Thilo Mischke will not be the presenter of the ARD cultural magazine “ttt – title, theses, temperament”, as ARD confirmed on Saturday. The “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, among others, previously reported that Mischke was refused the post. Recently, criticism of the journalist has increased due to his previous authorship.
That’s what it’s all about
Before Christmas, ARD announced that Mischke and Siham El-Maimouni would host the show, traditionally broadcast late on Sundays on Erste, from mid-February. “ttt” is one of ARD’s best-known cultural formats. The show has been running since 1967. Last year, an average of about 850,000 viewers (7.4 percent market share) watched it. Mischke is also launching a cultural podcast with author Jule Lobo, ARD reported.
The journalist and author announced his new position at public television on Instagram – and has since made no comment on the case or the criticism. Meanwhile, discontent grew louder online. Recently, an open letter from cultural workers refusing to work with Mischke was circulated.
Why these criticisms?
The criticism leveled at Mischke and ARD revolves around the journalist and author’s past. The topic of discussion was his book “Around the World in 80 Women” from 2010. Mischke traveled the world thanks to the challenge of seducing 80 women. That’s where the book comes from.
The ARD first focused on Mischke’s personality despite the criticism and underlined: “‘ttt’ is opposed to all forms of sexism and racism and, like Thilo Mischke, defends the diversity of opinions and the tolerance. Since its publication, he has worked “intensively and” self-critically dealt with accusations of having conveyed a sexist image of women and of sometimes using racist language.
The signatories of the open letter, however, also accuse Mischke of not having critically examined his previous work and of not having distanced himself sufficiently.
On Christmas Eve, we could read on the Instagram profile of “ttt” that they had not only received support, but also critical comments. “One thing in advance: we hear you.” They asked for time to resolve the problem.
Covered with prizes
Mischke has been known for years mainly through reporting for the private television channel ProSieben. He won the German Television Prize in 2023 for his ProSieben report “Abandoned and forgotten? Afghanistan under the influence of the Taliban.
Before the last federal elections, Mischke interviewed Annalena Baerbock (Greens), then newly elected chancellor, for ProSieben in April 2021. In 2020 he won the Bavarian Television Prize for his ProSieben report “Germans on the ISIS front” about people going to war. for the Islamic State terrorist militia.
ProSieben spoke of a “wild hunt”
ProSieben was behind Mischke this week. The channel posted on the X platform on Thursday: “What a wild hunt for @ThiloMischke. We appreciate him because he has been producing incredibly important and high-quality reports for years, for which he has received numerous awards. Judging him by a single book from that era is a very, very self-righteous approach that says a lot about those who do just that.
Furthermore, broadcaster Christoph Körfer told the German press agency on Thursday: “ProSieben has been working closely with Thilo Mischke for years. » They look forward to “special reports from Thilo Mischke on ProSieben in 2025 and in the following years”.
