Politics · Germany · 17 hrs ago
AfD leaders renew calls to dismantle public broadcasting after ZDF exchange
AfD leader Ulrich Siegmund challenged ZDF reporter Fabian Köster during an interview at the state parliament in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt.
Siegmund asked whether Köster had found another job if the AfD ended the media pact this year.
The party wants to dismantle Germany’s public broadcasting system, which is funded in part by a household fee.
The German Journalists’ Association called Siegmund’s remark an attempt to intimidate critical reporters.
AfD politician Markus Frohnmaier defended Siegmund and repeated the party’s call to end the broadcasting fee.
The party says it would replace the system with a smaller or fee-free service, but one state cannot end the fee on its own.
The legal and political future of public broadcasting in Saxony-Anhalt remains uncertain.
AfD politicians renewed calls to end Germany’s public broadcasting system after Ulrich Siegmund asked ZDF reporter Fabian Köster whether he had found a new job.
Siegmund said the AfD planned to cancel the media-state treaty, while senior party figure Markus Frohnmaier declared that the AfD would abolish the broadcasting fee.
The German Journalists’ Association criticised Siegmund’s remarks as intimidation of a journalist.
Frohnmaier attacked the association’s criticism and defended the party’s position.
The ZDF said the safety of its staff was a high priority.
- Who
- AfD politicians Ulrich Siegmund and Markus Frohnmaier, ZDF reporter Fabian Köster, and the German Journalists’ Association.
- What
- Siegmund linked the planned cancellation of the media-state treaty to Köster needing a new job. Frohnmaier renewed the AfD’s call to abolish the broadcasting fee.
- When
- The exchange took place the previous week; the articles were published on 12 and 13 October 2026.
- Where
- At the state parliament in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt.
- Why
- The AfD says it wants to end the current public broadcasting system. The DJV criticised Siegmund’s remarks as pressure on a journalist.
German Journalists’ Association
AfD
Intimidation
German Journalists’ Association
The DJV said linking critical journalism to the loss of a job was intimidation and crossed a red line.
AfD
Frohnmaier called the DJV’s criticism illogical and said publicly funded ZDF commentators had no right to lifelong wealth from broadcasting fees.
Public broadcasting
German Journalists’ Association
The DJV warned that political pressure on journalists raises concerns about their ability to work freely.
AfD
The AfD wants to abolish the broadcasting fee and end the existing public broadcasting system.
ZDF reporter Fabian Köster questioned Ulrich Siegmund at the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, and Siegmund asked whether Köster had found a new job if the AfD cancelled the media-state treaty.
The German Journalists’ Association condemned Siegmund’s remarks as intimidation.
taz published an account of the exchange and the DJV’s criticism.
Markus Frohnmaier criticised the DJV and repeated the AfD’s call to abolish the broadcasting fee.
- Reporter
- Fabian Köster, ZDF
- AfD politician
- Ulrich Siegmund
- Location
- State parliament in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt
- Party position
- Cancel the media-state treaty and abolish the broadcasting fee
- DJV chairman
- Mika Beuster
4 sources
Ulrich Siegmund und die Drohung in Richtung ZDF: Jetzt könnte es kompliziert werden
„Wie lächerlich ist das denn?“ – AfD-Politiker wütet gegen „überbezahlte ZDF-Meinungsmacher“
Ulrich Siegmund gegen Fabian Köster: Verbales Kräftemessen
AfD in Sachsen-Anhalt: Journalistenverband wirft Siegmund Einschüchterung von Reporter vor
What people are saying
First put critical journalists under pressure, then want to dismantle broadcasters: that is not a media policy, that is pure intimidation.
Overpaid ZDF opinion-makers have no claim to live in wealth for life through citizens’ fees.
We as the AfD will abolish the broadcasting fee!
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