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Deutsche Welle: Editor-in-Chief Appoints Five New Members To The Editorial Board
Manuela Kasper-Claridge, DW’s editor-in-chief since May, is bringing journalistic experts to her team. She has appointed five new members to the editorial board. “I want a clear focus on digitization. I want us to keep a close eye on our target groups. And it’s all about diversity,” says Kasper-Claridge. “The new members each have a different cultural background and are experts in their journalistic field. They will advise me and provide important input on content.”
Jaafar Abdul Karim is the head of the JaafarTalk editorial team and a multiple award-winning journalist. He has an audience of millions and stands for in-depth and successful dialogue with DW users in the Arabic-speaking broadcast area and in Europe. He will bring his experience with social and online media to the board and provide impulses for further digital formats.
American journalist Kristin Zeier is an expert on quality control. “In times of media fragmentation and disinformation there is a strong demand for fact-based information and careful research. That’s what we at DW rely on and provide important fact checks,” Zeier says.
Erkan Arikan has been the head of DW’s Turkish-language editorial department since 2018 and is responsible for the YouTube channel +90 which DW operates together with France
24, the BBC and Voice of America. The aim of his team is to strengthen freedom of expression and diversity. On the editorial team, Arikan will focus on the topic of transparency.
Sandra Petersmann worked as a correspondent for German public broadcaster ARD in South Asia where she discovered her passion for investigative journalism. Together with her team, she is expanding DW’s comprehensive and worldwide research. She brings her experience with global, collective research networks to the team.
Business journalist Chiponda Chimbelu is a proven expert on Africa and reports on diversity issues such as racism at the workplace. “For me, diversity means discovering common ground, but of course also recognition and appreciation regardless of a person’s social or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, religion or other characteristics,” says Chimbelu.
Editor-in-chief Manuela Kasper-Claridge: “As a strong team, we will be able to provide important content impulses both internally and externally. The great cultural diversity and the very different experiences make for the strength of our reporting. We are building on this. We will develop high-quality formats for the digital platforms. Our goal is sustainable growth in reach.” DW had more than a billion digital views both in March and April this year.
