Deutschlandfunk unveils comprehensive programming reform for November

At its core, the reform envisages abandoning the previous schedule of individual magazines and programmes in favour of so-called information segments. The "Informationen am Morgen" will in future begin at 6:00 a.m. and run until 10:00 a.m.; the "Informationen am Abend" will already start at 5:00 p.m., thereby aligning more closely with the times when many people seek information while on the move. A midday segment will lie in between. The news bulletins themselves will be extended to ten minutes per hour.

Various well-known programmes will be embedded in the new schedule or continued in modified form. In the knowledge area, a one-hour "Wissen aktuell" programme is planned daily. In the culture area, the daily "Büchermarkt" is to be replaced by a weekly, longer "Büchersalon", presumably on Thursday evenings. Matthias Gierth, Deutschlandfunk's head of culture, said: „Auch wenn die Hörerzahlen für den Deutschlandfunk seit Jahren sehr gut sind, können wir nicht die Augen vor der Realität verschließen: Viele unserer Hörerinnen und Hörer sind älter, wir müssen auch für die nachfolgenden Generationen ein qualitativ hochwertiges, attraktives Programm machen."

Established programmes in the new schedule

New evening formats will be introduced, including "Hintergrund" and the weekday format "Im Dialog", in which two hours will be devoted to seeking direct contact with the audience on a current topic. These will be joined by "Tag für Tag – aus Religion und Gesellschaft", "Tonart", "Wirtschaft am Mittag", "Forschung aktuell", "Europa heute", "Campus und Karriere" and "Deutschland heute", the station announced. In addition, existing podcasts such as "Der Tag" and the "Politikpodcast" are to be broadcast on the linear radio programme in future.

The programming reform comes during an economically stable phase for the station: according to the current media analysis, more than 2.52 million people listen to Deutschlandfunk daily during the week, and the finances are considered to be in order. At the same time, Deutschlandfunk is sticking to the already planned reduction of 0.5 percent of permanent positions per year, as emerged from the presentation.

Programme Director Teichmann rejected accusations that the station was moving away from specialist journalism. She said she did not see that „wir uns vom Fachjournalismus verabschieden, das Gegenteil ist der Fall". The station would continue to rely on „klare Schwerpunkte" and, with the extended news bulletins, had adopted a clear profile. Almost 200 of the station's editors had worked on the new schedule.

Criticism and petitions

At the Berlin press conference, it was emphasised repeatedly that Deutschlandfunk should remain a leading medium with „Tiefe, Analyse und Einordnung". Teichmann said: „Der Deutschlandfunk bleibt, was er ist: journalistisches Leitmedium mit Tiefe, Analyse und Einordnung. Mit der Reform stellen wir sicher, dass wir diesem Anspruch auch in Zukunft gerecht werden können."

Nonetheless, the reform is controversial. Weeks before the official announcement, the accusation of "Durchhörbarkeit" – the concern that the programme could become arbitrary – had already been raised. The "FAZ" had also spoken of a possible "Nebenbeiradio", a so-called "Dudelfunk" (wallpaper radio) of the kind operated by a large share of the other radio stations. ARD and ZDF were also mentioned in this context. There is also a petition against the reform, which so far has around 4,700 signatories – compared with the station's daily audience of 2 to 2.5 million listeners.

Outlook on the launch date

Overall, those responsible announced that the reform would unite the words "Tiefe", "Expertise", "Aktualität, Perspektive und Debatten" – terms that were remarkably prominent on Thursday. Whether the new schedule will deliver on these promises from 30 November will be shown by the ratings and audience response in the first weeks.

Further steps concerning the programming reform are to be communicated in the coming weeks; the station announced accompanying coverage of the launch without specifying the exact process in further detail.