RIAS BERLIN COMMISSION 2017 spring program concludes with stop at NATO headquarters
June 27, 2017
RIAS BERLIN COMMISSION 2017 spring program concludes with stop at NATO headquarters
Twelve American broadcast journalists from eight states and a dozen networks across the United States completed a whirlwind trip of Germany and Brussels with a four-hour visit to the NATO headquarters in Brussels following a day of talks at the European Union headquarters just before a summit meeting in the capital city of the EU. The American journalists also had an interesting visit to the Brussels offices of Deutsche Welle TV, where former RIAS fellow and DW Brussels bureau chief Max Hofmann explained how his DW team in Brussels not only covers the EU and NATO from Brussels but also serves as the “rapid response” force for Deutsche Welle across Europe to cover breaking news across the continent.
Before reaching Brussels, the US journalists had a great breakfast meeting with German TV journalists Helge Fuhst of Phoenix TV and Thorsten Beermann of WDR TV in Cologne. They also visited the national headquarters of Germany’s largest commercial network RTL and the all-news station N-TV for an enlightening afternoon on the other side of the Rhine River before sampling Cologne’s famous beer at the Rheinterasse beer garden overlooking the famous river. Other favorite stops on the 12-day journey included the eastern German cities of Erfurt and Eisenach, where the fellows had the chance to learn more about Martin Luther and the Reformation 500 years ago as well as meet refugees from Syria and Iraq, and talk to the head of the Thuringia Office for the Protection of the Constitution Stephen Kramer. During the first week of the program in Berlin, the American fellows had more than a dozen meetings with political, cultural and media leaders ranging from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert to Deutsche Welle director general Peter Limbourg. Several fellows also visited nearby Potsdam.
One of the many highlights on this spring’s program was the frequent meetings with RIAS fellows from Germany, who had many chances to meet and spend time with the American fellows. With more than 1,500 fellows on both sides of the Atlantic over the last 25 years, the RIAS Berlin Commission alumni grows larger each year and the networking will hopefully grow more extensive in the months and years to come.
