'Never be afraid to ask the right questions'
July 28, 2016
What motivates me…
I value being courageous. You must never be afraid to ask the right questions that agitate, make unnerving assessments or offer explanations that challenge the status quo. But journalism must do more than inform, criticize and report on problems and things that don’t work. Working as a journalist, I am also driven by the responsibility to report on projects, organizations and people that are making things better – Constructive Journalism!
Courage means to me…
All too often, people sound too big and bombastic when talking about courage. For me, courage starts in everyday life. For example, what attitude do I have during discussions or when I meet my bosses? The courage I want for myself could be accepting limitations of my convictions. It can also just be a simple sentence, "I disagree" or "I don’t understand".
Freedom means to me…
Freedom is a gift and it comes with a mandate to stand up for everyone whose freedom is threatened or restricted. I think I first really understood how privileged we are in Germany after I got to know some of my fellow Niemen scholars like Roza from Iran or Absar from Pakistan. And our freedom includes an obligation to support these people's commitment to freedom of the press.
My perspective…
I am a German journalist working for an international media company and this influences my perspective. Ideally, we want to ask well-informed questions that are free from alarmist reduction. This allows us to cover a lot of ground and continually bring in an international perspective. This perspective can also keep us from being enticed by sensationalism, with which there is no room for solid and sustainable news analysis.
The international responsibility that DW must fulfill is also growing in importance. We need to deliver reliable and trustworthy information and analysis to a world where more countries like Hungary, Poland or Turkey are restricting freedom of the press.
The challenges to journalism today...
Today's journalism is still centered on questioning power – namely who profits in the end and at what cost. The media are not politicians, but they do help empower people in democracies to build an informed opinion and make informed decisions and participate in elections. This means that we need to develop structures to reach people on digital media. That's why for years I have been intensively working with social media and online platforms to discover new pathways towards a more informed future.
Three things that I especially love about my work at DW…
The privilege to be able to work for quality and not for quotas, the international perspective and the multimedia atmosphere and experimentation with all types of social media.
Who inspires me ...
I like people who don’t accept standards. As I grow older, it becomes more difficult for me to place an identity on individuals. There are just so many kinds of people. For example, there is the bus driver who throws out a passenger who has made racist or xenophobic statements. There are war reporters like Anja Niedringhaus, who give their lives to inform the world. And then there's the compositions of Johannes Brahms.
My favorite quote…
“Well, now back to the workbench” – Flo
When I am not working, you'll find me...
Playing sports, with a book in a café or on the couch – but then please do not disturb me because I am probably engrossed in the drama of my latest favorite Netflix series.