Spiegel has new editor-in-chief - Aust surprisingly released from his duties

 Since Tuesday, the German news magazine Der Spiegel has been managed by the expected dual leadership of Mathias Müller von Blumencron and Georg Mascolo. They take over from Stefan Aust, who was recalled and released from his duties on the same day, according to an announcement by the Spiegel publishing house. These decisions were made by the shareholders of the publishing house, the Mitarbeiter KG, the publishing house Gruner + Jahr and the heirs of the magazine's founder Rudolf Augstein. The new editors-in-chief have been working for the Spiegel Group media for more than 15 years. The 47-year-old Von Blumencron has headed Spiegel Online since December 2000, while the 43-year-old Mascolo was most recently head of the magazine's capital city office in Berlin. The dismissal of Stefan Aust, who was appointed by Spiegel founder Rudolf Augstein (1923-2002) and led the magazine for 13 years, came as a surprise. On Monday, no agreement could be reached in the legal dispute between Aust and the publisher regarding the editor-in-chief's dismissal at the end of the year. Aust's claims for protection against dismissal will be heard again by the labor court on May 7 if the two sides do not reach an out-of-court settlement by then. Aust is of the opinion that his contracts are still valid until 2010 (Spiegel) and 2013 (Spiegel-TV). His contract ends on December 31, 2008," according to the publisher's announcement on Tuesday. More than one million euros are at stake.