. ^ "Günter Grass thinks Reich-Ranicki 'laughs'" , quotenmeter.de, October 17, 2008
  12. ↑ “Elke behaved miserably. She was still intriguing. She wanted my eulogy to be taken away from Thomas to hold it himself. ”
    In: “ After TV criticism. ZDF throws Elke Heidenreich out ” , dpa / stern , October 23, 2008
  13. ↑ “... and said that Gottschalk was giving the laudation. We agreed that he shouldn't do that, I should do it ... ”
    In: “ Reich-Ranickis just anger ” , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, October 12, 2008
  14. ↑ “Reich-Ranicki and Gottschalk against Heidenreich. Good boys, bad women ” , Spiegel online , October 22, 2008
  15. ↑ "Audio: Heidenreich criticizes German television" ( memento from October 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), Tagesschau , October 23, 2008, 7:42 min.
  16. ↑ Reich-Ranicki: “I didn't want to go to war with the broadcasters.” In: “ZDF separates from Elke Heidenreich” , FAZ, October 23, 2008
  17. ↑ Hubert Spiegel: “I couldn't take it any longer” , FAZ, October 12, 2008, interview with Reich-Ranicki
  18. ↑ "Because of your criticism of Dumm-TV. ZDF fires Elke Heidenreich! ” Picture , October 24, 2008
  19. ^ "ZDF fires Heidenreich" , Süddeutsche Zeitung, October 23, 2008.
  20. ↑ "With her statements in the FAZ and in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Ms. Heidenreich has left the level of a factual argument and publicly disparaged ZDF and some of its employees personally in an unacceptable manner." In: "Controversy about quality on TV. ZDF fires Heidenreich ” , Süddeutsche Zeitung, October 24, 2008
  21. ↑ "Elke Heidenreich's fall - defeat for Frank Schirrmacher?" Die Welt , October 23, 2008
  22. ↑ a b c “Open letter to ZDF. For Elke Heidenreich ” , Süddeutsche Zeitung, October 23, 2008
  23. ↑ “ZDF director stays tough” , Kölnische Rundschau , October 24, 2008
  24. ↑ a b c Christine Eichel: “I don't like cheap book advertising!” Cicero , December 2008, interview with Marcel Reich-Ranicki
  25. ↑ a b "Publisher in an open letter to ZDF zu Heidenreich: 'Put your concerns back'" , BuchMarkt, 23 November 2008
  26. ↑ a b Christof Siemes: "Feuerwerkerin" , Die Zeit , October 30, 2008, No. 45
  27. ↑ "Random House. Elke Heidenreich becomes publisher ” , Börsenblatt , October 23, 2008
  28. ↑ "Reich-Ranicki shows understanding for expulsion" , Tagesspiegel , October 23, 2008
  29. ^ "Controversy about quality on TV. ZDF fires Heidenreich ” , Süddeutsche Zeitung, October 24, 2008
  30. ^ "After the dispute over Heidenreich: Reich-Ranicki should advise ZDF" , Berliner Morgenpost , October 29, 2008
  31. ↑ Stefan Niggemeier: “Successor to 'Reading!' Bauer sucht Buch ” , FAZ, October 27, 2008
  32. ↑ Reinhard Mohr : “Read, full the bar!” Spiegel online, October 31, 2008
  33. ^ "ZDF needs a new Heidenreich" , Kölnische Rundschau, October 24, 2008
  34. ↑ "Elke Heidenreich sees Bohlen as his successor" , Die Welt, November 6, 2008
  35. ↑ "Gottschalk & Heidenreich. E-Mail to Elke “ , Süddeutsche Zeitung, October 28, 2008
  36. ^ Harsh criticism of Reich-Ranicki. November 17, 2008, accessed August 4, 2020 .
  37. ↑ a b “She rarely gives reasons” , FAS , July 15, 2007
    “[Everyone feels: she is right or not, but she is always completely sincere. Readers are happy to follow their suggestions. However: Elke Heidenreich is at the center of our literary life. And that's good."
  38. ^ "Reich-Ranicki criticizes Heidenreich's level" , Die Welt, November 19, 2008
  39. ↑ a b c d "Elke Heidenreich negotiates a new program" , Die Welt, November 13, 2008
  40. ↑ Wega Wetzel: "Heidenreich wants to continue reading" , Berliner Morgenpost , November 25, 2008
  41. ↑ "Elke Heidenreich publishes 'Reading!' into the Internet ” , Heise online , November 28, 2008
  42. ↑ Kathrin Buchner: "Elke Heidenreich reads on the Internet" , stern, November 28, 2008
  43. ↑ "Litcolony. Heidenreich will read online in future ” , Kölner Stadtanzeiger , November 28, 2008
  44. ↑ "Elke Heidenreich goes with" Reading! " online “ , Märkische Allgemeine , November 28, 2008
  45. ↑ sha / ddp : “Heidenreich stops 'reading!'” Spiegel online , October 16, 2009
  46. ↑ hr2-kultur , Culture Breakfast, November 15, 2009, conversation with Kathrin Fischer.
  47. ↑ Volker Weidermann: "Fatale Konsequenz" , FAZ, October 25, 2008
  48. ↑ Gunther Nickel (Ed.): Buy it! instead of reading! Literary criticism in crisis? Göttingen 2006