2016-2018

Ines Eisele
Ines holds a bachelor's degree in German Language and Literature Studies/Portuguese Romance Studies from the University of Cologne and is currently completing a master's degree in journalism at the Leipzig University. Her forays into journalism include stops at ZDF's foreign studio in South America, the German public broadcaster MDR, the Leipziger Volkszeitung newspaper and various campus radio stations. She spent a semester abroad studying in Brazil. Ines was born in Bocholt.

1. If I wasn't a journalist I'd be:
A translator or the owner of my own café

2. I'm really impressed by …

Good stand-up comedy, down-to-earth people, people who are always calm, knowledge
3. You should definitely see/listen to/read:

See: Different countries and people. You should also watch the films Head-On, The Constant Gardener, Toni Erdmann and The Other Son.

Listen to: Agnes Obell, Pupkulies & Rebecca

Read: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Americanah, So Was Von Da (in German only), the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit

4. I'd love to have a beer with:

Vladimir Putin, Christa Wolf, Robert Redford

5. I'm really bad at…

Remembering names and birthdays, driving well, finding my way around a place I've never been to, eating without making a mess, coming up with a joke


Kai Steinecke
Kai studies journalism and political science at the TU Dortmund University. He gained hands-on experience at the Bertelsmann company, stern magazine, Die Glocke local newspaper, the Westfalen-Blatt and Neue Westfälische newspapers, and the MPT Travel and Lifestyle Group in Australia. He was born in Gütersloh.

1. If I wasn't a journalist I'd be:

A political advisor or secret agent
2. I'm really impressed by…

People who are passionate about something
3: You should definitely see/listen to/read:
Watch: Dead Poets' Society
Listen to: Soundtracks by Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Steve Jablonsky and others
Read: The Kingkiller Chronicle
4. I'd love to have a beer with:
Robin Williams - a gifted actor and comedian
5. I'm really bad at…

Being patient, remembering names, whistling with my fingers

Ruben Kalus
After completing a bachelor's degree in Popular Music and Media (a combination of music and media studies) in Paderborn, Ruben went on to earn a master's degree in Media Studies. He did internships at DW and worked as a freelancer for DW's Culture Department. He gathered additional experience at Cinema Musica (a magazine specializing in film and media music), the bonnFM campus radio station and the music label Uncle M. He also worked as editorial chief for the vinyl records shop finestvinyl. He was born in Münster and has a passion for journalism and music.

1. If I wasn't a journalist I'd be :
A musician or a marine biologist (as a kid that's what I wanted to be)
2. I'm really impressed by …
People who have a good idea and try to make it happen – even if it means going against the tide
3. You definitely have to see/listen to/read:
See: Austria's Salzkammergut, Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum, and watch “In Bruges”, a film by Martin McDonagh
Listen to: Avishai Cohen live, D'Angelo's "Voodoo" and "Black Messiah"
Read: “Deutschstunde” by Siegfried Lenz, “Die13 ½ Leben des Kapitän Blaubär” by Walter Moers, Miles Davis' autobiography
4. I'd love to have a beer with:
Helge Schneider or the one and only Tom Waits or the cabaret artists Max Uthoff and Claus von Wagner
5. What I'm really bad at is….
Going to bed early, rolling my tongue, taking care of plants, handiwork

Lea Albrecht
Lea holds a bachelor's degree in Ethnology and a master's degree in European Studies. She learned initial journalism skills at various campus radio stations, the German news channel N24 and the TIDE community station in Hamburg. She also did an internship with the Goethe-Institut in Thessaloniki (Greece). Lea was born in Rostock.

1. If I wasn't a journalist I'd be:
A speech therapist or witchy herbalist
2. I'm really impressed by…
Organized people, people who can switch dialects, musical thinkers, people who are easily pleased, religious believers
3. You definitely have to watch/listen/read:
Watch: The Woyzeck play at Hamburg's Thalia Theatre, the Adam's Apples film and the Philosophisches Kopfkino program on the 3sat TV channel
Listen to: Winnie the Pooh read by Harry Rowohlt, Am Fenster by City and Me aeroplana kai vaporia by Sotiria Bellou
Read: Orlando by Virginia Woolf, Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson
4. I'd love to have a beer with:
Yanis Varoufakis
5. I'm really bad at…
Leaving the cinema when the film credits are rolling, the 1990s music charts

Malte Rohwer-Kahlmann
Malte studied in England and holds a bachelor's degree in International Business and a master's degree in print journalism. He gathered additional journalism skills at DW (Berlin) and MEN Media (Manchester), and has worked for various agencies in Germany and England (including online marketing). Malte was born in Bremen.

1. If I wasn't a journalist I'd be:
An actor maybe, or a marketing guru, or a lawyer, or something completely different
2. I'm really impressed by…
People who know what they're doing or talking about
3. You definitely have to watch/listen to/read:
Watch: The first season of True Detective, all seasons of The Inbetweeners, and Horst Lüning's whiskey tasting
Listen to: The Libertines – live if possible, good rap music, and the Fest und Flauschig podcast (in German)
Read: The weekly German newspaper Die Zeit, as much Hemingway as you can and as few YouTube comments as possible
4. I'd love to have a beer with:
Hunter S. Thompson if he were still alive but I'd also be happy to have a beer with Thomas Schaaf, Jennifer Lawrence or Louis Theroux
5. I'm really bad at...
DIY (I'm all thumbs) and getting my bearings. That's why I'm best friends with Google Maps.

Rachel Stewart
Rachel has a bachelor's degree in modern languages, with stays in France, Spain and Germany. She has worked with the Daily Telegraph and BBC Radio, and has also taught English in Germany and in France. Rachel was born in Great Britain.

1) If I wasn't a journalist I'd be:
A travel book writer
2. I'm really impressed by...
People who can open a beer bottle without a bottle opener
3. You definitely have see/listen to/read:
See: An Olympic event, live
Listen to: The sea at night
Read: As much as you can
4. I'd love to have a beer with:
Hugh Laurie, Andy Murray and the Gilmore Girls
5. I'm really bad at....
Opening a beer bottle without a bottle opener....

Lea Fauth
Lea studied in France, Mexico, Brazil, Portugal and for a few months in Germany, and holds a bachelor's and master's degree in philosophy. She gained initial journalism practice at the German newspaper taz, the Lateinamerika Nachrichten, and RUC (Radio Universidad Coimbra, Portugal), among others. She was born in Hamburg.

1. If I wasn't a journalist I'd be:
Unemployed
2. I'm really impressed by…
James Joyce
3. You definitely have to watch/read/listen to:
James Joyce
4. I'd love to have a beer with:
James Joyce
5. I'm really bad at…
Filling out questionnaires


Mariel Müller
Mariel holds a master's degree in Ethnology with a major in documentary filmmaking. She gained initial journalism skills at the ZDF's foreign studio in Nairobi, the newpaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and DW's Washington studio. As a fellow at the afk tv channel, the Ansbach University of Applied Sciences, and the Mediencampus Bayern, she completed a traineeship in videojournalism. Mariel is half-Peruvian and half-German and grew up bilingual. She was born in Munich.

1. If I wasn't a journalist I'd be:
A documentary filmmaker
2. I'm really impressed by:
People who can listen to other points of views, admit to their own mistakes and be self-critical
3. You definitely have to watch/listen to/ read:
Watch: "War Photographer" by Christian Frei
Listen to: "Latinoamérica" by Calle 13
Read : "Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty" by Roger Thurow and Scott Kilman
4. I'd love to have a beer with:
Aung San Suu Kyi, John Oliver und Oliver Rohrbach, who does the German voiceovers for Jupiter Jones (a.k.a Justus Jonas of “Die Drei ???”)
5. I'm really bad at…
Cooking without using chili, garlic and onions

Daniel Bellut
After receiving a bachelor's degree in Political Science from universities in Würzburg and Geneva, Daniel focused on European Studies at the London School of Economics. He has done internships at the German Federal Press Office, the German public broadcaster's ARD studio in Istanbul and the German Federal Foreign Office. Born in Germany, he has also taken part in study trips to countries where French, English or Turkish is spoken.

1. If I wasn't a journalist I'd be:
A tax adviser, insurance broker, director of a local savings bank, accountant or a notary public
2. I'm really impressed by:
Courageous and independent thinkers who go against the tide and follow their visions – even if they're unpopular ones and don't reflect standard thinking patterns
3. You definitely have to see/listen to/read:
See: The view from Berlin's Overbaum Bridge at dawn looking over the Spree River; Istanbul's skyline with the three large mosques and the Topkapi Palace towering over the Bosphorus that's studded with ferries, Russian tankers and fishing boats; the ancient medina in Fez
Listen to: Modern Talking's China In Her Eyes, Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up (watch the barkeeper in the music video)
Read: Steppenwolf, my favorite book
4. I'd love to have a beer with:
Henry Kissinger. I'd interview him on Oswald Sprengler, the balance of power, lasting peace, the balance of fear, Bismark, Metternicht, the new world order, Woodrow Wilson, idealism, China, the Holocaust and the Vietnam War
5. I'm really bad at…
Touching the tips of my toes without bending, rolling cigarettes, ballroom dancing, backing in to a parking space on the left side of the street, touching my nose with my tongue, doing backflips from a three meter diving board, knotting a tie, DIY stuff (i.e. putting in a light bulb), opening my eyes under water (especially if it's salty)


Kiyo Dörrer
Kiyo holds a bachelor's degree in International Literatures and Japanese Studies from the University in Tübingen as well as a master's degree in International Management Asia, which she completed in Constance and Shanghai. She gained initial journalism skills at a Tokyo business magazine, the German TV channel ProSieben, and the Schwäbische Zeitung newspaper. She has also worked for the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Kiyo is half-Japanese and half-German and grew up speaking three languages.

1. If I wasn't a journalist I'd be:
An interpreter or diplomat
2. I'm really impressed by…
Mental arithmetic, freestyle rap, people who keep their head while others are losing theirs
3. You definitely have to see/listen to/read:
See: The world
Listen to: The stories other people tell
Read: The history of the world (I need to get started)
4. I'd love to have a beer with:
John Oliver, Jan Böhmermann (German satirist) and Queen Elizabeth II. All together and just for fun.
5. I'm really bad at…
Mental arithmetic, freestyle rap, keeping my head while others are losing theirs

Amien Essif
Amien studied English Literature and French Studies, and while going to university began writing a weekly column for the campus newspaper. Other forays in to journalism included a stay with the monthly magazine In These Times (Chicago) and writing pieces for AlterNet, Al Jazeera America and The Guardian's US edition. Amien is an American born in France. He came to Germany in 2015 to do a report and then decided to stay.

1. If I wasn't a journalist I'd be:
A poet and deliver pizzas
2. I'm really impressed by:
People who turn down an award for political reasons
3. You definitely have to see/listen to/read:
See: A Pina Bausch dance piece
Listen to: The radio drama "The Fix". Journalist Jason Leopold talks about his drug addiction and how he overcame it by becoming addicted to journalism.
Read: The interview with Allen Ginsberg that appeared in the Paris Review in 1966. He doesn't stop talking and appears to be insane, but what he says is in fact brilliant. He covers almost every topic.
4. I'd love to have a beer with:
Slavoj Zizek, but I'd need to have a drink first. A drink with the filmmaker Miranda July would also be good.
5. I'm really bad at...
Accepting things as they are, video games


Melanie Cura Daball
Melanie holds a bachelor's degree in Political Studies and a master's degree in Conflict Studies. She has done internships at The Guardian and openDemocracy in Great Britain, and at the public broadcaster ZDF and Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper in Germany. She has worked as a freelance writer for LSE's Amnesty International Journal and has also worked in video journalism. Melanie was born in Heidelberg and grew up in an Argentinian-German household.

1. If I wasn't a journalist I'd be:
An astronaut or an archeologist. I've always wanted to see and explore as much of the world as I can.
2. I'm really impressed by:
Idealists who have a backbone and never give up
3. You definitely have to see/listen to/read:
See: The amazing Christiane Amanpour, live
Listen to: The voice of the legendary singer Mercedes Sosa
Read: “A Theory of Justice” by the brilliant John Rawls
4. I'd love to have a beer with:
James Nachtwey. He's a giant among war photographers but prefers to call himself a peace photographer
5. I'm really bad at...
Being too patient and being bored