Dhe director of Südwestrundfunk (SWR), Kai Gniffke, will take over the ARD chairmanship in 2023. According to ARD information, the ARD directors and committee chairmen decided on Wednesday in Bremen. After the resignation of the RBB director Patricia Schlesinger from the ARD chairmanship, who was fired without notice, Gniffke started a year earlier than planned.
The 61-year-old has a challenging task ahead of him. Gniffke takes over the ARD business in what is perhaps the most difficult time for public broadcasting. The Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) has plunged into a deep crisis in the midst of allegations, and there is also rumbling in the houses in Hamburg and Kiel at the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The pressure on the public service system is also growing for this reason.
The ARD chairmanship changes among the ARD stations from time to time. Large houses are predestined for the presidency because they already offer a large infrastructure. But also smaller houses already had the ARD presidency. As a rule, an intendant stays in office for two years. Towards the end of the first year he will be confirmed for a second year.
The ARD chairmanship means a lot of extra work for an institution, but also prestige. The ARD chairman represents the community as the highest representative and spokesman for the directors. He enters into dialogue with politics and society. He also sets his own impulses for public broadcasting.
Südwestrundfunk is the second largest broadcaster within the ARD broadcasting association, after West German Broadcasting (WDR) and ahead of North German Broadcasting (NDR). In 2021, SWR received around one billion euros in broadcast contributions. Its transmission area extends over Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate.
