Katrin Vernau will succeed Tom Buhrow

WDR administrative director Katrin Vernau will be the new director general of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). The broadcasting council elected her on Thursday in Cologne as the successor to the outgoing director general Tom Buhrow. The 51-year-old’s term of office begins on January 1 and lasts for six years.

In addition to Vernau, WDR program director Jörg Schönenborn, “Tagesthemen” presenter and second editor-in-chief of ARD aktuell, Helge Fuhst, and ZDF Washington correspondent Elmar Theveßen also applied for the post.

In the first round of voting, Katrin Vernau received 17 of the 55 votes from the broadcasting council. 16 votes went to Helge Fuhst and 15 to Jörg Schönenborn. Elmar Theveßen received 7 votes. An absolute majority of 28 votes would have been needed to win in the first round. In the second round, Vernau and Fuhst competed against each other. A simple majority counted here. In the end, Vernau won with 36 votes. Fuhst received 18 votes. Vernau was previously praised for his expertise and assertiveness.

Her record as interim head of the crisis-ridden RBB, which she led for a year after the dismissal of RBB director Patricia Schlesinger until autumn 2023, is also likely to have paid off. In the run-up to the election, none of the four candidates were the favorites. Unlike in previous elections, there were no party political decisions in the Broadcasting Council beforehand. Schönenborn was actually considered a candidate close to the CDU, but the favorite of NRW Media Minister Nathanael Liminski (CDU) was said to be Helge Fuhst. The SPD and the Greens reportedly did not decide on a candidate.