In the last 25 years, I have produced almost 300 stories, features and documentaries, most of them alone but many in cooperation with a team of other journalists. As an editor for SPIEGEL TV Magazin (which cooperates with the private German broadcaster RTL), my films appeared almost weekly for a time before their frequency dropped to several times a year once I took on a leadership role. As editor-in-chief, I was only rarely able to find the time to report in the field. During that time, however, I was able to lead primetime Sunday evening broadcasts and political talk shows in addition to overseeing numerous multimedia projects.
As a reporter, I filed from around the world. In 1999, I spent a year as a Washington, D.C., correspondent and also reported on the ground during the wars in Kosovo and Iraq. At the 2004 New York Festivals, I received a World Medal for a film about the invasion of Iraq. In addition to features from war zones and crisis regions, I frequently wrote about political and scientific issues in addition to completing investigative projects. Because I grew up in Brazil and speak Brazilian Portuguese almost like a first language, I have frequently reported from South America.
After completing my studies in geography, sport sciences and political science in Tübingen and Rio de Janeiro, I learned the television business at SPIEGEL TV in Hamburg. Following an internship, I was offered a traineeship and then a fulltime editor's job. I progressed through various positions, including reporter, correspondent in Washington, senior editor and managing editor. In early 2011, I was made head of video for the SPIEGEL Group (DER SPIEGEL, SPIEGEL ONLINE and SPIEGEL TV). In November of 2011, I became editor-in-chief of SPIEGEL TV.
I was born in Göppingen in 1967 and grew up in Bad Boll and São Paulo, Brazil (spending a total of six years overseas). After finishing high school, I completed my civil service at a rehabilitation hospital in Ulm. During my university studies in Tübingen, I received a DAAD grant to study at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. I was also a teaching assistant in Department of Economic and Social Geography.