sh:z

Cai Franz Christiani was the founder of Schleswiger Nachrichten, established in 1812, which later merged into sh:z publishing house.

Pharmacist Gustav Adolph Ferdinand Ponton is listed as the first editor of Flensburger Nachrichten, which as the predecessor of Flensburger Tageblatt represents the oldest publication within the sh:z newspaper consortium. One year after the founding of Flensburger Nachrichten, printer and merchant Ludolf P. H. Maaß took over the newspaper and continued its publication for decades. Following the Nazi takeover in 1933, the newspaper disappeared in its original form and was relaunched in 1946 as Flensburger Tageblatt with permission from the British Allies as an independently published newspaper.

Stefan Berthold is responsible for operational management of the publishing business. Following Paul Wehberg's transition to the management of the parent company NOZ / mh:n MEDIEN, Stefan Berthold assumed his position and oversees the digital activities of sh:z (as well as another subsidiary of NOZ / mh:n MEDIEN called A. Beig).

Jens Wegmann is managing director of NOZ / mh:n MEDIEN, the parent company of sh:z. He serves in this role together with Paul Wehberg, former managing director of sh:z. Wegmann was appointed by the Fromm shareholder family.

Paul Wehberg became part of the management of NOZ / mh:n MEDIEN in 2023. Previously, he was managing director of sh:z. He was appointed by the Elstermann shareholder family.

Gerrit Bastian Mathiesen (born 1984 in Hamburg) has been editor-in-chief of Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag (sh:z) and A. Beig publishing house since July 2023. Since August 2025, he has been part of the four-member central editorial leadership of NOZ/mh:n MEDIEN, together with Burkhard Ewert, Louisa Riepe, and Jan Schönstedt.
After studying political science, public law, and literature and media studies in Kiel, he completed a traineeship at A. Beig publishing house. There he subsequently assumed various senior positions, including head of the news desk and editorial director. From 2020, he was additionally managing editor at sh:z before eventually assuming the editorship of both publishing houses.
In the new editorial leadership team, Mathiesen is responsible for personnel, financial matters, and media law issues. He also directs the Schleswig-Holstein state editorial office, the weekly journal "Schleswig-Holstein am Wochenende," and the sports section.

Jan Schönstedt has been part of the central editorial leadership of NOZ/mh:n MEDIEN since 2023 and was previously editor-in-chief at sh:z. In his current leadership role, he is responsible for the regional editorial offices of Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag, serves as managing director of NOZ/mh:n PAGE GmbH, and oversees the development of reader engagement across both print and digital platforms.

Burkhard Ewert (born 1974) is editor-in-chief of Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung and has been a member of the central editorial leadership of NOZ/mh:n MEDIEN since 2025. He is responsible for the editorial content shared across all publications, with a focus on national topics under the sections "Society" and "Politics."
Ewert's role as leading editor-in-chief has drawn criticism in recent years. According to a taz report, his editorial office cooperated with the controversial magazine Multipolar, which is considered to promote conspiracy ideology. Together they disseminated scientifically questionable studies on vaccination campaigns and side effects during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, he has been criticized for uncritical proximity to Russian state propaganda – including through interviews conducted by Ewert with the Russian ambassador to Germany, which appeared in NOZ and the daily newspapers of NOZ/mh:n MEDIEN without adequate critical scrutiny. The German Press Council (Presserat) also censured the newspaper in 2023 for insufficient journalistic diligence in a commentary on the Ukraine war.
Internally, according to taz, there is discontent over his unilateral actions and disregard for editorial criticism.