Michael Hartmann (journalist)

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Michael Hartmann (born October 27, 1948; † January 22, 2019 ) was a German journalist and until 2002 editor-in-chief of the Westdeutsche Zeitung ("WZ"). A case of his involvement in the Wuppertal GWG corruption scandal in the 1990s was discontinued in 2004 on payment of a fine. Most recently, he worked as a public relations consultant.

Life

According to his own statements, Hartmann looked back on more than thirty years of journalistic activity. He was editor -in- chief of "WZ" for many years .

In the process of the GWG scandal about the housing company "GWG" , which is said to have resulted in total damage of around 15 million euros through financial shifts, the accused advisor Gerd Kolbe testified , Hartmann, as editor-in-chief of the Westdeutsche Zeitung, 50,000 DM for benevolent reporting on the sale of the grounds of the Carl Bremme brewery . Hartmann also acted as an intermediary in real estate transactions.

Die Welt reported in September 2002: “According to the investigation files, the Hartmanns are said to have received important gifts on a regular basis: a fur coat, two Cartier candlesticks, lavish dinners and cash kept the journalist and his wife happy. Hartmann himself received two wristwatches, an Audemars Piguet and a gold Ebel with a blue leather strap, from one of today's main suspects. The watches were allegedly obtained from another Wuppertal celebrity, telecommunications entrepreneur Helmut Schmidt. This, the organizer of the "Freundeskreis Johannes Rau ", regularly ensured that his duo friend could hover in the government helicopter on the Wuppertal company premises ".

According to the Wuppertal public prosecutor's office, Hartmann had campaigned for the overpriced purchase of the Bremme site for the GWG and received the equivalent of 23,000 euros from his client. The industry service Kressreport reported that Hartmann had provided "editorial support". The purchase of the site would have been accompanied by positive reports in the "WZ". Hartmann had been a silent partner in the Wuppertal public relations agency Klaus GmbH Public Relations for several years , which worked for the local press - including the "WZ" - and did the press work for the "GWG". Hartmann rejected the allegations.

In August 2002 the Girardet publishing house said: "... most of the" WZ "editors [assume] that Mr. Michael Hartmann will remain editor-in-chief of the" Westdeutsche Zeitung "." However, the allegations against Hartmann damaged the company's reputation the “WZ” and the Girardet publishing house sustainable, so that the management was forced to “take leave” of their editor-in-chief in October 2002. Hartmann asked the publisher to release him from all tasks and then left the "WZ". The deputy editor-in-chief Wolfgang Radau took over Hartmann's duties provisionally until Friedrich Roeingh was appointed as his successor on September 28, 2002 .

The proceedings against Hartmann for aiding and abetting embezzlement in a particularly serious case were closed in 2004 subject to conditions and against a fine of 46,000 euros by the Wuppertal Regional Court .

Hartmann later became editor-in-chief of hartmannpresse.de and worked as a consultant for "media coaching" in the areas of communication, advice and public relations. The company's headquarters are in the listed building at Talsperrenstrasse 51 in the Blutfinke residential area of the Ronsdorf district in Wuppertal.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c hartmannpresse.de: Coaching of the hartmannpresse! ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hartmannpresse.de archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 8, 2013
  2. ^ Federal Association of German Newspaper Publishers : Michael Hartmann leaves "Westdeutsche Zeitung" , August 21, 2002, accessed on June 8, 2013
  3. ↑ a b c d Die Welt : Wuppertal: Investigations against editor-in-chief , July 24, 2002, accessed on June 8, 2013
  4. ↑ Attac Wuppertal: Media and Corruption ( Memento of the original from October 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cross-border-wuppertal.de archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , March 8, 2005, accessed June 8, 2013
  5. ↑ Die Welt : Uhren und Furs for the editor-in-chief , September 19, 2002, accessed on June 8, 2013
  6. ↑ a b Rheinische Post : Proceedings against ex- “WZ” editor-in-chief discontinued - fine for Michael Hartmann , November 18, 2004, accessed on June 8, 2013
  7. ↑ a b Horizont : Michael Hartmann leaves “Westdeutsche Zeitung” , August 7, 2002, accessed on June 8, 2013
  8. ↑ New Business: Michael Hartmann gives up editor-in-chief at the 'Westdeutsche Zeitung' , June 8, 2002, accessed on June 8, 2013
  9. ↑ a b Der Tagesspiegel : News from Bergisch-Sizilien , October 2, 2002, accessed on June 8, 2013
  10. ↑ Entry in the Wuppertal monument list
personal data
SURNAME Hartmann, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German journalist, editor-in-chief of the Westdeutsche Zeitung
DATE OF BIRTH October 27, 1948
DATE OF DEATH 22nd January 2019