Die Rheinpfalz

Rheinpfalz is a regional newspaper with a sold circulation of 234,000 copies, which is produced daily by 150 editors. The publishing house behind the daily newspaper is Rheinpfalz Verlag und Druckerei GmbH & Co. KG, based in Ludwigshafen, which in turn belongs to Medien Union GmbH.

Rheinpfalz was founded in 1945 by Josef Schaub and four other men. It was based on a license from the French occupying power, which wanted a regional newspaper for the zone. Rheinpfalz is also regarded as the nucleus for Medien Union, now one of the largest media groups in Germany. The media group behind the Rheinpfalz is now managed by grandson Thomas Schaub.

Key facts

Audience Share

1.49%

Ownership Type

private

Geographic Coverage

regional

Content Type

paid content

Data Publicly Available

ownership data is easily available from other sources, e. g. public registries etc.

2 ♥

Media Companies / Groups

Medien Union

Ownership

Ownership Structure

Rheinpfalz is published by RHEINPFALZ Verlag und Druckerei GmbH & Co. KG in Ludwigshafen. The general partner is RHEINPFALZ Verlag und Druckerei Verwaltungs-GmbH, which in turn belongs to Medien Union GmbH Ludwigshafen. The majority shareholders (52%) are Thomas and Dieter Schaub, who also hold a majority stake in Medien Union. Other owners are mainly the descendants of the original founders of Rheinpfalz.

Voting Rights

Missing data

Individual Owner

Thomas Schaub

52%

Group / Individual Owner

Peter Nagel

Peter Nagel is probably related to Michael Nagel, one of the co-founders of Rheinpfalz. Peter Nagel also holds a 5.1 per cent stake in Medien Union.

5.1%

Britta Lenk

Britta Lenk is probably related to Arthur Lenk, one of the co-founders of Rheinpfalz. Britta Lenk also holds a 4.9% stake in Medien Union. There are also four other shareholders who share the Lenk surname. Together, the Lenks hold a share of 20.1 per cent.

4.9%

Minor shareholders

Other owners are mainly the descendants of the original founders of Rheinpfalz.

38%

Media Companies / Groups

Medien Union

Facts

General Information

Founding Year

1945

Affiliated Interests Founder

Josef Schaub

publisher from the Palatinate, founded the Neue Pfälzische Landeszeitung in 1921 and was its deputy managing director when the National Socialists shut down the newspaper and banned Schaub from his profession. After the war, the French occupying forces asked him if he could develop a concept for a newspaper in the West Palatinate. This led to the creation of Rheinpfalz in 1945, which Schaub managed for over 20 years before handing the role over to his son Dieter. Schaub died in 1978.

Ernst Johann

was co-founder and editor-in-chief of Rheinpfalz from 1946 to 1948. He later worked for Südwestfunk, was chief editor of S. Fischer Verlag and editor and author of numerous books.

Arthur Lenk

Chief accountant

Michael Nagel

Rotary machine foreman

Hans Wipprecht

Typesetter

Franz Xaver Resch

typesetter

Affiliated Interests Ceo

Holger Martens

born in Hamburg in 1963, has been Managing Director of RHEINPFALZ Verlag und Druckerei GmbH & Co. KG. He previously held various management positions at Axel Springer in Germany and abroad. He is also Managing Director of the subsidiaries MSP Medien Service Pfalz GmbH, Print-Medien Service Südwest GmbH, RHEINPFALZ Verlag und Druckerei Verwaltungs-GmbH and personally liable partner of Pfälzische Verlagsanstalt GmbH. Martens has also been a member of the Supervisory Board of dpa since 2017.

Affiliated Interests Editor-In-Chief

Yannick Dillinger

Editor-in-chief at both RHEINPFALZ and RHEINPFALZ am SONNTAG. Prior to this position, he held the role of acting and deputy editor-in-chief at Augsburger Allgemeine. Prior to that, he was deputy editor-in-chief and head of the digital department at Schwäbische Zeitung. His academic background includes a degree in German studies, political science and education in Landau and a traineeship at the Vogtland-Anzeiger in Plauen.