Klartext – XING launches new media offering

Hamburg, 19 October 2015 – XING, operator of the leading online business network in German-speaking countries, now provides its members with a brand-new journalistic offering: Klartext. This is a new offering where experts and well-known people can voice their opinions on current and controversial issues related to business and careers. Readers can then start up a debate by adding their opinion on the subject in the form of a comment.

The launch kicks off with Dr. Frank Appel, Chief Executive Officer of the Deutsche Post DHL Group, warning against ‘panicking’ in view of the latest economic developments in China, while Dr. Marcus Schenck, Chief Financial Officer at Deutsche Bank, explains why he thinks digitalisation and its impact are ‘a major wake-up call’ for the financial industry. And Elke Hannack, Deputy Chair of the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (Confederation of German Trade Unions - DGB), complains that German companies still fail to pay people the same wage for the same work, saying that “We need to enact a law to ensure better wage transparency”.

The points of view expressed by well-known industry representatives are accompanied by contrary or different perspectives. As an expert on China, Dr. Sandra Heep from the Mercator Institute for China Studies is far more sceptical about economic development in China than Dr. Frank Appel, while – in contrast to Dr. Marcus Schenck – fintech investor Marc P. Bernegger is convinced that high-street banks are under increasing pressure from competitors and Marcus Maximilian Wöhrl, Executive Board Member at Dormero Hotel AG, thinks wage transparency is a bad idea as it would “lead to chaos and uproar”.

What’s special about Klartext is that XING members can not only comment on articles, but can  also become Klartext authors and play an interactive part in debates. Content is chosen by the editorial team headed by publisher Roland Tichy and editor-in-chief Jennifer Lachman.

Thomas Vollmoeller, CEO at XING AG, said: “Klartext is the next step we’re taking as part of our content offensive. This first editorial offering provides ‘mature’ readers with incisive articles and helps them to form an opinion and take part in debates. As a result, we’re not just one of the largest distributors of business and careers-related news in German-speaking countries, we now also produce our own journalistic content.”

XING already provides its members with tailored news for 25 industries, thereby reaching around 2 million regular readers every month. XING also introduced its news pages during the first half of the year with over 100 publishers, e.g. well-known brands like manager magazin, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and WirtschaftsWoche already providing XING users with their content.

By providing their opinions and experience, straight-talking experts on XING Klartext help platform members get the latest business and careers news which they can then put to good use in their own working life. “More than 9 million people have already joined XING. No other platform bundles this much experience, expertise and understanding of the business world or offers such a differentiated view of our economy and working life”, said Roland Tichy, publisher of XING News. “The days in which one person speaks and another person listens are gone. On Klartext, members of the largest business community in German-speaking countries analyse and comment on authors’ arguments, and add their experience and background knowledge to the viewpoints provided by experts and well-known people.”

The XING editorial team, initially consisting of seven editors and a number of freelancers, facilitates and moderates the dialogue between Klartext authors and members. The responses provided by members are then used to generate new content that continues the discussion at hand.

Jennifer Lachman and Roland Tichy will both be attending the Medientage München convention where they will talk with other experts about how social media shapes the future of journalism. The panel discussion will be held on 22 October and moderated by Dominik Wichmann, Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director at DLD.


About XING
XING is the social network for business contacts. XING has more than 9.2 million users in its core German-speaking market, 9 million of whom are XING platform members. XING is a platform where professionals from all kinds of different industries can meet up, find jobs, colleagues, new assignments, cooperation partners, experts, generate business ideas and get informed about latest industry topics. Members can meet and exchange views in over 74,000 specialist groups, while also getting together at networking events. The platform is operated by XING AG, which was founded in Hamburg, Germany, in 2003, has been publicly listed since 2006, and listed on the TecDAX since September 2011. In December 2010, XING acquired amiando AG, a Munich-based company and Europe’s leading provider of online event management and ticketing. Since the end of 2013 the company has been trading under the name XING EVENTS GmbH. The acquisition of kununu, the leading platform for employer reviews in German-speaking countries, allows XING to extend its position as the social recruiting market leader. At the start of 2015 XING also acquired Intelligence Competence Center AG, including its Jobbörse.com website which is the largest jobs search engine in German-speaking countries with over 2.5 million jobs. Visit www.xing.com for more information.