Thilo Mischke new ttt presenter – ARD employee with criticism

This personality divides the ARD: Thilo Mischke is to become the new presenter of the ARD cultural magazine “ttt – titel thesen temperamente”. But now employees have published an open letter against him.

A number of cultural workers wrote an open letter against Thilo Mischke’s involvement as presenter of the ARD cultural magazine “ttt – titel thesen temperamente”. In the letter available to the dpa to the program managers of the public ARD broadcasters involved, it is stated that collaboration with Mischke has been ruled out.

They are “dismayed by this personnel decision by ARD, which will permanently damage the cultural program ttt – titel thesen temperamente”. The “Tagesspiegel” first reported on the open letter.

The signatories include, for example, Alena Schröder, Saša Stanišić, Jan Brandt, Ulrike Draesner, Margarete Stokowski and Till Raether. dpa asked Mischke for a statement. ARD made no comment. The signatories of the letter, which include authors as well as journalists and cultural workers, also accuse Mischke of not having critically examined his earlier work and of not distancing himself sufficiently.

Thilo Mischke’s “Around the World in 80 Women”

Before Christmas, ARD announced that Mischke and Siham El-Maimouni would be moderating the show from mid-February, which is traditionally broadcast late in the evening on Sundays on Erste. “ttt” is one of the best-known cultural formats on ARD. The show has been around since 1967. Mischke is also starting a culture podcast with Jule Lobo. Mischke also announced his new role on Instagram. He has not commented on the case since then.

After the announcement, Mischke’s personality sparked criticism on social media that referred to the past. For example, his book “Around the World in 80 Women” from 2010 was discussed. The ARD then emphasized: “’ttt’ stands against all forms of sexism and racism and, like Thilo Mischke, stands for diversity of opinion and tolerance .» Since its publication, he has “dealt intensively and self-critically with the allegations of having conveyed a sexist image of women and of having used racist language in places.”

In his book published in 2010, the then 29-year-old Mischke documented his trip around the world, which he began with the declared goal of sleeping with women in 80 countries. If he succeeded, his friends, with whom he had made a corresponding bet, would pay for the trip. An excerpt from it that attracted a lot of criticism:

Mischke has been known for years primarily through reports for the private television station ProSieben. He won the German Television Prize in 2023 for his ProSieben report “Abandoned and Forgotten? Afghanistan in the grip of the Taliban”. Before the last federal election, Mischke interviewed the then newly elected chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock from the Greens for ProSieben in April 2021. In 2020 he won the Bavarian Television Prize for his ProSieben report “Germans on the ISIS Front” about people who go to war for the Islamic State terrorist militia.

After the fatal plane accident in Muan, South Korea, investigators are looking into safety risks posed by the wall at the end of the runway. As the Yonhap news agency reported, police officers searched the offices of the airport in the southwest of the country for the second day in a row. There is suspicion of negligent actions resulting in death. According to the information, the investigators want to collect information as to whether the concrete wall in this form complied with the usual safety rules.