opinion
The TV debate before the federal elections traditionally belongs to public-law jurisdiction. It is all the more astonishing that ARD and ZDF did not really sit in the front row for the second triall.
It was not so long ago that the two public TV systems in Germany advertised with the slogan: “At ARD and ZDF you sit in the front row”. Even if the claim was sometimes mocked (“With ARD and ZDF you will win the first seats”): At least when it comes to news and information skills, the two big ships are still the top dogs. This is where the Chancellors go when they have a message to announce, as Angela Merkel last did in spring 2020 when she warned of the threat posed by the corona pandemic (“The situation is serious. Take it seriously”). And the speech duel, or in the meantime -Triell, belonged in the past out of habit to the territory of ARD and ZDF.
It is all the more astonishing that yesterday evening will be more likely to be remembered by viewers for bankruptcies, bad luck and mishaps than for precise questions, brisk scrutiny and surprising exacerbations. At first there was a huge rumble when Annalena Baerbock commented on a possible three-way alliance with the SPD and the left. Then the speaking time clock continued to run for Olaf Scholz, although the SPD candidate had long since finished his statement. Above all, however, the moderator duo, consisting of ZDF talker Maybrit Illner and ARD editor-in-chief Oliver Köhr, rarely seemed to be in control of the process. At times the questions seemed erratic and incoherent. The transitions between the individual thematic blocks are abrupt and without transition. For example, the corona issue was initially interrupted by the complex of digitization before it came back to learnings from the pandemic. And the entry into the TV debate, when the candidates were to be brought to coalition statements, was expected to be tough because, of course, nobody was lured out of the reserve. All things that a well-rehearsed editorial team could actually have prevented.
The interaction between Illner and Köhr did not work well. The two interrupted each other several times, as if there had been a lack of agreements. Köhr in particular looked downright over-motivated at the beginning. Was it really such a happy decision to go in front of the camera as ARD editor-in-chief for just four months? There is also no trace of the promised “moments of surprise” that were announced in the run-up to the debate. Unless the surprised expression of Maybrit Illner is accepted as such, if her moderator colleague cut her off again.
A compilation is circulating on Twitter, where it is mockingly said that the two moderators fought the real duel with each other.
No, it wasn’t a happy evening for ARD and ZDF. Especially because 14 days ago, of all places, RTL’s competitor brought the first triall over the stage without a breakdown. The broadcast was eagerly awaited because the Cologne-based private broadcaster recently announced that it would reposition itself in the news and information sector (Editor’s note: Like the publisher Gruner + Jahr, in which the star appears, RTL belongs to the Bertelsmann group. On January 1, 2022, Mediengruppe RTL-Deutschland will take over the German magazine businesses and brands from Gruner + Jahr). And in direct comparison, the RTL duo consisting of Pinar Atalay and Peter Kloeppel exuded the calm and sovereignty that one would actually have expected from the big news ships from ARD and ZDF.
After all: The subsequent “Anne Will” broadcast on ARD moved the information hierarchy back to some extent for the public broadcasters. There actually sat a few high-profile politicians with guests such as Jens Spahn, Malu Dreyer and Katrin Göring-Eckardt, who tried to gain the authority to interpret the debate for their party. A much stronger and politically more relevant group than RTL had to offer with Günther Jauch and Motsi Mabuse.
Conclusion: When looking at the game, this time more standing room than first row. But at least: the sausage afterwards was okay!
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
