The armed conflicts in Ukraine and the suffering of the Ukrainian population continue, with thousands still fleeing their homeland every day. Since Russian troops attacked the country on February 24, Bertelsmann companies as well as employees have been actively engaged in helping the affected people both in Ukraine and in neighboring countries, which have taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees. In addition, all of the Bertelsmann Group’s media have since been reporting intensively and in detail on the current situation. Read on for the latest overview.
Journalists at all RTL Group units in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium, Croatia, and Luxembourg regularly provide live broadcasts and updates both from the war zone itself and from neighboring countries, as well as from the reactions of politicians in other countries. RTL Germany alone has aired more than 200 hours of special broadcasts since the start of the war and has reorganized its programming to do so; its news coverage has been significantly expanded once again. RTL Television and the news channel NTV have jointly broadcast many program segments. On the first seven days of the war, the special broadcasts were broadcast without commercial breaks, and reached more than 35 million viewers on the two channels. According to the broadcaster, the news website ntv.de is visited by as many as 25 million people every day. And since mid-March, the Ukrainian TV journalist Karolina Ashion has presented the ten-minute news format “Ukraine Update” in Ukrainian Mondays through Fridays, on rtl.de/news, ntv.de, and on NTV’s YouTube channel. Strong ratings show a high level of trust and interest among viewers: For instance, RTL’s war coverage attracted between 13 and 15 percent of its key target group of 14- to 59-year-olds. NTV recorded market shares of more than four percent at times, three times as high as usual.
Most watched news program in Hungary
Groupe M6 in France broadcasts reports from war correspondents in Ukraine on its main TV and radio news programs. On the day of the Russian invasion, “Le 1945” achieved the highest viewer ratings in the country and was the most-watched news program in its target demographic. Since then, Groupe M6 channels have been kept their viewers and listeners informed about the war in Ukraine and its dramatic consequences for the people, as well as its economic and political impact on Europe and the whole world, in near-daily special broadcasts. RTL Hungary’s “RTL News” is the most-watched and -trusted news program in Hungary; here, too, the war in Ukraine and all its implications are part of the daily coverage.To maintain independent reporting from the war zone, RTL Deutschland offers its reporters special crisis training in cooperation with professional security firms. In general, too, the reporters in the war zone are always accompanied by specially trained security personnel and wear NBC personal protective equipment, i.e. a protective vest, helmet and medical backpack. The security advisors also help them assess risks and better plan their missions; they can also provide medical assistance. Kavita Sharma has been in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, with a single interruption, and reports live from Kiev for RTL and NTV.
‘Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern’ foundation raises €24 million
Right at the start of the conflict in Ukraine, numerous donation campaigns were launched across the Group. Employees in all business units, in some cases in close cooperation with management, independently developed and implemented aid programs, collected cash and in-kind donations, and opened their own homes to refugees. Wherever possible, management has supported these decentralized initiatives and also provided financial assistance. All in all, this has resulted in an impressive bundle of aid measures. For example, viewers and users of RTL Deutschland’s various programs and media offerings have to date donated over €24 million to the “Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern” foundation. The foundation provides immediate and uncomplicated on-site assistance to children and their families affected by the war in Ukraine; its partners in the war zone are active in Ukraine. They include UNICEF, SOS Children’s Villages, the German medical aid organization Action Medeor, Caritas International, UN Refugee Aid, and the Malteser Relief Service.RTL Nederland and other channels, as well as an all-day radio show that was also broadcast on RTL 5, supported the Red Cross with a special aid and fundraising day on March 7. The event raised €85 million in just one day. Our colleagues at Groupe M6 collected more than a ton of food and basic necessities and sent them to Ukraine. Groupe M6’s radio and TV broadcasters are also working with the Fondation de France to support the people of Ukraine. RTL Belgium has teamed up with other media companies to support a group of seven Belgian NGOs with a fundraising appeal on TV, radio and digital channels. RTL Hungary is supporting the Hungarian organization Interchurch Aid.
€150,000 for local aid initiatives
Arvato Financial Solutions and Arvato Supply Chain Management have jointly donated €150,000. Arvato Systems donated €25,000 to the RTL Foundation. The companies have also called on all their employees to make further donations. Beyond this, employees at Arvato’s national companies in Poland, the Baltic states and Scandinavia have launched numerous aid initiatives ranging from raising in-kind donations and organizing aid deliveries to hosting refugees in their own homes.Penguin Random House supports the Ukraine Crisis Fund of its longtime partner Save the Children. The STC Ukraine Crisis Fund helps millions of children and their families with emergency reconstruction aid, food, water, hygiene kits, psychosocial support, and cash. Penguin Random House employees worldwide can make their own contribution, which Penguin Random House matches up to $1,000 through its Matching Gifts Program. If the amount is higher, Penguin Random House will match the donation by $1,000.
The management and employees of GGP Media, a Bertelsmann Printing Group subsidiary in Pößneck, Thuringia, coordinated with the town’s authorities to evacuate 45 refugees, mainly children and women, from the Polish-Ukrainian border region. Other BPG companies and units are also committed to helping people affected by the war in Ukraine. For example, “DeutschlandCard” has called on all participants in the multichannel marketing platform to donate their points to benefit the “Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern” foundation. So far, nearly 30 million points have been donated, the equivalent of close to €300,000. And BPG-IT, the internal IT service provider for Bertelsmann Printing Group units, has called on its employees to submit receipts of their private donations to any Ukraine aid organizations. The corporate unit will then donate a matching sum, up to a maximum of €5,000, to the “Deutschland hilft” campaign.
