“I need harmony”: TV presenter Barbara Stöckl celebrates her 60th birthday

Stöckl was born in Vienna on April 2, 1963 as the third of five children – including the Ö3 talker Claudia Stöckl. After graduating from a sports secondary school, she studied technical mathematics. With her later profession, however, she took a completely different path, as she was in front of a camera for the ORF youth program “Okay” in her early 20s. This was followed by “X-Large”, “Herz ist Trumpf” and “Live on Saturday”. From 1988 to 1993 she also worked for ZDF in Germany.

Her face is inextricably linked to the program “help tv”, which she moderated from 1995 to 2008 and provided help in various emergency situations. In the 1990s she was also seen alongside Alfons Haider in broadcasts from the Vienna Opera Ball. From 2000 to 2002 she asked tricky questions in the “Million Show”. She moderated about 100 episodes, and in February 2001 the main prize – at that time ten million schillings – was cracked for the first time. Money in the form of donations also flowed into various “Licht ins Dunkel” programs through which she led.

“Show feelings, stand by weaknesses”

Her name first appeared in a program title in 2003: “Bei Stöckl” was the name of the talk that was to be shown on ORF for around two years. From 2008 to 2012, Stöckl talked about women’s issues, generational conflicts, health and social issues on Saturday afternoons in “Stöckl on Saturday”. From February 2013 it was just “Stöckl”. The show now has hundreds of editions, during which it meets personalities from different walks of life and generations once a week on ORF 2 late evening to talk to them about life, experiences, visions of the future and current social issues. On special occasions such as the ORF’s “Consciously Healthy” initiatives – most recently on heart health – the moderator can be seen with “Stöckl live”.

She doesn’t want to conduct tough interviews. She revealed that she needed too much harmony for that. It is much more important to her that people feel comfortable and open with her. It is important to her to show feelings and to stand up for weaknesses.

Despite decades of experience, she herself has to overcome time and again to step in front of the camera. That takes a lot of strength, says Stöckl. In the past, her appearance was also an issue. “I don’t think I’m ugly, but I knew that I wouldn’t score in the industry with my looks alone. Now I’m glad I don’t work in a segment where you have to be a doll. I’m in a field where maturity and personal development are a mark of quality. I’m allowed to have wrinkles and a few extra pounds,” she told Woman magazine a few years ago.

Her three Romy awards as “Most popular talk show host” prove that she is well received with her harmonious, sensitive manner. She can also refer to a Gold Medal of Merit from the Republic of Austria and the Prälat Leopold Ungar Journalist Prize.

Away from television, she is repeatedly active as an author. “Erwin Proell – Out of Service” was only published in 2020. In it she recorded how Proells (ÖVP) resigned as Governor of Lower Austria. In 2017 she authored “Encouragements for Every Day” and in 2007 “Who Needs God?”. She also manages the company KIWI-TV Filmproduktionsgmbh with director Peter Nagy.