Practitioners in Talk #Part 23
:: Non-academic careers:::
Practitioners in Talk #Part 23
Many ways lead out of the BGHS. But where do postdoctoral paths lead? We talk to historians and sociologists who have taken up their career outside the university. Rainer Volk spoke to us about his work as Radio editor at Südwestrundfunk (SWR) in Baden-Baden.
Image 1: Rainer Volk
Mr. Volk, you did your PhD in political sciences and you are currently working as radio editor. If you remember starting your career: How did you find your way into the job?
Rainer Volk: Starting in 1982, I studied journalism at the Ludwig Maximilians University and the German School of Journalism in Munich. During the semester break we had to do internships: in newspapers, in radio stations and in TV stations. So in 1986 I joined the “Zeitfunk” and “Politics” editorial offices of Bayerischer Rundfunk. That was before my diploma, when I worked there for six weeks in one and then six weeks in the other. At the end of this time I was asked whether I would like to start working as a freelancer. I had earned money as a reporter for a newspaper in previous years. But the Bayerischer Rundfunk paid better. So I slipped into it in 1986, although until then I actually always wanted to go to the newspaper. I got my diploma a year later, and did my doctorate part-time only in 1990.
How did you come to your current position?
Rainer Volk: I live with my family near Baden-Baden and have commuted between Baden-Baden and Munich for a long time. In 2013 – I was already 52 years old – I got a call from Baden-Baden: Wouldn’t you like to join us at Südwestrundfunk? I gave up my permanent position at Bayerischer Rundfunk on a trial basis for two years and signed a two-year contract with Südwestrundfunk as a permanent freelancer. A few years later I quit my job at Bayerischer Rundfunk and am now a permanent freelancer at Südwestrundfunk until I retire.
Image 2: Rainer Volk (right) with Heinz Bude, on the occasion of the recording of a broadcast in the SWR studios.
You work for Südwestrundfunk (SWR). Where do you work now exactly?
Rainer Volk: In the “Aktuelle Kultur” editorial team at SWR in Baden-Baden. I am primarily active as the “boss on duty”. Occasionally I moderate and I also write comments or contributions as a reporter. Actually, for example, I would now go to the Book Fair in Frankfurt because I’m responsible for political non-fiction books in our editorial team.
What are your most important tasks in this job?
Rainer Volk: I make sure that the programme “SWR2 am Morgen”, which runs Monday to Saturday and lasts two and a half hours, shows that it is up to date: What is current and important on this day? My first task is to make these current topics appear in the programme. Second, my job is to acquire and maintain contacts in the expert world. Because every morning we have two to three conversations with experts from the academic world on the show. Thirdly, as the boss on duty, it is my job to keep track for the lunchtime and evening programmes and to draw the attention of my colleagues on these programs to current developments and new topics. For this purpose, I use, for example, an internal ARD database, in which correspondents from all over the world offer their contributions. Reading news agency reports is also part of it. I actually read what the news agencies are offering 24 hours a day.
What tips do you have for colleagues from sociology or history who are interested in a career in the occupational field you are in?
Rainer Volk: If you are interested in journalism after a certain period in the academic world, I would first try to publish your own specialist topics on platforms such as H-Soz-Kult or in non-scientific journals. Reviews of sociological or historical literature in the feature section of a daily newspaper could then be the next step towards approaching general journalism. Nobody starts as a commentator in the Süddeutsche Zeitung on page four.
Mr. Volk, thank you for the conversation!
The interview was conducted by Ulf Ortmann.
You can find the complete interview (in German) here:
Further information on the non-university careers project is available (here). The previous interviews in the series are available (here).