His humor is as dry as the Franconian record in August, his composure as unshakable as the Bayer storm in Lohr and his heart as big as Kallmuth in Homburg: Joachim Spies is the type of person you could only wish for as a colleague. But after more than 41 years at Main-Post, the passive part of his semi-retirement begins for him.
He was 23 years young when he took on a management role for the first time shortly after completing his training as an editor at the Main-Post. In 1983/84, the native of Erlenbach became editor-in-chief in Lohr, where he had lived since his youth. When older colleagues from that time talk about metal typesetting, darkrooms and exclusively newspapers, it always sounds a bit like a museum. Joachim Spies rarely took part in these stories. And if so, then anecdotally and knowing full well that many things were different in the past, but not necessarily better. It was always his aim to lead the editorial team into the future.
Joachim Spies was always a doer, a problem solver, a caretaker
In 1991, Joachim Spies brought the editor-in-chief to the Franconia/Bavaria department in Würzburg, which he became deputy head of from 1997. In 2002 he returned to Main-Spessart as editor-in-chief, where he brought together the four editorial offices of Lohr, Gemünden, Karlstadt and Marktheidenfeld. The roles of reporter and newspaper editor were increasingly separated. Joachim Spies moved back to Würzburg in 2009 and was responsible for the production of all local editions in Kitzingen, Tauber, Würzburg, Ochsenfurt and Main-Spessart for about eight years. In 2017, the Main-Post editorial team fundamentally restructured its structures, and Joachim Spies returned to Main-Spessart as editor-in-chief.
With all the tasks, he never took himself too seriously. Journalistically ambitious, but also quiet and pragmatic, he took care of all the topics that just came up. Joachim Spies was always a doer, a problem solver, a caretaker. He gladly left pleasant things to his team, unpleasant ones he took care of himself. As a rule, he remained calm to stoic even under stress. He preferred to comment on nonsensical things with the word “sheep shit” and then grinned again. As a journalist, he is an all-rounder who has experienced almost everything that a local journalist can experience, from plane crashes to rising to the ranks of politicians.
In his farewell email to the editors, Spies wrote: “For God’s sake, do something brave.”
Joachim Spies has cast his view of life in the Franconian provinces in three novels (including The Rosary Conspiracy, 2004, Verlag M. Naumann). Whoever reads them gets a sense of how affectionately and ironically Joachim Spies looks at the provinces, their people and ultimately also at himself. Incidentally, his internal farewell email to the editors ended with a quote from the reformer Huldrych Zwingli: “For God’s sake, do something brave!”
That is a fitting assignment, also for his successor, Carolin Schulte. On March 1, the 29-year-old took over the management of the Main-Spessart editorial team. She comes from Rödinghausen (North Rhine-Westphalia), studied journalism (master’s degree) in Würzburg, did a traineeship at the Main-Post and has been Joachim Spies’ deputy since 2020. So the transition is seamless yet challenging. The nine-man team in Main-Spessart experienced four changes in personnel within about two years for reasons of age. All positions have been and will be filled. If you, dear readers, have any questions or comments for the new reaction manager, please send an email to Carolin Schulte: [email protected]
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