Bio 

Bastian started his career in journalism in 2009 as a news reporter for Germany’s international broadcaster Detusche Welle, covering news and current affairs in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

From 2015 to 2019, Bastian worked as DW’s Asia Correspondent, based in Bangkok, covering historic events from the region, including the two US-DPRK Summits, the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh, and the death and funeral of Thailand’s king Bhumibol Adulyadej, among many others.

Since relocating to the US, Bastian has expanded his journalistic endeavors working with various clients in Germany and Europe, like ARD public radio, ZDF, Welt, RTL, DW, Servus TV and Swiss public television (SRF). He reported on the 2020 US presidential election for German national public broadcaster ZDF from Washington, D.C. In 2023 he spent several months reporting from Washington as a US-correspondent for the German news agency dpa.

Bastian studied Southeast Asian Studies and economics at Passau University (Germany) and holds a master’s degree in Chinese Studies (MA) from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.

"My job is to go to places I've never been, meet people I would otherwise never get the chance meet, and come back to tell their stories - to me, that is what makes this work so fascinating."

As a multimedia journalist, Bastian shoots, writes, and edits his reports independently when not working with a team. In addition, he works as a media trainer and conducts workshops on video journalism, storytelling, and live presentation. You can also book Bastian as a moderator for conferences, panel discussions or other events.