Top German conservative floats broadcaster fee freeze over snub to journalist

BERLIN (Reuters) -The second most senior person in Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative party has floated the idea of freezing funding to Germany's public broadcasters after the airtime of a right-leaning journalist and commentator was cut.

The case of Julia Ruhs, 31, moderator of Klar, a new magazine show that tackles right-wing touchstone topics such as immigration and the handling of COVID-19 has prompted an outcry from some conservative politicians. 

"This is a new low for debate culture in Germany," said Carsten Linnemann, general secretary of Merz's Christian Democrats. 

"It must be clear that public broadcasting has a mandate in matters of culture, education, and information. It must focus on this," he said. "We must state ...that we are freezing fees at their current level until further notice."

IN THE UNITED STATES, KIMMEL'S SHOW TAKEN OFF AIR

The row comes as other Western countries convulse with debates about media freedom.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been accused of using regulators to pressure broadcasters into taking opponents off the air. 

ABC this week suspended Jimmy Kimmel's show after the comedian's comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk prompted a threat by the head of the top U.S. communications regulator against the channel's owner Disney.

Right-wing politicians and rival media groups have long pushed for the wings of Germany's lavishly-funded public broadcasters to be clipped. Licence fees brought in over 8 billion euros ($9.43 billion) last year.

Defenders of the system, a sprawling network of radio and TV stations with deep roots in Germany's different regions, say it safeguards democracy in a country with a dark history of totalitarianism.

An episode of Ruhs' show on migration accompanied a father whose daughter had been stabbed to death by an asylum seeker. One journalism group accused the show of "selling anti-migration messages as diversity of opinion".

Ruhs will continue to present episodes of the show produced by the Bavarian public broadcaster, BR, but northern Germany's NDR said it would seek another presenter for its episodes. It gave no reason for its decision.

"I'm deeply disappointed by NDR's decision," said Ruhs, who first came to prominence with a TV commentary slot warning of the dangers of immigration.

"We got letters from fans saying we had restored their confidence in public broadcasting," she posted on social media. "And now? All their prejudices have been confirmed."

($1 = 0.8485 euros)

(Reporting by Thomas EscrittEditing by Ros Russell)