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Melanie Marker | Photo Editor

August 7, 2013

Melanie Marker likes to take on challenges such as learning how to use new programs and working with pictures. She also has a special passion in her private time – she is the leader of a rock band.

https://p.dw.com/p/19KNr
Image: Privat

When Melanie Marker arrived at DW’s business desk in 2004, she had just finished the European Business Program at the University of Applied Sciences in Münster. Her studies gave her a sharp eye for business issues with the important combination of learning about different countries and cultures. A year ago in Berlin she "wanted to do something new" and moved from the business desk to image editing.

Marker follows another passion aside from her work at DW. For the past six years, she has been playing in her own band, "Shirley Holmes", with two women on the microphones playing guitar and bass backed up by a drummer. "We are a mix of indie, punk, German new wave, pop and alternative rock", said Marker. It can really get loud when the trio is rehearsing or up on stage.

It goes without saying that being well organized is very important for Marker as a band leader. This is also true of her work as a photo editor at DW, where she creates images for Journal and news briefs, does research or procures photos for broadcasts. Her job also includes adapting the foreign language broadcasts.

Melanie Marker: "When I do something, I want to do it right"
"When I do something, I want to do it right"Image: Privat

And sometimes things have to be done fast, too. What Marker really likes is "the relevance of breaking news along with working together with so many people to create a well made and useful product while at the same time learning from each other."

Marker discovered her passion for music while growing up in Hagen. She started her singing career in a school band. After finishing college, she moved from Westphalia to Berlin, where she sang in different bands and perfected her electric guitar skills. "Shirley Holmes has been more than a hobby for a long time."

Marker doesn’t let the stress of daily life bring her down. "For me, the ideal lifestyle is working two or three days a week and then devoting the rest of your time to something else that you love. When I do something, I want to do it right," she says. She is currently working on her latest plan – producing a new record.

When everything gets to be too much, she works out to maintain balance. She has been playing soccer every Saturday for the last six months. "It is great", she extols. And tough, too. Last winter she was even out on the field when it was snowing.

Text: Christiane Schnippe
Edited by: Elena Isayenko
Translated by: Wesley Rahn