New task for SRF Director Nathalie Wappler becomes a member of the ARD supervisory board
TV Director Nathalie Wappler will become a member of the new, central media council for public broadcasting in Germany. The election took place yesterday. She will start the part-time mandate after leaving SRF in spring 2026.
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- Nathalie Wappler, currently Director of SRF, will become a member of the newly created German Media Council for ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio from 2026.
- The Media Council will monitor public broadcasting across the entire system and review its statutory remit.
- Her appointment is seen as recognition of her media policy experience and brings a Swiss perspective to the German body.
"I am delighted about the trust that has been placed in me with this appointment. I have dedicated my entire professional career to the public media service. Accordingly, I will do my utmost to strengthen and further develop public service media - out of conviction and inner commitment, because they are central to democracy and society. I am very happy to contribute my perspectives and many years of practical experience as a media manager in Switzerland and Germany to the Media Council," explains SRF Director Nathalie Wappler.
SRG Director General Susanne Wille emphasizes: "The election of Nathalie Wappler to this central supervisory body in Germany is an honour for the Swiss public service and underlines the high reputation we enjoy with our northern neighbors. And it confirms the great experience and foresight for which Nathalie Wappler is recognized far beyond SRF. Congratulations to her."
Wappler brings an outside perspective
On January 19, 2026, the ARD Board of Representatives (GVK) elected Nathalie Wappler as the only Swiss member of the German Media Council, which is made up of six members.
The Media Council is an independent body of experts based in Weimar. The German federal states created the Media Council with the Reform State Treaty that came into force at the end of 2025. One of its tasks is to regularly review how ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio are fulfilling their legal mandate - in other words, how well public service broadcasting (ÖRR) is fulfilling its information, education, culture and entertainment mandate.
"In Nathalie Wappler, the representatives of the state broadcasters have been able to recruit a proven expert from the field of public service broadcasting - both in Germany and Switzerland - for the Media Council. She will not only contribute her experience from inside the media business, but also her view from the outside, from a neighboring country, to its work," says Klaus Sondergeld, Chairman of the GVK.
