News to Use Michael Wulf on Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’S News Service Provider Info Network
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1 July 2010 week 26 News to use Michael Wulf on Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’s news service provider Info Network Germany France RTL Television presents L’Expédition RTL heading the Com.mit award for Bhutan United Kingdom Belgium FremantleMedia Enterprises Bel RTL and Radio Contact represents Dance Academy present summer schedule week 26 the RTL Group intranet 1 July 2010 week 26 Cover: Michael Wulf, Managing Director of Info Network © RTL/Stefan Menne 2 News to use Michael Wulf on Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’s news service provider Info Network Germany France RTL Television presents L’Expédition RTL heading the Com.mit award for Bhutan United Kingdom Belgium FremantleMedia Enterprises Bel RTL and Radio Contact represents Dance Academy present summer schedule week 26 the RTL Group intranet “News have always been important to us” Every month, Info Network produces more than 170 hours of broadcasts for Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland. Backstage spoke with its Managing Director Michael Wulf about news and the technology behind it. Michael Wulf Germany - 1 July 2010 Info Network was founded in February 2008, and is one of Mediengruppe RTL Deutsch- land’s biggest subsidiaries. Created from the news and magazine teams of the individual channels, Info Network bundles their collec- tive experience, expertise and infrastructure to be able to produce news more effectively. “We deliberately chose a construct that didn’t yet exist in this form in the market,” explains Michael Wulf, Managing Director of Info Network. “We’ve learned from problems encountered in the past and therefore attach great importance to leveraging synergies without watering down the individual channels and programmes so that we don’t forfeit the brands’ identity and creativity.” One of the biggest Info Network projects so far was the coverage Overarching activities that are equally needed of the US Elections with Peter Kloeppel and Christoph Teuner (right) in 2008 by all editorial teams include planning, schedul- ing as well as rights and license trading. These At this point, Info Network supplies footage for are centrally managed by Info Network for a Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’s daily and more efficient use of resources. A central news weekly news and magazine formats. They desk assesses the news situation and decides include the regular news shows RTL Aktuell, where outside broadcasting vans will be needed. RTL Nachtjournal, the various Punkt news In this way, topics that are important for all edito- programmes – Punkt 6, Punkt 9, Punkt 12 – and rial teams can be examined by one team on the the magazines Explosiv, Explosiv – Weekend, ground. The respective editorial teams are then Exclusiv – Das Starmagazin, Exclusiv – Week- responsible for the editing and use of the foot- end, Extra – Das RTL-Magazin, as well as Vox age, ensuring that each programme retains its News, Prominent! and Prominent! täglich. distinctive style and identity. Info Network also operates a picture agency The shared news pool also lets the edito- called Content First, which sells video materials, rial teams centrally access existing material at as fully edited features or raw material, to which Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland – for example at the company owns the rights of use for resel- N-TV – or from agencies, so that they don’t have ling to third parties. The Content First portfolio to produce it themselves or acquire the rights usually contains all image material either separately. “Our goal is one-stop-production for produced or commissioned by Info Network. all news and magazine editorial teams wherever Content First serves Germany’s public-service the topic is interesting for all of them,” says Wulf. and commercial TV channels as well as German “Some of the teams end up needing just a few production firms and the global TV market. original commentaries of their own, which are then planned independently.” 3 week 26 the RTL Group intranet Nicole Macheroux-Denault is Info Network’s correspondent The German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave an exclusive interview for the Football World Cup in South Africa to Peter Kloeppel in the run-up to the German elections in 2009 With national studios such as the Hauptstadt- done properly.” In the Frankfurter Allgemeine studio in Berlin and the Landesstudio Süd in Sonntagszeitung of 20 June, Stefan Niggemeier Munich, five international studios in London, writes: “While a programme like RTL Aktuell may Paris, Moscow, New York and Jerusalem, and be expensive, it pays off for the channel in that it correspondents on the ground in South Africa, is perceived as a fully-fledged, important channel Australia, Thailand, China, Turkey, Spain, Italy, – to a much greater degree than its commercial Belgium, the Netherlands and at several loca- competitors. Peter Kloeppel’s reputable image tions in the US, Info Network has the necessary reflects onto the rest of the programming.” And resources for comprehensive, competent world- Norbert Schneider, Director of the North Rhine- wide reporting. Westphalian State Media Authority, told Focus magazine: “RTL realises how important the news The RTL Group channels also present oppor- are. RTL Aktuell anchorman Peter Kloeppel is a tunities for collaboration. “We regularly have first-rate figurehead for the whole channel.” Synergy Committee meetings, where we talk about different programmes. In Croatia, for In 2009, RTL Aktuell averaged 3.79 million example, we were able to help build the news viewers, putting it behind the Tagesschau infrastructure – and of course we also talk about news on its public-service rival Das Erste the content of certain formats,” says Wulf. (5.26 million viewers), but ahead of Heute on ZDF (3.77 million viewers). If one looks only Asked about the ongoing discussion in the at the market shares from Monday to Friday, German media concerning a possible tighten- RTL Aktuell was in fact well ahead of both ing of the laws governing news programmes public-service formats, averaging 18.9 per cent on commercial television in the wake of of the total viewer market, as compared to the ProSiebenSat.1’s sale of the news channel N24, 17.7 per cent attracted by both Das Erste and Wulf replies: “We have a completely different ZDF. history from many of our competitors: news have always been important to us, and RTL Aktuell “We’ve done very well. In Peter Kloeppel, we was a fixture in our programming from the begin- have one of the leading anchormen on German ning. For us, news are part of the package. Our television,” says Michael Wulf, commenting on good ratings speak for themselves.” developments over the past few years. “The RTL Nachtjournal has also earned itself an In this point, the press agrees: On 17 June, outstanding reputation. We often hear from Süddeutsche Zeitung ran a comprehensive politicians that they like to tune in to it at the end report on the sale of N24. Editor Caspar Busse of the day for a final news briefing.” noted: “News programmes are important for a channel’s quality, customer loyalty, and identity Wulf says the small but crucial difference to – especially for a family channel like Sat.1, but other channels’ programmes lies in the selec- also for channels like Kabel 1 or ProSieben. tion and presentation of the topics. “Unlike our Their commercial rival RTL shows how it’s competitors, we select our news according to 4 week 26 the RTL Group intranet Several politicians like Sigmar Gabriel (SPD / right)... what is important for the viewer,” he explains. “The news should have something to do with people’s lives. We like to call this: ‘news to use’.“ …Cem Özdemir (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)… We make a point not only of selecting the right topics, but also the right presentation. “Viewers have to be able to understand our news. There’s no point in reporting about something that goes right over the viewer’s head,” so Wulf. “So we use an easy language as well as on-screen diagrams or explanatory graphics.” The move to Cologne-Deutz and the new studios opens up further opportunities for this in the future. The moderation will be produced entirely in HD. “You can really see the difference,” beams Wulf. “And viewers will notice the difference from the new design and the new sets as well – after all, we’ve been …and even chancellor Angela Merkel visited Info Network’s offices broadcasting our magazines from Deutz since in Cologne recently the beginning of June.” New technology and new editing systems have also changed the workflow in the editorial teams, making a complete inte- gration appear difficult at first. “But once the integration has been accomplished, we will benefit from the considerable added value delivered by the new system,” explains On 1 July, RTL Television Wulf. Info Network’s move is scheduled starts broadcasting its to be completed by the end of Septem- summer interviews – ber – at which point the programmes, produced by Info Network. too, will go out on the air from the new First guest will be Sigmar Gabriel (SPD), followed by studios in Cologne-Deutz. Angela Merkel on 2 July The new studio in Cologne-Deutz 5 week 26 the RTL Group intranet Com.mit Award goes to student in Mannheim Farhana Islam at the Integrated Comprehensive School in Mannheim-Herzogenried prevailed over six other shortlisted contestants with her film Farhana. Nina Moghaddam, Farhana Islam and Peter Kloeppel Germany - 29 June 2010 (from left to right) In her ten-minute report, the 19-year-old In addition to valuable prizes, the winners of the German-Bengali girl describes a typical day in Com.mit Award will now have the opportunity her life, which is shaped both by her parents’ to expand on their newly acquired skills during Bengali roots and the German environment she internships at Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland was raised in.