Overview

• After NDR dropped Julia Ruhs from its editions of the pilot magazine Klar, Carsten Linnemann called for freezing the Rundfunkbeitrag to force reforms.
• In a Tagesspiegel guest column, Omid Nouripour labeled the proposal a "Zensurversuch" and compared it to a U.S. licensing threat directed at Jimmy Kimmel’s network.
• Production will split going forward, with Ruhs continuing on BR-produced episodes while NDR installs Tanit Koch as presenter for its editions.
• NDR intendant Hendrik Lünenborg defended the change as a newsroom decision within a pilot process and acknowledged that communication about it was poor.
• The German Journalists’ Association criticized Linnemann’s stance as "pure extortion" and warned it would violate constitutional protections for broadcasting freedom.