38 journalists startups should know in 2022
PIABO PR compiles an annual list of editors for deutsche-startups.de who specialize in the startup and tech scene. In particular, journalists who primarily cover tech topics are named. The following list shows who are particularly relevant to this topic in 2022.
As young, innovative companies with growth potential, startups make an important contribution to our economy. But what good is an innovative and forward-looking business idea if no one knows about it? "A perfect business model also includes the right communication strategy from the very beginning. All important target groups must be reached, from investors and customers to potential employees," explains Tilo Bonow, CEO and founder of PIABO PR, the leading full-service PR partner for the digital economy.
The main thing is to gain regular and positive coverage in the right target media. This builds trust in the product or service and relationships with key journalists in the industry. It is important to formulate real added value for the media and not to spam them with marketing claims or sales jargon. Only then can a genuine and fruitful exchange take place and the journalists look forward to news from the startup and its founders. But what is really interesting news and how do I know if the media is interested?
Not all media are the same. If I don't know what kind of readers, listeners and viewers a medium has, I can't communicate with the medium in a targeted way. If journalists receive information more than twice that does not interest or concern their audience, the next communication will certainly end up in the spam mailbox and will no longer be noticed. To be "lifted" from there as valuable again requires a lot of persuasion.
So how can a startup attract the attention of the media? Good examples are expert inside statements on specific topics related to the startup's idea or business model. Representative studies or reliable and interesting data are also popular. Sometimes it is also more effective and purposeful to first talk to specialized media instead of immediately turning to national media.
No matter what the focus is, the most important thing is to find the right contact person for the right topic.
PIABO PR, the leading full-service PR partner for the digital economy, provides a small overview of contacts that startups should have on their radar in 2022 with the following 38 journalists. It should be noted: The list is not a ranking, but sorted in alphabetical order according to the name of the medium. Of course, it also represents only an excerpt.
Martin Eisenlauer, Bild
Martin Eisenlauer has been an expert on tech topics at Bild for more than 20 years, in the role of head of the digital department. A self-confessed tech freak, he is considered one of Germany's greatest experts on everything that has been programmed and has cables and plugs. He also has a special interest in computer games, as he is convinced that a good game is better than a good book or a good movie. This was followed four years ago by Tech-Freaks, the BILD podcast format of the same name, in which Martin Eisenlauer talks with his colleague Sven Schirmer about gadgets, games and the wide world of the Internet.
Solveig Rathenow, Business Insider
Since December 2020, Solveig Rathenow has led Business Insider's Business department, the online platform's largest department in Germany. Last year, among other things, she created Business Insider's "Future Makers" event, an annual ranking for women in business. Before BI, Solveig Rathenow designed communications for Fintech Finleap and its subsidiary for over four years as Head of Communications. But the Berlin native originally comes from a journalism background. After completing her German-French Bachelor's degree in Bonn and Paris, she went to the Axel Springer Academy. She then worked in the politics and business departments for BILD. After four years at BILD, she moved to East Africa for a year, where she wrote as a correspondent for various newspapers, including DIE WELT. (twitter: @s_rathenow)
Julia Krempin, Business Punk
Julia Krempin, born Berger, has been editor-in-chief at Business Punk since November 2019. She shares the reins with her colleague Alexander Langer. Previously, she was in charge of the digital department, where she introduced the two dossiers Female Leadership and Sustainability with great success. She also oversees the successful podcast formats "How To Hack" "How To Fix It" and "How to Spend It." Until the end of 2019, she was also a fellow of the Digital Journalism Fellowship at the Hamburg Media School, the first fellowship program in Germany funded by Facebook and aimed at journalists*. (twitter: @j_brgr)
Niklas Wirminghaus, Capital
Niklas Wirminghaus has been head of the digital editorial team at the business magazine Capital since 2021. Previously, he also worked as editor for the printed magazine, focusing on startups, new technologies and digitization. He also helped establish the fintech magazine Finance Forward for Capital and OMR. Until 2017, he was a member of the editorial board and CvD for the online magazine Gründerszene. He was educated at the Henri Nannen School of Journalism. (twitter: @wirminghaus)
Yvonne Assayesch, CHIP
The technology magazine CHIP is one of the oldest German magazines in the field of computer technology and thus probably a household name for every tech-savvy and computer-enthusiastic citizen in Germany. CHIP.de has also been online since 1996 and has almost 2.9 million users every day. Chip presenter Yvonne Assayesch is passionate about every tech topic - from graphics cards to cars to gaming. However, the versatile video specialist is not only a special Chip face, but also develops new formats with great passion that entertain and inform thousands of people every day. She also manages the Instagram channel chip_en. (twitter: @assayesch)
Julia Struck, Computer Bild
As editor for "Digital Lifestyle," Julia Struck reports for COMPUTER BILD on smartwatches, fitness gadgets, health technology and sometimes beauty products - as long as they have a plug. She has been working for Europe's biggest computer magazine in the "Internet & Telecommunications" department since 2016. Her focus is on products that she puts through their paces. She puts the pros and cons of technology products into words for readers online and in print. Julia Struck has deep roots in Hamburg: She grew up in Reinbek and stayed in Hamburg for her business studies. She then completed her traineeship in the editorial departments of stern VIEW and stern.de.
Alexander Hüsing, deutsche-startups.de
Since 2007, the online magazine deutsche startups has been providing information on new trends from the Internet startup scene. Co-founder and editor-in-chief is Alexander Hüsing. Previously, he was head of department at the Heidelberg-based industry service kressreport and worked as a freelance journalist for media such as INTERNET WORLD Business, Spiegel Online, AdZine, etc.. There, too, he was interested in the young, up-and-coming Internet companies. For thirteen years he has been the heart of deutsche-startups.de. (twitter: @azrael74)
Joel Kaczmarek, digital kompakt
Digital expert Joel Kaczmarek is the founder and CEO of the online knowledge network Digital Kompakt. This is also continued in the podcast of the same name. Readers and listeners get high-quality in-depth knowledge in an entertaining way through exciting interviews with well-known entrepreneurs, investors and experts and gain insights into their business practice. Before founding Digital Kompakt, Joel Kaczmarek headed the online magazine Gründerszene as editor-in-chief for four years and was co-founder of the Vertical Media publishing house behind it. (twitter: @indivijoel)
Christoph Dernbach, dpa
Christoph Dernbach is a German digital journalist and technology expert. Since his traineeship, he has held various positions at the German press agency dpa. In the summer of 2000, together with Meinolf Ellers, he founded the multimedia subsidiary dpa-Infocom, which he headed as managing director until the summer of 2020. At the same time, he was responsible for the dpa-Netzwelt editorial team. Since leaving the management of the dpa subsidiary, he has been responsible for dpa's tech ticker as Chief Digital Correspondent. In his private life, Dernbach also loves technology: He collects old radios and computers. (twitter: @CDernbach, linkedin: Christoph Dernbach)
Christiane Manow-LeRuyet, e-commerce Magazin
E-commerce, digitalization, sustainability and innovations are the topics Christiane Manow-Le Ruyet focuses on. For four years now, she has been responsible for the online and offline content of e-commerce magazine. She informs retailers and all those involved in digitization and online commerce about new business models as well as trends in logistics, e-payment and sustainable solutions. She also writes for various online platforms and advises companies as a freelance content expert. It's clear that content, communication and strategy are at the forefront here, too. (linkedin: Christiane Manow-Le Ruyet)
Jochen Krisch, Exciting Commerce
Jochen Krisch is one of the most important industry experts on e-commerce topics. Since 2005, he has been the editor and main author of the industry blog Exciting Commerce, an independent industry service that provides information about new markets and forward-looking business models in e-commerce. Also recommended are the exciting Exchanges, the insider podcast he has been running with Marcel Weiß since 2012. Jochen Krisch supports start-ups and growth companies as an advisor and is also the initiator of the K5 Conference for Tomorrow's Retail and the Global Online Retail Fund. The computer scientist has been working on retail and sales concepts in electronic media since 1995 and has been working as an independent industry analyst since 2001. (twitter: @jkrisch)
Caspar Tobias Schlenk, Finance Forward
Since September 2019, Caspar Tobias Schlenk has been helping to build Finance Forward as editor; Capital and OMR are behind the new finance portal. He has been writing about fintechs and startups for several years - most recently he was the responsible editor at Gründerszene. Last year, his book "Keinhorn" was published, which he co-authored. He completed his journalism training at the Cologne School of Journalism. During this time, he did internships at ZEIT, Süddeutsche Zeitung and tageszeitung, among others. (twitter: @casparschlenk/ LinkedIn Caspar-Tobias-Schlenk)
Corinna Baier, Focus Magazin
Corinna Baier has been with FOCUS Magazine for more than four years, initially as editor for business and culture, and since 2021 as head of the Agenda/Society department. Her focus is on start-ups, big tech, society, and women and technology. She completed her traineeship at Hubert Burda Media in 2013. Before that, she studied media studies, German language and literature, and philosophy at Philipps University in Marburg. (twitter: @tapetastics, linkedin: Corinna Baier)
Bastian Benrath, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Bastian Benrath has been business editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung since April 2018, where he has been responsible for the digital economy and startups since July 2019. He is also responsible for data journalism in the business editorial department and the weekly column "Schneller Schlau." After initial beginnings in the local press, he trained as an editor at the German School of Journalism in Munich and moved to the FAZ after two years as a correspondent and editor for the German Press Agency (dpa). Benrath is involved as a trainer for young journalists at the journalism seminar enter. (twitter: @bbenrath)
Dana Neumann, futurezone.de
Since November 2019, Dana Neumann has headed the editorial team at futurezone.de, an offering from Funke Digital GmbH. The high-tech online platform regularly publishes news and advice from the fields of tech, entertainment and science. During her studies, she worked as an online editor for the portal roboterwelt.de, for which she conducted interviews, reported on events and, together with the VDE Verband der Elektrotechnik Elektronik Informationstechnik e. V. (German Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies), produced an article on the topic of industrial robots. After completing her master's degree in Japanese studies and economics, she moved to Japan for a research fellowship on the topic of care robotics at the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation. In February 2017, she started working as an online editor for Funke Digital GmbH, where she was one of two editors who helped establish the newly founded portal futurezone.de from the very beginning. Since then, her editorial focus has been on everyday technologies and the future. (linkedin: Dana Neumann)
Alex Hofmann, Gründerszene
Alex Hofmann is editor-in-chief of the renowned business magazine Gründerszene, which has built up extensive expertise in startups, tech and digitization over more than ten years. After studying Information Management and Business Administration in Edinburgh, Scotland, Alex Hofmann worked as a business and finance editor in Frankfurt am Main, founded and managed a fintech magazine from 2005 and was later a correspondent in Berlin. He has been in a senior position at Gründerszene since 2012. (twitter: @alexhfm, Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhfm/)
Larissa Holzki, Handelsblatt
Larissa Holzki is a technology reporter at Handelsblatt. For the largest business and financial newspaper in German, she mainly reports on the most important trends and developments in the European start-up scene. At international tech conferences such as the Web Summit and Viva Tech, she is hired as a moderator. Before joining Handelsblatt in 2019, Larissa Holzki was an editor at Süddeutsche Zeitung. She learned her craft at the Cologne School of Journalism for Politics and Economics. (Twitter: @LarissaHolzki)
Martin Holland, Heise online
Martin Holland has been writing for heise online and c't since 2012, first as a trainee and then as an editor. In the newsroom, he deals with almost every IT topic, but his personal focus is on space travel and astronomy. The Erfurt native was also responsible for reporting on the NSA/Snowden scandal. Before that, he also reported a lot on e-books. You can also meet him in another format: as one of the hosts of the #heiseshow. (twitter: @Fingolas)
Helena Birkner, Horizont
Since mid-2020, Helena Birkner has been responsible for the tech section in HORIZONT's online team. In addition to adtech, digital marketing and mobile, her focus is now increasingly on topics from the areas of influencer marketing and social media. Before joining HORIZONT, she worked as a volunteer at the tourism trade magazine FVW Medien. As an intern, she previously gained relevant experience in the cultural sector through a stint at the Ministry of Education and Culture of the State of Schleswig-Holstein, in marketing at an advertising agency, as well as in media companies such as Sat.1 television or in corporate communications at Regiocast. (linkedin: Helena Maria Birkner)
Susanne Gillner, INTERNET WORLD BUSINESS
Susanne Gillner is Editor-in-Chief of INTERNET WORLD and has been dealing with topics related to e-commerce, online marketing, social media or mobile for almost ten years. With a degree in German studies, she previously wrote for various trade magazines covering all aspects of the digital and ICT industries. In addition, Susanne Gillner was and is a jury member for awards and moderates her own events as well as other industry events such as d3con. (LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanne-gillner-35278292/)
Janna Linke, n-tv
Janna Linke reports on exciting young companies and innovative founders for Startup News and Startup Magazine at ntv. She was one of the first TV journalists to establish the topic of "Startups" as a regular magazine show on German television. She also hosts the n-tv Wirtschafts-Talk and became a Top Voice on LinkedIn. Before starting as an editor at n-tv in 2015, she learned the editorial craft at the RTL School of Journalism. During her studies in media management at the Fresenius University of Applied Sciences, she also completed an internship at the heute-show and worked at the Tagesschau. (linkedin: Janna Linke)
Florian Rinke, OMR
For more than seven years, Florian Rinke reported on startups and digital policy for the Rheinische Post. At the beginning of the year, the 36-year-old moved to Hamburg-based media company OMR. For the Rheinische Post, Florian Rinke had previously built up the "RP-Gründerzeit" column. He was responsible for the accompanying weekly newsletter and launched the Gründerzeit podcast last year. In 2020, his book "Silicon Rheinland - Wo die Wiege der deutschen Start-up-Szene wirklich liegt" was published. For OMR, Florian Rinke is to take care of the "OMR Podcast", among other things, and of course continue to report on exciting digital and business topics.
Christina Cassala, Payment and Banking
Over the past few years, Payment and Banking has developed into one of the leading online business magazines in the financial industry. Christina Cassala has also been part of the team since 2019, coordinating daily coverage of payment, banking and fintech topics as Editor-in-Chief since 2020. In her role, she passionately writes and podcasts about new trends, analyzes developments and expertly classifies changes in the scene with her team, and also develops new formats with a high utility value for readers:inside and listeners:inside. A sociologist by training, she previously worked for many years as a freelance author for well-known publications and is regarded as a proven expert on the startup scene with a large network.
Judith Horchert, Der Spiegel
Judith Horchert is head of the business/network section at SPIEGEL, where she is responsible for digital topics. After studying North American Studies, Politics and German Studies in Bonn, she attended the Henri Nannen School of Journalism in Hamburg. Since May 2012, she has worked in the net world department of SPIEGEL ONLINE, since March 2017 as department head. Since 2019, she has been responsible for the focus on the net world within the joint business department management (print and online). (twitter: @Frau_Horchert)
Hans Luthardt, Starting Up
Hans Luthardt has been working as a journalist for more than 20 years. Among other things, he helped establish the start-up magazine StartingUp and has been its editor-in-chief since 2019. As an integral part of the start-up community, StartingUp is the place to go for founders and entrepreneurs, providing daily online updates on the German founder and start-up scene as well as on innovations and disruptions in the digital economy. The quarterly print magazine is a source of advice, encouragement and innovative ideas for all those who want to become self-employed or have founded their own company. (LinkedIn Hans Luthardt)
Jan Thomas, Startup Insider
Jan Thomas is the founder and CEO of Startup Insider. Previously, he developed a variety of formats with his publishing company NKF Media, including, for example, the print magazines Berlin Valley and the Hundert, as well as the Digital Talents conferences and the NKF Summit. Since the beginning of 2020, all media channels have been bundled under the Startup Insider brand. The popular newsletter Startup Insider Daily is part of the morning must-read for many startup entrepreneurs. The daily podcast Startup Insider Daily is now the startup podcast with the widest reach in Germany. Soon, it will also launch its own platform that will support startups on their path to success. (twitter: @StartupInsid_er)
Sabine Elsässer, StartupValley Magazin
Sabine Elsässer is co-founder and managing editor at StartupValley Magazine. Sabine Elsässer is currently on a major international expansion course with StartupValley Magazine, focusing on the UK and USA - online as well as in print. With StartupValley Magazine, she gives all founders and startups a platform for sustainable growth and acts as a mentor to the founders. (LinkedIn: Sabine-Elsaesser)
Malte Mansholt, STERN
Malte Mansholt is editor for digital topics at STERN. And a late starter: He didn't buy his first computer until he was studying politics. Since then, he's been wondering how things were without one. He writes about the major developments in the industry as well as about the devices themselves. In doing so, he always thinks close to the reader. He has a special focus on consumer products, the consequences of digital transformation and security on the Net. To get the best stories, he keeps his eyes open for good interviewees. And listens to concerned consumers just like Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Helmut Martin-Jung, Süddeutsche Zeitung
Helmut Martin-Jung has been with Süddeutsche Zeitung for a full 35 years. He played a key role in setting up the paper's online presence and was also its editor-in-chief for a time. Today, he is Technology Editor in the Business Department, where he deals with the latest technical developments such as AI, 5G or 3D printing, but also with gadgets . (twitter: @hwmj)
Jan Mölleken, T-Online
Jan Mölleken has headed the digital department at news portal t-online since October 2019. There, he and his team try to write understandably about everything that is really important - or fun - in the digital cosmos. After completing his training at the Evangelische Journalistenschule (Protestant School of Journalism), he first started as an editor and presenter at the Berlin radio station FluxFM, where he developed various digital formats, including a weekly start-up section. He then spent four years as part of the Advice and Knowledge department at Funke Mediengruppe's central editorial office in Berlin. (Linkedin: Jan Mölleken / Twitter: @jamoe)
Andreas Weck, t3n.de
Andreas Weck is an editor at t3n magazine and specializes in career, leadership and new work topics. He not only knows the leading minds in the digital economy, but also their management trends, knows which companies are currently role models in the digital transformation and writes articles with helpful tips for managers as well as professionals. He began his own career in 2011 at Netzpiloten. There he headed the online magazine from 2012 to 2013. He then went to t3n, for which he reported from San Francisco as Silicon Valley correspondent, among other things. In 2019, he was listed as a Linkedin Top Voice. (Twitter: @AndreasWeck, Linkedin: Andreas Weck)
Andreas Schnittker, Trendreport
Andreas has a faible for digital transformation topics, with a particular focus on AI, New Work and automation. All in all, he and his colleagues at the TREND-REPORT editorial office are strongly committed to free content in the sense of Creative Commons. In this way, we want to make important knowledge accessible to as wide a circle of readers as possible. With the web projects, but also with the books on the topics of digitalization, Andreas was able to prove his topic competence.
Verena Gründel, W&V
Verena Gründel has been editor-in-chief of W&V since the beginning of 2021. The biology graduate and trained journalist looks back on 14 years of experience in the media industry. She wrote for several trade magazines in the communications industry before moving from iBusiness to W&V in 2017. She is passionate about brand and transformation stories, has a soft spot for social media and future topics, and is a regular presenter on stage.
Thomas Heuzeroth, WELT
Thomas Heuzeroth has been writing for WELT since 1997. First he was editor at WELT Online, then from 2000 he was business editor at WELT and WELT am Sonntag. There he reports on topics related to telecommunications, the Internet of Things, consumer electronics and everything to do with the digital economy. He also regularly contributes to the start-up magazine Gründerszene. Before Thomas Heuzeroth came to Welt, he worked at the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung. (twitter: @cyberheuze, linkedin: Thomas Heuzeroth)
Varinia Bernau, WiWo
Varinia Bernau heads both the Innovation & Digital and Success departments at Wirtschaftswoche. She is particularly interested in how new technologies are changing our everyday lives and the fabric of society. Previously, she had also reported on the digital business world at the Süddeutsche Zeitung. She is convinced that, despite all the automation in our working world, it is deeply human emotions that matter. In addition to current trends in the IT industry, she also focuses on current trends in the start-up scene. (twitter: @VariniaBernau)
Marie-Charlotte Maas, WiWo Gründer
Marie-Charlotte Maas works from Cologne as a freelance journalist for print and online media such as Die Zeit, Spiegel, Impulse and WirtschaftsWoche Online. She writes mainly about education and business. As part of her start-up focus, she examines, among other things, how women position themselves in the start-up scene. She studied political science, law and media studies in Marburg.
Lisa Hegemann, ZEIT
Lisa Hegemann is head of the digital department at ZEIT ONLINE. She writes about everything that happens in and around this Internet, reports on digital business models and tests new gadgets. She co-hosts the business podcast Ist das eine Blase? and the optimization podcast Geht da noch was?. (twitter: @frauhegemann)
Hannah Scherkamp, Zeit Online
Hannah Scherkamp works as an editor in the labor department of Zeit Online. Previously, she was deputy editor-in-chief of Gründerszene, the leading online magazine for startups and the digital economy, which merged with Business Insider. During her training at the German School of Journalism, she attended stations at Ard, dpa and N24. (Twitter: @HannahScherkamp)
For comments and additions to this list, we welcome messages to cc@piabo.net.
