“Spiegel” editor-in-chief Steffen Klusmann is leaving the news magazine with immediate effect. The step was taken “after the implementation of far-reaching reforms in recent years by mutual agreement,” said the Spiegel publishing house in Hamburg. His successor will be Dirk Kurbjuweit, who currently works in the magazine’s capital city office.
Klusmann has been in the top position since January 2019. The editor-in-chief also includes Thorsten Dörting, who is responsible for digital developments, Melanie Amann, head of politics, and Clemens Höges as editor.
According to information from the Evangelical Press Service (epd), there has been a conflict between Klusmann and “Spiegel” Managing Director Stefan Ottlitz for a long time. The top of the employees KG, which holds 50.5 percent of the shares in the publishing house, is said to have recently sided with Ottlitz. Klusmann was accused of having no clear journalistic line and no concept for the further merging of print and online under his leadership.
Klusmann’s start as editor-in-chief was bumpy, because it happened while the magazine was dealing with what is probably the biggest scandal: the affair about the forged texts of the previously celebrated “Spiegel” author Claas Relotius. Leading the editorial team during this difficult time earned him respect.
At that time, the 57-year-old Klusmann switched from “Manager Magazin”, which he had been editor-in-chief since November 2013, to the top job within the “Spiegel” publishing group. Before that, the native of Karlsruhe had been deputy editor-in-chief of “Stern” for a few months at competitor Gruner + Jahr.
The new editor-in-chief Kurbjuweit has been with “Spiegel” for 24 years, from 2015 to 2018 he was already deputy editor-in-chief. Since then he has been an author in the capital city office. He is also the author of numerous books.
A change in the editor-in-chief of the “Spiegel” requires the approval of 76 percent of the shareholders. Employees KG must therefore always give the green light. The media group Bertelsmann holds 25.5 percent of the shares via an intermediate holding and can thus ensure the necessary majority. The community of heirs of the “Spiegel” founder Rudolf Augstein holds 24 percent.
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