Martin Blumenau

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Martin Blumenau (born November 5, 1960 in Vienna ; † July 30, 2021 there ) was an Austrian journalist and radio presenter . He was one of the founders of the ORF radio program FM4 .

Life

From 1981, Blumenau worked as a journalist, first for various youth and music magazines (such as, etc. - Magazin für Jugendkultur ), later as an editor at Kurier and AZ . In 1983 he started working for the radio station Ö3 . Here he worked for the programs Die Musicbox , Treffpunkt , Radiothek and Nachtexpress , but also for Ö1 programs such as Diagonal . From 1992 he was the editor in charge of the program ZickZack .

In 1994, together with Angelika Lang and Mischa Zickler , he created the concept for the newly founded youth radio station FM4 of the ORF, where, among other things, he presented the desired music programs room service and bonus track . Subsequently, he worked there as an editor and producer, with special responsibility for press work, long-term planning and position papers. After the conversion from FM4 to 24-hour operation in 2000, he was officially Head of T&C (Traffic & Continuity), responsible for internal communication and coordination as well as strategy and listener service at FM4. From 2004 Blumenau acted as a juror at the protest song contest . He died in Vienna at the end of July 2021 after a brief serious illness at the age of 60.

broadcasts

Blumenau appeared in public as the presenter of the FM4 programs room service (music request program, Sunday evening; since January 1995) and bonus track (initially a phone-in program, then more as a "talk radio" concept, Wednesday night, as a talk box in the summer of 1997) can also be seen in the TV program of the ORF). In addition, up to and including 2016, there was an annually recurring Christmas on Christmas Eve with a friend , Blumenau, a phone-in broadcast lasting several hours, titled in reference to the previously broadcast Christmas without friends with Stermann and Grissemann .

reception

Blumenau's sometimes controversial, idiosyncratic style of moderation led to occasional polarization among FM4 listeners. In particular, his critical attitude towards opinions that were taken unquestioningly from the media was sometimes understood as displeasure towards the listeners. The satirists Stermann and Grissemann, for their part, like to exaggerate this image of Blumenau in their articles, such as the “FM4 diaries”, by portraying “Chief Controller Blumenau” as an unjust, tyrannical ruler over the FM4 editorial team. Even within the Austrian music scene, Blumenau's style of discussion, which was perceived as aggressive or arrogant, was the subject of disputes. There was a public dispute with the Viennese music journalist Karl Fluch ( Der Standard ) in January 2009 after Blumenau had criticized the “never-ending bottom of domestic pop review culture” in his blog. Fluch responded by rating the blog as a “toy of an egomaniacal me-machine” and accusing Blumenau of malice, among other things.

He was valued because he not only conceived FM4 as a pop and youth radio, but also turned it into a discourse where pop culture and social issues were discussed, including with the audience.

ORF radio director and FM4 manager Monika Eigensperger emphasized his alert mind, his critical attitude and his all-questioning acumen.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. FM4 presenter Martin Blumenau is dead. In: salzburg24.at. July 30, 2021, accessed August 1, 2021 .
  2. We mourn Martin Blumenau. In: fm4.ORF.at . July 30, 2021, accessed July 30, 2021 .
  3. a b FM4 co-founder and presenter Martin Blumenau has died. In: derStandard.at . Retrieved July 31, 2021 .
  4. FM4 bonus track. In: fm4.ORF.at Radio. April 4, 2017, accessed December 27, 2020 .
  5. The FM4 holiday program. In: fm4.orf.at. December 23, 2017, accessed December 27, 2020 .
  6. Karl Fluch: Curse vs. Blumenau prolonged: Flower? Sheet. The standard , accessed on July 31, 2021 (Austrian German).
  7. Thomas Kramar: Naughty Über-Ich in Popradio: Martin Blumenau is dead. In: diePresse.com . July 30, 2021, accessed July 31, 2021 .