Cologne alumni chapter created to network and keep RIAS spirit alive

A dozen RIAS alumni from Cologne and Bonn created the first-ever RIAS alumni chapter on Wednesday, November 8. The alumni group hopes to hold occasional meetings to network and talk about transatlantic issues with riveting guest speakers. The alumni chapter in Cologne, Germany’s fourth largest city and one of its most important broadcast media capitals as the home to RTL, NTV, and the WDR networks as well as Deutschlandfunk, is also hoping to connect for possible exchanges. with new chapters to be set up in other hotspots in Germany and the United States.

As RIAS executive director Erik Kirschbaum told the first alumni chapter, RIAS is eager to promote the exchange of alumni across the Atlantic in the hopes of helping to produce stories in both countries. Some financial support for transatlantic travel is available for alumni working on projects for their broadcasters.

“I think it’s a great idea because I’ve always wondered why we can’t better use this network,” said Andrea Lueg, who organised the inaugural Cologne chapter meeting. “All it took was a quick email to all the RIAS alumni in the Cologne area and the resonance was tremendous. Twelve alumni came to our first meeting and many others wrote that they couldn’t make it but thought it was a great idea and want to take part in the future.”

Lueg said that all RIAS alumni in the Cologne area and northwestern Germany are welcome to join the chapter and that they are hoping to connect with RIAS fellows and chapters in the United States.

Vivienne Radermacher , Michael Stang, Torsten Beermann, Stefan Römermann, Carsten Schröder, Monika Dittrich, Yvonne Müther, Arnd Riekmann, Anna Schubert, Andrea Tönnißen, Marika Dresselhaus, and Andrea Lueg