Attracted by attractive young editors, Julian Reichelt had no qualms about making his role of power weigh in the largest European newspaper. The director of the image he promised them promotions to take them to bed, gave them one-time bonuses in exchange for silence. In one case, to prove to a young practitioner that she rejected him with the excuse that he was married, he apparently produced a false separation certificate to convince her. But he had also come to threaten dismissal.
In short, the 42-year-old, a former war reporter, ended a career on the rise in the worst possible way: he was kicked out with immediate effect from the Axel Springer publishing house, which for months had defended him from accusations of harassment and sexual abuse. The decision was taken, according to a note from the German publishing giant, following “new research on Reichelt’s behavior, who would not have clearly separated the professional sphere from the private one and lied to the group’s executives”.
Julian Reichelt was fired after the New York Times he wrote down the complaints of several young employees of the newspaper. An investigation that revealed new details on his attitudes within the editorial staff.
Already in the spring, an internal procedure had been launched against the director, on allegations of an alleged abuse of office for consensual relations with employees and drug use in the workplace. But he had been given a second chance. Springer had decided to suspend him as a precaution for twelve days, and then have him return to the head of the tabloid flanked by a co-director. The board of the company had come to the conclusion that Reichelt had been wrong, but had not committed any criminal acts.
But the journalists of the American newspaper are not the only ones to have investigated the past of the former director of Bild. A file called the “Reichelt case” was also opened by a team of reporters linked to the publisher Ippen Verlag who had access to some internal documents of Axel Springer. Ippen allegedly blocked the publication of this material at the last moment, explaining that it “does not want to damage the economic interests” of a competing company.
Now, the investigation of the New York Times, revealed new details on the internal investigation last spring, which would have revealed too serious attitudes. Impossible not to intervene. “Here’s how it works at the image, whoever goes to bed with the boss has the best job, ”said one of the editors he heard last March, according to reports from the American newspaper. In a lengthy article, Ben Smith, media expert of the Times, re-launched the accusations “of invitations to dinner via Instagram and quick promotions for journalists, which however quickly fell from the director’s graces”. In one of the first cases reported by NOW, dating back to 2016, Reichelt allegedly tried to convince a 26-year-old girl not to disclose their relationship so as not to lose her job, and he would promote her, a year later, once he reached the management.
Overwhelmed by the scandal, the president and CEO of the company, Mathias Döpfner, explained that he was not aware of the details revealed by the Times: “We will not tolerate any behavior that does not respect our ethical standards and our inclusive and open culture,” said the CEO, who, in place of Reichelt, has appointed 37-year-old Johannes Boie as the new director.