10 German journalists head to USA for first of 8 RIAS programs in 2023
February 23, 2023
10 German journalists head to USA for first of 8 RIAS programs in 2023
A group of 10 German broadcast journalists will be traveling to the USA for a two-week RIAS Berlin Commission fellowship starting on March 5. It will be the first of eight RIAS Berlin Commission fellowships in 2023 — four to the USA for German journalists and four to Germany for American journalists. A total of about 130 journalists from the two countries will be taking part in the exchange programs this year, one of the largest numbers since the German-American exchange program was created more than 30 years ago.
The 10 Germans in the first program of 2023 will spend five days in Washington DC meeting German and American journalists, visiting think tanks, Congress and meeting with a Republican member of Congress from Pennsylvania. They will then spend two days in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to learn more about conservative parts of the United States before traveling to New York City for the final six days of their fellowship, where they will meet journalists, politicians, Jewish community leaders, church leaders in Harlem and a survivor of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center as well as attending Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater and a Broadway musical.
Here is more information about the 10 German journalists taking part in the March RIAS Berlin Commission fellowship
Maja Weber, Phoenix TV, ZDF TV, Bonn, Mainz
Maja Weber is an anchor at Phoenix TV’s nightly news program “Der Tag” in Bonn and also works as a news anchor for ZDF TV in Mainz. She has also worked for newspapers and radio stations. Weber has worked at the German-French Arte network and ARD TV’s “Tagesschau 24” newscast. She studied political science, history and languages in France and Italy as well as in Germany. Her family came to Germany from Serbia and she speaks five languages: Serbo-Croatian, Italian, French, English, and German.
Christian Herrmann, NTV, Berlin
Christian Herrmann is a senior editor and head of audio for the German news site NTV.de. He hosts and produces the two podcasts “Wieder was gelernt” (“Something that I learned”) and “Klima-Labor” (“climate lab”) and is also responsible for a variety of other podcasts that ntv.de publishes. Herrmann is especially interested in how tech and money influence international trade and climate change.
Jenny Barke, RBB, Berlin
Jenny Barke is reporter and editor for the German public broadcast ARD. She works mainly for the local radio and the online editorial of RBB in Berlin. Besides covering local Berlin issues in news and reports, she is host of an ARD “Tagesschau” podcast, which deals with international issues. Barke is also a specialist on social media.
Janett Eger, MDR, Leipzig
Janett Eger works as an anchor and writer for MDR television. Among other things, she anchors the local TV magazine newscast “Sachsen-Anhalt heute” and the in-depth history program called “MDR Zeitreise“. She also does longer in-depth reports on a wide variety of topics. She has a particular focus on East Germany society and political issues.
Julia Cruz, MDR, ARD, Leipzig
Julia Cruz is a reporter and editor for the German public broadcaster ARD. She works for two news stations in Berlin and Leipzig, especially for daily news programs. Cruz is a specialist on political and medical reporting.
Madeleine Hofmann, ZDF TV & Deutschlandfunk German Radio, Berlin
Madeleine Hofmann is a freelance journalist and news writer, working for media outlets such as the German public broadcaster ZDF and Deutschlandfunk Kultur radio. Hofmann specializes on social policy, generational justice and the diversity of political institutions, especially the represantation of young people in politics.
Friederike Rohmann, MDR TV, Leipzig
Friederike Rohmann is a reporter and editor for the German public broadcaster ARD. She works especially for daily TV news programs but also as a writer for documentaries. Rohman is in particular interested in topics concerning the climate crisis.
Mathis Trapp, WDR, Cologne
Mathis Trapp is a reporter, author and editor for the German public broadcaster ARD (West German Broadcast WDR). He works for several WDR radio stations such as the popular Eins Live in Cologne and television, especially for daily news programs. Trapp is specialist on politics, culture, architecture and traveling.
Sophie Wannenmacher, RBB TV, Berlin
Wannenmacher is a 26-year-old journalist from Germany. She works for the ARD as an assistant to the editor in chief and is particularly interested in daily news and investigative reporting. She has also worked for radio stations in Austria and Germany as well as the commercial network RTL.
Laura Weber, RTL, Cologne
Laura Maria Weber is an editor and reporter for the business department of RTL and NTV. She especially deals with topics such as e-mobility, climate change and international markets and specializes in female finance and financial education in her work. Weber works for several TV programs at RTL and most of the time for NTV ́s business TV program.
