Ines Pohl

Early life and education

Pohl grew up in rural Swabia (East Württemberg) as the daughter of a kindergarten teacher (mother) and a skilled labour worker (father). After graduating high school (German Abitur) in Schwäbisch Gmünd, she studied German studies and Scandinavian studies at the University of Göttingen. After graduating with an M.A., she worked at her university as the equal opportunity commissioner.

In the early and mid-1980s, as a school girl and a young student, Pohl was actively involved in the German peace movement, specifically in the protest against the stationing of MGM-31 Pershing missiles at a United States Armed Forces Missile Storage Area at Mutlanger Heide ("Mutlangen heathland") near her hometown (as part of the NATO Double-Track Decision).

Career

In the 1990s, Pohl worked as a freelance journalist at a local radio station as well as for several regional newspapers; she did her traineeship at Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA) newspaper. There, she was gradually promoted up the ranks, being leading editor for politics within ten years.

In 2004/2005, Pohl spent a year at Harvard University on a scholarship of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism.

In 2008, Pohl went to Berlin to work as a correspondent for the Ippen publishing house. From July 2009 until September 2015 she was editor in chief of the left-wing newspaper Die Tageszeitung,. During her time at the newspaper, her brief was to return the paper to its left-wing roots after a much-criticised foray into more popular journalism.

In 2016, Pohl joined German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle in 2015, where she worked as Washington correspondent. Soon after, she was appointed editor-in-chief, effective March 1, 2017.

Other activities

Recognition

In 2009, Pohl was awarded the prize "Best journalist of the year" in the category "newcomer" by the Medium Magazine.