New RIAS alumni chapter formed in Mainz-Frankfurt, Cologne alumni meet
A new RIAS Berlin Commission alumni chapter was inaugurated in Mainz-Frankfurt on April 19 — adding to the list of alumni chapters already up and running in Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg, Washington DC and New York City. The Cologne chapter also had its second meeting the evening before on April 18.
About 10 alumni from past trips and more recent trips gathered in Mainz in a pub near the Rhine River. Reminiscing about their RIAS trips and brainstorming about ways to connect more RIAS alumni across Germany and also in the U.S, the journalists from the tri-state area and networks such as ZDF, HR, and SR expressed hopes and optimism of keeping the RIAS spirit alive even a
decade or more after their trip to the U.S. There is a RIAS alumni community section on the www.darkseagreen-dog-940501.hostingersite.com website as well as RIAS Berlin Kommission and RTDNA RIAS Facebook pages where alumni can share information.
In Cologne, the first alumni chapter created in November met for a second time at a pub — also near the Rhine River on a warm and sunny spring evening. The journalists from Germany’s fourth largest city came from many commercial networks such as RTL and NTV as well as from public broadcasting giants WDR, Phoenix and Deutschlandfunk radio as well as Deutsche Welle radio in
Bonn. Even though the Cologne and Bonn RIAS alumni work and live in the same city and region, many had never met each other before and were connecting for the first time thanks to the RIAS alumni chapter meeting.
There are several big alumni events coming up in Berlin. On May 17, the RIAS Berlin Commission will award the annual media prize awards to six award-winning TV and radio productions. After the awards ceremony, all alumni and friends of RIAS are invited to attend the annual reception in the RIAS Funkhaus building in Berlin.
On Friday May 18, the prize winners based in the United States will take part in a panel discussion on their experiences working as foreign correspondents in the United States in recent years. After the panel discussion, RIAS Berlin Commission alumni are invited to take part in an alumni get-together as well.
