SRF: Gabathuler and Soltermann to head audio/digital editorial team
Effective January 2024, SRF will merge its current Audio Editorial Department and News Digital division into a new Audio/Digital Editorial Department. Ursula Gabathuler and Beat Soltermann will serve as co-heads of the future department. The merger is intended to further strengthen SRF’s audio offerings and facilitate a closer integration with the digital transformation.
Ursula Gabathuler and Beat Soltermann have been appointed as co-heads of the future Editor-in-Chief Audio/Digital department. The department will be created at the beginning of 2024 from the merger of the former Editor-in-Chief Audio and News Digital departments. The co-heads of the departments will share a seat on the Executive Board, which will not be expanded.
"With Ursula Gabathuler and Beat Soltermann, we are gaining two very experienced media professionals to head the new department. With their expertise and many years of experience in radio, TV and online, we can both further develop our audio offerings and continue to drive forward the digital transformation of the media company," says SRF Director Nathalie Wappler.
In her role as Head and member of the Extended Executive Board, Ursula Gabathuler has played a key role in building up the News Digital division as part of the digital transformation since fall 2020. The News Digital division, which was created three years ago, is responsible for all SRF News offerings on the web, the News app and social media channels - in close collaboration with the Editor-in-Chief Video and Editor-in-Chief Audio. Previously, the 54-year-old worked at SRF as an editor and producer for "Kassensturz" and "Rundschau" and as head of the trimedial consumer editorial team. Gabathuler studied zoology at the Universities of Zurich and Cape Town and completed a postgraduate degree in business communication.
Over the past 20 years, Beat Soltermann has acquired in-depth knowledge of SRF's information and online offerings. After joining Radio SRF 3 and the business desk, he presented programs such as "Trend", "Tagesgespräch" and the "Samstagsrundschau". The 51-year-old later worked as a US correspondent in Washington. From 2017 to 2022, he headed the editorial team of the political background program "Echo der Zeit". Since spring 2022, he has been Head of Digital Audio and Radio Online, responsible for digital audio strategy and digital support for audio products. Soltermann studied journalism and law in the USA and at the University of Fribourg in Üechtland and completed his doctorate with a thesis on European broadcasting law.
The previous Editor-in-Chief Audio Lis Borner took early retirement at her own request at the end of October 2023. Director Nathalie Wappler took her departure as an opportunity to merge the Audio Editor-in-Chief and News Digital into the new Audio/Digital Editor-in-Chief department. In future, the audio formats for radio and online as well as SRF's digital information offerings will be produced at the Bern and Zurich locations within the newly created department. This will give audio offerings even more weight within SRF and provide the Bern site with an even more direct link to the digital transformation.
