Fritz Pleitgen

Fritz Ferdinand Pleitgen (21 March 1938 – 15 September 2022) was a German television journalist and author. He was correspondent in Moscow, East Berlin and Washington. He was the Intendant of Westdeutscher Rundfunk.

Pleitgen was born in Duisburg-Meiderich on 21 March 1938, the fifth child of a technical draftsman working at Krupp. He grew up in Bünde in East Westphalia. He left high school without a degree, because he was already working for the Bünde local editorial office of the Bielefeld's Freie Presse. In 1961, he volunteered there and became an editor. Since 1963, Pleitgen had worked as a journalist at the German broadcaster WDR; he started as a reporter for Tagesschau. His duties included foreign reporting from Brussels and Paris on the deliberations of the European Economic Community and NATO. In 1967, he reported from the Middle East on the "Six Day War" between Israel and its Arab neighbors. From 1970, Pleitgen reported as ARD foreign correspondent from Moscow, Soviet Union, accompanied the head of the Kremlin Leonid Brezhnev on trips abroad. He was the first Western journalist to do an interview with the then General Secretary. He also established contacts with well-known dissidents, like Lew Kopelew, Stefan Heym and Robert Havemann. In 1977, Pleitgen moved as correspondent to East Berlin, but his work was restricted by the Stasi. Since 1982, he reported as ARD studio manager from Washington and New York and excelled in critical reporting on Ronald Reagan. He moderated Weltspiegel, Brennpunkt and the ARD-Presseclub. The Cold War reporter became the television face of reunification. In 1988, Pleitgen was editor-in-chief of WDR television in Cologne and in 1994 director of radio. Pleitgen was Intentant (director) of the WDR from 1995 to 2007; from 2001 to 2002, he was chairman of the ARD. His motto was "Durch Qualität zur Quote" (Through quality to rate). He played a key role in the launch of the event and documentary channel Phoenix. From 2006 to 2008, he was head of the European Broadcasting Union. After leaving WDR, Pleitgen took over the management of the project European Capital of Culture 2010 (Ruhr.2010) in Essen. He officially retired in 2010. He is considered one of the most influential German journalists and media makers.

• 2010–2021 President of the German Cancer Aid

Pleitgen was married since 1969 and had four children. One of his sons is journalist Frederik Pleitgen. He lived in Bergisch Gladbach. In 2020, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pleitgen died on 15 September 2022 in Cologne at the age of 84.

• Durch den wilden Kaukasus (in German). Frankfurt am Main, Germany. 2002. ISBN 978-3-596-15274-2. OCLC 76326531.
• Biermann, Wolf; Pleitgen, Fritz (2001). Die Ausbürgerung: Anfang vom Ende der DDR (in German). Berlin, Germany: Ullstein. ISBN 3-89834-044-9. OCLC 49936401.
• Dittert, Annette; Pleitgen, Fritz (2005). Der stille Bug Reise durch ein zerissenes Land (in German). Berlin, Germany. ISBN 978-3-548-36739-2. OCLC 76602093.
• Der Sport im Fernsehen (in German). Cologne, Germany. 2000. ISBN 978-3-934156-16-6. OCLC 247672497.
• Väterchen Don der Fluss der Kosaken (in German). Cologne, Germany. 2008. ISBN 978-3-462-04046-3. OCLC 297579007.
• Eine unmögliche Geschichte als Politik und Bürger Berge versetzten (in German). Freiburg, Germany. 2021. ISBN 978-3-451-39053-1. OCLC 1258120322.
• Pleitgen, Fritz; Schischkin, Michail (2021). Frieden oder Krieg Russland und der Westen – eine Annäherung (in German). Munich, Germany: Wilhelm Heyne Verlag München. ISBN 978-3-453-60581-7. OCLC 1204398549.

• 1995: Saure Gurke, mocking award by feminist media professionals
• 1999: Närrisches Steckenpferd by Krefeld-based carnival association
• 1999: Georg Schulhoff award for professional training
• 2003: Josef Neuberger [de] medal by Düsseldorf's Jewish community
• 2004: Culture award by Free Masons
• 2005: Charlemagne Medal for the European Media
• 2006: Ambassador for 2006 INAS World Football Championships in Germany
• 2006: Honorary doctorate of Dortmund University
• Kulturgroschen 2007 awarded by German Cultural Council
• 2007: Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia
• 2007: Willi Ostermann medal in Gold, highest Cologne Carnival honor
• 2009: Goldenes Lot by German Construction surveying engineering association,
• 2012: Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• 2019: Brost Ruhr Prize