Gerhard Kohlenbach
Editor in Chief of News, RTL NEWS
Gerhard Kohlenbach chairs meetings of the Bonn Institute's four partners. He follows news by the minute, and he's convinced that focusing on the negative does not benefit society. Kohlenbach began his career studying journalism in Dortmund and taking part in a professional training program at ZDF, one of Germany's two major public television broadcasters, where he later worked on its flagship news show. His extensive broadcast news experience also includes German private TV station VOX and 27 years at RTL, where he has served as head of news, among other things. Kohlenbach's motto, "Be first, but be right," has proven tried-and-true in the era of fake news and the 24/7 news cycle.
(Picture: © MG RTL D/Marina Rosa Weigl)
Gerda Meuer
Managing Director of Programming, Deutsche Welle
For Gerda Meuer, constructive journalism is journalism that is ready for the future. She started her 30-year journalism career as an agency journalist before becoming a correspondent for Deutsche Welle (DW) in Tokyo and Brussels. Meuer went on to help build the DW Akademie, which trains media professionals in post-crisis and post-conflict countries. Since 2013, Meuer has served as DW's managing director of programming, overseeing all journalistic output across 32 languages, two German headquarters and various bureaus around the world. She sees solutions-oriented journalism as an answer to the spread of disinformation and consequently a key component of the digital transformation.
(Picture: © DW/R. Oberhammer)
Moritz Döbler
Editor in Chief, Rheinische Post
Moritz Döbler has been editor in chief of the Dusseldorf regional daily Rheinische Post (RP) since early 2020. Before joining RP, he was editor in chief and later managing director of the Bremen daily Weser-Kurier. Döbler began his career working for the wire services, including Germany's dpa in Hamburg and Munich and Reuters in Berlin, where he served as digital executive editor and bureau chief. He then spent 10 years at the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel. Döbler studied business administration and did his journalism training at the Henri Nannen School in Hamburg.
(Picture: © Rheinische Post/Andreas Krebs)
Ulrik Haagerup
CEO & Founder, Constructive Institute
Ulrik Haagerup is the CEO of the Constructive Institute in Aarhus, Denmark, which he founded in 2017. Haagerup has worked as an investigative journalist, served as editor in chief of the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten (1994-2002) and the Nordjyske Media group (2002-2007) and was director of news at Danish public broadcaster DR. Haagerup trained at the Danish School of Journalism. In 2021 he helped found the Bonn Institute for Journalism & Constructive Dialogue. Haagerup was awarded the Cavling Prize, the Danish equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, in 1990.
(Picture: © Constructive Institute)