Thomas Bellut (born 8 March 1955) is a German journalist. From 2012 to 2022, he was the director (German: ''
Intendant'') of the TV channel
ZDF.
Early life and education
Bellut was born in
Osnabrück
Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
. After graduating from the school Antonianum in
Vechta
Vechta (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Vechte'') is the capital and largest city of the Vechta district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is home to the University of Vechta.
It is known for the 'Stoppelmarkt' fair, which takes place every summer and has a h ...
in 1974, he studied
Political Science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
, History and Journalism at the
Westphalian Wilhelms University in
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...
from 1975 to 1982. During his studies he was a scholar of the
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (german: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, KAS) is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's headquarters are located in Sank ...
, finishing his studies with a PhD.
Career
Before Bellut transferred to the TV channel ZDF in
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
, he worked from 1983 to 1984 at the newspaper ''
Westfälische Nachrichten'' in Münster.
At the ZDF channel Bellut was an editor of the ''Länderspiegel'' ( ''Federal State Mirror'') TV magazine and ZDF correspondent in Berlin. He then became an assistant to the program director
Oswald Ring responsible for shows like ''Familienmagazin'' (''Family Magazine'') and ''Reiselust'' (''Wanderlust''). After that, he was editorial director for special programs and the magazine ''blickpunkt'' (''focal point''). From 1997 he headed the main editorial department for domestic policy and presented specials and election broadcasts, like the ''
Politbarometer'', ', and the interview series ''Was nun, ..?'' (''What now, ..?'')
From 2002 to 2012 Bellut was Program Director of the ZDF channel.
On 17 June 2011 he was elected as successor of
Markus Schächter as ZDF Director. He is in office since 14/15 March 2012. As ZDF Director, Bellut has also been a member of the
Global Task Force for Public Media
The Global Task Force for Public Media (French: ''Groupe de travail mondial pour les médias publics'') is a working group of leaders from eight national public broadcasters formed in September 2019. It is chaired by Catherine Tait, president and ...
, an initiative of the Public Media Alliance, since its founding in September 2019.
Other activities
*
Arte
Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture.
It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plu ...
, Ex-Officio Vice President of the General Assembly
* Aktion Mensch, Ex-Officio Chairman of the Supervisory Board
* Deutsche Sporthilfe, Member of the Foundation's Council (since 2015)
*
German Coordinating-Council for Christian-Jewish Cooperation Organizations, Member of the Board of Trustees
* German Foundation for Monument Protection, Member of the Board of Trustees
* International Journalists' Programmes (IJP), Member of the Board of Trustees
*
Reporters Without Borders Germany, Member of the Board of Trustees
*
Senckenberg Nature Research Society, Member of the Board of Trustees
*
Stiftung Lesen, Chairman of the Board of Trustees
*
Welthungerhilfe, Member of the Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees
Welthungerhilfe.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Official page of Thomas Bellut
at zdf.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellut, Thomas
German television presenters
German television journalists
German broadcast news analysts
20th-century German journalists
21st-century German journalists
1955 births
Living people
People from Osnabrück
ZDF people