Suddenly the cell phone rang: Magenta TV presenter Johannes B. Kerner answered the phone during a live broadcast and let expert Michael Ballack go on alone. “I wanted that to be resolved quickly,” said Kerner, explaining the scene.
A curious scene on the edge of the broadcast of the EM semifinals between England and Denmark (2: 1) on the telecom broadcaster Magenta-TV causes laughter on social networks.
In the analysis of scenes from the game with moderator Johannes B. Kerner and expert Michael Ballack, a cell phone on the studio table rang apparently surprisingly. “You keep talking, that’s Patrick Ittrich, I’ll answer it for a moment, just keep talking,” interrupted Kerner Ballack and stepped into the background with his smartphone to his ear.
Johannes B. Kerner is on the phone during the live broadcast
The moderator accepted the caller’s statements with wild gestures, while Ballack gave his monologue on the controversial penalty for the English (Read more here) continued. After about 30 seconds, Kerner ended the phone call and returned to the moderation table: “Well, he says you know how the Uefa line is at the moment. I can only say: common sense of football,” Kerner turned to his expert, who previously criticized the referee’s decision in favor of a penalty for England.
“Why do you have referee experts”, commented the social media team of Magenta-TV on the strange process. The Hamburg Bundesliga referee Parick Ittrich is part of the EM team of the pay-TV channel and has already analyzed referee decisions of the tournament in previous games – but in the studio.
For the phone call during the live broadcast, Johannes B. Kerner was celebrated by many on social networks. “World class!” and “Outstanding!” it was said among other things.
But doubts also mingled with the voices about the situation. Why wasn’t Patrick Ittrich switched to the studio right away, but only later? How professional is it to have your mobile phone switched on in front of you in the studio as a host of a live broadcast? So was it all just a farmer’s theater to get a video clip suitable for social media? Many viewers didn’t care, the reactions showed. They just felt well entertained.
The day after, Johannes B. Kerner commented on the call: “That was a game-changing scene. The journalistic principle applies: First things first! I wanted that to be resolved quickly,” said the moderator, according to the DPA news agency, explaining his phone call during the Live broadcast.
Incidentally, referee Patrick Ittrich later answered the question of whether he would have given the controversial penalty, clearly and unequivocally: “No.”
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
