schema:articleBody
| - Germany's most powerful newspaper editor resumed his duties Thursday after stepping aside earlier this month over several complaints of misconduct by female staff, publisher Axel Springer said. The editor-in-chief of top-selling daily Bild, Julian Reichelt, had asked the company's board of directors on March 12 to be temporarily relieved of his duties "until the allegations have been clarified". Springer said Thursday that an internal investigation had found no evidence of abuse of power and concluded it would "not be justified" to strip Reichelt of his position. He will, however, now work in a tandem with the female editor of Bild's Sunday edition, Alexandra Wuerzbach, 52. Reichelt, 40, was suspected of having promoted interns with whom he had affairs and then sidelining or firing them, news magazine Der Spiegel had reported. However Springer said that "contrary to reports in some media...there was no evidence of sexual harassment or coercion". "Julian Reichelt admitted to mixing professional and private relationships but denied the aforementioned accusations and swore to this under oath," it said. Springer CEO Mathias Doepfner said in announcing Wuerzbach's promotion that it was "clear" that "even if there is no need for legal action, there is a need for change in the Bild leadership culture". Reichelt has worked for Springer since 2002, making his name as a war zone reporter. He said he was "relieved and happy" to be back and admitted "mistakes" in his dealings with staff, pledging to work toward a "new corporate culture for Bild". The tabloid-style Bild, Germany's top selling daily newspaper, has a circulation of about 1.2 million and is widely read by the country's political class. It has been sharply critical of Chancellor Angela Merkel and her management of the coronavirus pandemic since the start of the outbreak. dlc/hmn/kjl
|