Blumenwiese (Foto: Diane Scherzler)

Diane Scherzler

Biography

 

Photo: Robert Bosch Stiftung/Birgitta KowskyJournalism
Diane Scherzler is editor and project manager in the online department of Suedwestrundfunk (SWR), a major German Public Broadcasting Company. As author of journalistic contributions the trained archaeologist regularly writes about scientific topics as well as about cultural events. Occasionally she also worked for the radio programme SWR2. Diane gained experience with television when working for the digital channel EinsPlus (ARD). Furthermore, she regularly teaches Suedwestrundfunk's trainees during courses that are lasting several weeks.

As project manager - e. g. for the department of strategic corporate development - she planned and realized, amongst others, web reports. She develops websites and governs complex processes and projects as, e. g., a more efficient application of databases and the development of crossmedia working structures.

Diane Scherzler has several years of experience with public
relations work. For the several orchestras of SWR she developed marketing concepts and established co-operations with local institutions in the years 1997 to 2000. She editorially guided a magazine and several other major print products.

Science Communication
For 15 years Diane has been concerned with the subject area "science, the media, and the public" (science in the sense of: science and humanities). The editor works as lecturer at Tuebingen University and at Freiburg University, where she teaches science communication and writing skills. She is founder and head of the Euroscience workgroup "Science Communication" that has the purpose to share experiences and best practices in communicating topics from the “hard” sciences and humanities with non-experts and a broader audience. Diane regularly provides media training courses for academics who want to improve their media strategy and their interaction with journalists. She advises scientific organizations on their media relations. Her publications appear in learned journals and books.

In 1995 Diane founded the non-profit organization Courage Culture Care e. V., that is concerned with the ways how today's societies are dealing with the past. Till 1997 she worked as Courage's director, before she started working for SWR.

Honour
University of Tuebingen, prize for collegiate papers in the Studium Professionale (lecturer of the class). 2010
Nomination Grimme Online Award TV for the website www.schaetze-der-welt.de. 2003

Archaeology
From January until June 2011 Diane served as member of the scientific advisory council of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ur- und Fruehgeschichte (German Society for Pre- and Protohistory), since June 2011 she is the society's vice chairperson.

From 1985 till 1996 Diane participated each summer for several months in archaeological excavations in Southern Germany and Eastern Westphalia. She was employed at the State Office for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments as draftsman and as collegiate director of excavations.

In her master's thesis Diane covered the medical care of women in the Pre-Roman Iron Age. From 1994 till 1997 she researched a Late Michelsberg complex in eastern Westphalia dating from 3700 till 3400 BC. Probably this unique site attests the before unknown transition to the Wartberg culture in northern Hesse and eastern Westphalia.

Qualification
From 1990 till 1996 she studied prehistory, geology, and paleoanthropology in Tuebingen and did there her master's thesis. During her education at SWR, at the French-German Public Broadcaster ARTE and at the Swiss Public Broadcaster DRS Diane learned in 2001/2001, how broadcasting works.

Languages
German, English, French, Spanish. Qualifications in Latin and Classical Greek.
Basic skills in Polish and Italian.

Memberships
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichte
European Association of Archaeologists
Euroscience
Euroscience Workgroup "Science Communication"
Netzwerk Recherche
Netzwerk Wissenschaft und Medien
Society for American Archaeology
World Archaeological Congress