Kai Diekmann
Encyclopedia
Kai Diekmann is a German
journalist
. From 1998 until 2000 he was editor
of Welt am Sonntag
(English: World on Sunday). Since January 2001 he is chief editor of Bild. He is also a member of the executive board of the Turkish
daily Hürriyet
.
. After his Abitur
(roughly equivalent to high school graduation) and mandatory military service, which he completed on the editorial staff of a military newspaper, he studied at the University of Münster
. There he became a member of the Burschenschaft
Franconia. He interrupted his studies in 1985 when he began his Volontariat (roughly: traineeship) at the Axel Springer AG
through the Axel Springer Journalist School, from which he quickly began a career for the publisher, beginning as a correspondent in Bonn
.
From 1989-1991 he was the chief reporter for the Hubert Burda Media
-published illustrated Bunte
, a weekly featuring articles on celebrities, gossip, and lifestyle. After a short detour at the Ullstein-Verlag
-published tabloid B.Z.
, in 1992 he transferred to Bild, a daily newspaper whose status as best-selling daily in Germany in large measure depends on sensationalist news
stories. In 1992, he became editor of Welt am Sonntag, and in 2001 returned to Bild where he became editor. Since 2004, in addition to being editor, he is also the publisher of Bild as well as Bild am Sonntag. In March 2004, the first volume of the definitive memoirs of former Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl
was published, edited by Diekmann.
As editor, Diekmann is responsible for the journalistic quality of the newspaper's work, which in the recent past has been the subject of several negative media reports. Recently, Bild has allegedly been in violation of basic journalistic principles more often than other German media. The claim that the Bild's offenses against the German Press Codex has increased since Diekmann took over is supported by the clear rise in the number of rebukes from the German Presserat (Press Council) during this time.
Diekmann is a member of the Atlantik-Brücke
, an organization that aims to further relationships between Germany and especially the United States.
, after, on May 8, 2002, the paper's satire page "Die Wahrheit" (The Truth) claimed that he had sought an operation to use parts of corpses to enlarge his allegedly extremely small penis. Diekmann sued the tageszeitung for 30,000 Euro in damages for illegal violations of his privacy as well as libel and defamation of character. A Berlin court ruled that there was indeed negligence on the part of the tageszeitung, but denied the monetary compensation demanded by Diekmann saying that, as editor of Bild, he "consciously seeks economic advantage from the violation of others' privacy" and therefore "is less heavily burdened by the violation of his own privacy," and furthermore that he should "assume that those standards that he lays on others are also of importance for himself."
An appeal against the ruling was given no chance of success by the higher court and both sides withdrew their appeals.
of Germany Helmut Kohl
serving as his best man. Diekmann and Kessler have four children.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. From 1998 until 2000 he was editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of Welt am Sonntag
Welt am Sonntag
Welt am Sonntag is a German national Sunday newspaper published by Axel Springer AG, and established in 1948. Its head office is in Berlin, and it has local editions for Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Düsseldorf....
(English: World on Sunday). Since January 2001 he is chief editor of Bild. He is also a member of the executive board of the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
daily Hürriyet
Hürriyet
-External links:* * ** * *...
.
Life
Diekmann grew up in BielefeldBielefeld
Bielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...
. After his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
(roughly equivalent to high school graduation) and mandatory military service, which he completed on the editorial staff of a military newspaper, he studied at the University of Münster
University of Münster
The University of Münster is a public university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The WWU is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, a society of Germany's leading research universities...
. There he became a member of the Burschenschaft
Burschenschaft
German Burschenschaften are a special type of Studentenverbindungen . Burschenschaften were founded in the 19th century as associations of university students inspired by liberal and nationalistic ideas.-History:-Beginnings 1815–c...
Franconia. He interrupted his studies in 1985 when he began his Volontariat (roughly: traineeship) at the Axel Springer AG
Axel Springer AG
Axel Springer AG is one of the largest multimedia companies in Europe, with more than 11,500 employees and with annual revenues of about €2.9 billion. The Company is active in a total of 36 countries, including Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia and Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland...
through the Axel Springer Journalist School, from which he quickly began a career for the publisher, beginning as a correspondent in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
.
From 1989-1991 he was the chief reporter for the Hubert Burda Media
Hubert Burda Media
Hubert Burda Media is a German privately held, family-owned global media company with its origins in printing and magazine publishing. The company is headquartered in Offenburg and Munich, has additional main offices in Berlin and Hamburg and has more than 7400 employees...
-published illustrated Bunte
Bunte
Bunte is a German weekly magazine; coverage includes celebrity, gossip, news and lifestyle matters. It is published by Bunte Entertainment Verlag GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hubert Burda Media....
, a weekly featuring articles on celebrities, gossip, and lifestyle. After a short detour at the Ullstein-Verlag
Ullstein-Verlag
The Ullstein Verlag was founded by Leopold Ullstein in 1877 at Berlin and is one of the largest publishing companies of Germany. It published newspapers like B.Z. and Berliner Morgenpost and books through its subsidiaries Ullstein Buchverlage and Propyläen.The newspaper publishing branch was taken...
-published tabloid B.Z.
B.Z. (newspaper)
B.Z. is a German tabloid newspaper, published in Berlin by Ullstein-Verlag, a subsidiary of Axel Springer AG. As of 2010, it has a circulation of around 200,000....
, in 1992 he transferred to Bild, a daily newspaper whose status as best-selling daily in Germany in large measure depends on sensationalist news
Yellow journalism
Yellow journalism or the yellow press is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism...
stories. In 1992, he became editor of Welt am Sonntag, and in 2001 returned to Bild where he became editor. Since 2004, in addition to being editor, he is also the publisher of Bild as well as Bild am Sonntag. In March 2004, the first volume of the definitive memoirs of former Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...
was published, edited by Diekmann.
As editor, Diekmann is responsible for the journalistic quality of the newspaper's work, which in the recent past has been the subject of several negative media reports. Recently, Bild has allegedly been in violation of basic journalistic principles more often than other German media. The claim that the Bild's offenses against the German Press Codex has increased since Diekmann took over is supported by the clear rise in the number of rebukes from the German Presserat (Press Council) during this time.
Diekmann is a member of the Atlantik-Brücke
Atlantik-Brücke
Atlantik-Brücke is the leading private non-profit association to promote German-American understanding and Atlanticism. Founded in Bonn in 1952, it is now located in Berlin....
, an organization that aims to further relationships between Germany and especially the United States.
Lawsuits
Kai Diekmann sued the Berlin daily die tageszeitungDie tageszeitung
die tageszeitung , was founded in 1978 in Berlin. It is a cooperative-owned German daily newspaper which is administrated by a workers' self-management...
, after, on May 8, 2002, the paper's satire page "Die Wahrheit" (The Truth) claimed that he had sought an operation to use parts of corpses to enlarge his allegedly extremely small penis. Diekmann sued the tageszeitung for 30,000 Euro in damages for illegal violations of his privacy as well as libel and defamation of character. A Berlin court ruled that there was indeed negligence on the part of the tageszeitung, but denied the monetary compensation demanded by Diekmann saying that, as editor of Bild, he "consciously seeks economic advantage from the violation of others' privacy" and therefore "is less heavily burdened by the violation of his own privacy," and furthermore that he should "assume that those standards that he lays on others are also of importance for himself."
An appeal against the ruling was given no chance of success by the higher court and both sides withdrew their appeals.
Family
From 1995 until 1997 Diekmann was married to Jonica Jahr, the daughter of Hamburg publisher John Jahr, Jr. On January 28, 2002, he married Bild columnist Katja Kessler, with former ChancellorChancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
of Germany Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...
serving as his best man. Diekmann and Kessler have four children.
Publications
- Kai Diekmann, Hat die christliche Botschaft keinen Platz mehr in den Medien? Referate und Stellungnahmen bei einer Medientagung zum 25jährigen Jubiläum der Nachrichtenagentur Idea. Wetzlar: Evangelische Nachrichtenagentur, 1995. ISSN 1614-502X
- Helmut Kohl (Kai Diekmann, Ralf G. Reuth, eds.), Ich wollte Deutschlands Einheit. Berlin: Ullstein, 2000. ISBN 3548362648
- Kai Diekmann, Der große Selbstbetrug: Wie wir um unsere Zukunft gebracht werden. 3rd ed. Munich: Piper, 2007. ISBN 978-3492051224
- Kai Diekmann, Süper Freunde: Was Türken und Deutsche sich wirklich zu sagen haben. Munich, Piper, 2008. ISBN 978-3492052559
- Kai Diekmann, "Die Mauer - Fotografien 1961 - 1992." Fackelträger, 2009. ISBN 978-3771644307
- Kai Diekmann, "Die längste Nacht, der größte Tag: Deutschland am 9. November 1989." Munich, Piper, 2009. ISBN 978-3492053365
Awards
- Goldene Feder 2000, 2005
- World Media Award 2002
- Blogger Newcomer of the Year, 2009,
- Media Man of the Year, 2009,