Business News
Bertelsmann appoints Werner Eggert as Director of the International Academy of Journalism
Friday 26. November 2010 - Werner Eggert (49), a journalist and lecturer, has been appointed Director of the "International Academy of Journalism". The international media company Bertelsmann had founded the journalism academy in September on the occasion of its 175th anniversary. It will work to spread and strengthen press freedom by fostering the professional skills and networking among dedicated journalists worldwide. The Academy will take up its work in the second half of 2011, when the first round of Fellows is enrolled.
Werner Eggert is currently editor-in-chief and managing director of the non-commercial local stations TIDE TV and TIDE 96.0 in Hamburg. He was involved from the beginning in the Bertelsmann group’s project, which receives substantial support from the Henri Nannen School and the RTL School of Journalism. He will officially take on the management of the Hamburg-based Academy as of 1 January 2011, and will be responsible for its establishment and later operation.
“Werner Eggert combines a wealth of experiences as both a journalist and a lecturer. He has engaged with issues of press freedom in fledgling democracies in theory and in practice. All this makes him the perfect candidate for heading the ‘International Academy of Journalism’,” declared Bertelsmann’s Chairman & CEO, Hartmut Ostrowski. “I am delighted to have Werner Eggert on board and to join him and the two Directors of our schools of journalism in forging ahead with the Academy project.”
Eggert worked at the InWEnt “International Institute for Journalism” in Berlin from 2003 to 2007. Backed by the German government, the institute has been committed to promoting the training of young journalists in developing and emerging countries since 1964. As a project manager, Eggert’s responsibilities included building an online training system and designing and organizing courses on ethics in journalism. The geographic focus of his work was on sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Vietnam. In the 1990s, Eggert spent four years as a teaching editor on the central news desk of the “Namibian Broadcasting Corporation” in Windhoek. Prior to this, Eggert worked as a journalist and editor for clients including the weekly paper “Net Business,” T-Online and the “Deutsches Allgemeines Sonntagsblatt.”
In addition, Eggert has worked for many years as a lecturer at various schools of journalism and has served as a guest lecturer at the Hamburg Media School since 2009. As a publisher, he has been responsible for several publications that explore the importance of a free press in developing and safeguarding democratic processes and structures.
The “International Academy of Journalism” underscores Bertelsmann’s commitment to press freedom, quality journalism and corporate responsibility. EU Commission President acted as patron of the academy’s official founding in Berlin. Each year, the Academy will select journalists from all over the world who have championed freedom of speech and of the press in their native countries in a courageous and high-profile manner. Experienced coaches will share with them the tools for the digital future of journalism in on-site workshops and eLearning modules. At the same time, the participating journalists will explore ethical issues in the media.
Writers interested in enrolling in the International Academy of Journalism can either apply themselves or be nominated in 2011. There are no geographical limitations on the pool of potential Fellows.