Rainald Becker (journalist)

Rainald Becker (born November 19, 1959 in Tönisvorst ) is a German TV journalist for ARD . Since July 2016 he has been the ARD editor-in-chief and ARD coordinator for politics, society and culture in the ARD program directorate in Munich. From January 2009 to June 2016 he was deputy studio manager and deputy editor-in - chief for television at the ARD capital studio . He also moderated the report from Berlin until May 22, 2016 .

Career

After graduating from high school in 1978 at the Fabritianum grammar school in Krefeld , Rainald Becker trained as a car mechanic , which he completed in 1980. Between 1981 and 1985 he completed a diploma course in social sciences, politics and Catholic theology at the University of Duisburg , from 1982 to 1984 he received a scholarship from the Institute for the Promotion of Young Journalists .

Becker began his journalistic career in 1982 at WDR television as a freelancer for the state studios in Düsseldorf and Cologne, among others. In 1986 he switched to what was then SDR ( Süddeutscher Rundfunk , today Südwestrundfunk / SWR) and became an editor for domestic politics and international reporting. From 1993 he was the chief editor, travel correspondent and moderator in the international editorial team and in 1995 became deputy head of the Weltspiegel editorial team. From 1999 to 2006 he went to the Berlin ARD capital studio for the first time as a television correspondent. He then became deputy head of the international and European television department and head of the Weltspiegel editorial team at SWR. From January 2009 to June 2016 he was deputy editor-in-chief for television in the ARD capital studio, specializing in the areas of President, President of the Bundestag and Bundesrat, terrorism, secret services and the Chancellery.

criticism

In the context of the 2011 attacks in Norway , Becker came under public criticism. As part of the reporting, he put forward the conspiracy theory of an Islamist attack, although the facts were different. The Norwegian police had already arrested Anders Behring Breivik as a suspect at this time and reported this.

Becker has repeatedly been accused of uncritically commenting on Chancellor Angela Merkel's policies . Media critic Stefan Schulz wrote: "The ARD editor-in-chief Rainald Becker cheers the government's actions regularly in a way that even government spokesman Steffen Seibert would be embarrassed."

In May 2020, Becker said in a Tagesschau comment on the corona crisis that anyone who wants to return to "old normality" after the pandemic is one of "confused heads", "nuts" and "corona critics". Becker referred to a call from various celebrities, including Madonna and Robert DeNiro , to establish a new economic order after the crisis. The conservative columnist Jan Fleischhauer criticized the statement as unworldly and esoteric.

Awards

• 2016 Award of the German Academy for Television in the category of television journalism for shadow world BND - How Much Secret Service Does Germany Need? (in cooperation with Christian H. Schulz)

Publications

Program management. When the full program becomes a news channel. In: Claudia Mast (ed.): ABC of journalism. A manual. 13th edition, Halem Verlag 2018, 600 pages, ISBN 978-3-7445-0821-6 .

Web links

• Rainald Becker in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Rainald Becker - Munzinger biography. Retrieved May 16, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Karim El-Gawhary : Arabesques - Plea for the abolition of the terrorist expert. Seldom have so many been so quickly on the wrong track ( memento of the original from August 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  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. . In: tazblogs . July 23, 2011
3. ↑ Ulrike Thiele & Markus Hesselmann: Media criticism on the Internet: Rashly Islamist . In: Der Tagesspiegel . July 24, 2011
4. ^ Stefan Schulz, editorial deadline , Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2016, ISBN 9783446252141
5. ↑ Coronavirus: ARD commentary criticizes the debate about a return to normality - "weird heads". May 8, 2020, accessed May 16, 2020 . 
6. ↑ FOCUS Online: Corona as a turn to less: Why not start with the ARD editor-in-chief when doing without? Retrieved May 16, 2020 .