13 US journalists take part in RIAS Berlin Commission program in Germany, Prague, Brussels
Thirteen US journalists arrived in Berlin on June 2 for a busy two-week RIAS Berlin Commission program in Berlin, Dresden, Prague and Brussels. The American journalists are from TV and radio stations across the United States: Texas, California, Washington DC, New York, North Carolina, Georgia and Colorado.
They hit the ground running on June 3 with a visit to the historic RIAS building where the legendary Cold War-era “Radio in American Sector” (RIAS) that beamed its news, information and music across East Germany was headquartered.
They had a riveting talk with Jaafar Abdul-Karim, a journalist for Deutsche Welle, and then an interesting meeting at ARD’s capital city offices in the heart of Berlin with RIAS alumni Daniel Pokraka, Dagmar Pepping and Michael Stempfle, where they learned more about the differences between public broadcasting in Germany and the United States. Despite sweltering heat in Berlin with temperatures hitting 32 degrees Celsius, the RIAS fellows also took a tour of the Reichstag parliament building during a busy week in Berlin where the
centre-left Social Democrat party was in turmoil after its leader abruptly resigned
This week in Berlin the Americans will also meet a leader of the AfD party, Beatrix von Storch, German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer, Greens politician Oezcan Mutlu, RIAS Berlin Commissioner Richard Meng, Deutsche Welle editor-in-chief Ines Pohl, Deutsche Welle anchor and RIAS alumni Brent Goff and RBB InfoRadio with RIAS alumni Benjamin Eyssel, Economist correspondent Tom Nuttall, political campaign consultant Julius van de Laar, and Clean Energy Wire director Carl Mohn.
They will also have get-togethers with German alumni from the RIAS Berlin Commission program and tour the Stasi prison in Hohenschoenhausen as well as visit remnants of the Berlin Wall at Bernauer Strasse.
During the second week, the program moves to Dresden for a tour of the city, the Frauenkirche and a modern Volkswagen factory where electric Golfs are produced, then to Prague for a visit to the German Embassy and Radio Free Europe before finishing up in Brussels with visits to NATO headquarters, the EU headquarters and talks with journalists from Politico, Deutsche Welle and ARD.
Here is a list of the American fellows:
- Susana Castillo, reporter KTSM-NBC, El Paso, Texas
- Jeremy Chen, reporter KESQ TV, Palm Springs, California
- Leah Donnella, NPR, Washington DC
- Heather Dorf-Dolce, freelance TV producer ARD and others in Washington DC
- Rosanne Gerin, Radio Free Asia, Washington DC
- Dean Kurth, Fox news TV in New York
- Larry Miller, USA9 TV in Washington DC
- LaCrai Mitchell, 60 Minutes, CBS News in New York
- Michelle Morgante, NPR West managing editor, Los Angeles
- Gina Presson, WEDU TV, Tampa, Florida and instructor East Carolina University
- Ryan Prior, CNN, Atlanta, Georgia
- Roxanne Scott, Georgia public radio, Atlanta
- Kathy Walker, KOA News Radio, Denver, Colorado (and RTNDA board member)
