Tagesthemen Explained

Italic Title:no
Runtime:Monday–Thursday: 30 minutes
Friday–Sunday: 15–20 minutes
Presenter:Ingo Zamperoni
Aline Abboud
Helge Fuhst
Jessy Wellmer
Country:West Germany (1978-1990)
Germany (1990-present)
Language:German
Last Aired:present
Channel:Das Erste
Producer:ARD-aktuell
Location:Hamburg

Tagesthemen (pronounced as /de/) is one of Germany's main daily television news magazines, presented by journalists Helge Fuhst, Aline Abboud, Ingo Zamperoni and Jessy Wellmer. Second only to the 20:00 Tagesschau ("Review of the Day") Tagesthemen ("Issues of the Day") is ARD's most important newscast. It is different in style and content from Tagesschau and is broadcast Mondays to Thursdays at 22:15, Fridays at 23:15, Saturdays at varying times and Sundays at 22:45. On special news occasions, a Tagesthemen extra is also broadcast before the main show. Each Tagesthemen broadcast has a single host, a single newsreader for the news block, usually from the earlier Tagesschau, a weather presenter broadcasting from Frankfurt, and a presenter for the sports block on the weekends. Previously recorded Tagesthemen newscasts can also be seen internationally via YouTube on Tagesschau's YouTube Channel.

History

In January 1978, Tagesthemen replaced the late edition of Tagesschau, which had been broadcast until then. The broadcast lasts a half hour on weekdays; it is shorter on Fridays (15 minutes) Saturdays (20 minutes) and Sundays (15 minutes).

In contrast to Tagesschau, which provides only an overview of the news, Tagesthemen is designed to also provide the viewer with more information, context and background. The program usually features four to five segments on the stories and themes of the day.

Previously, the program used a variation of the Tagesschau theme, Hammond Fantasy, with the first and last notes in the same keys. From 1997 to 2014, Tagesthemen used the same music as Tagesschau. Currently Tagesthemen uses a different variation of the Hammond Fantasy, similar to the original Tagesthemen theme.

Tagesschau editorial staff provide a daily news summary to the program. A weather report was part of the news summary until 2002: since then it has been presented by a meteorologist, in cooperation with Meteomedia AG, a privately owned company. Since 2020, the weather report is presented from the ARD weather center at the studios of Hessischer Rundfunk in Frankfurt.

Tagesthemen's market share sank with the opening of media competition in Germany; nevertheless, it still lies today at about 12% — this amounts to about 2.5 million viewers per broadcast. Tagesthemen is one of the most influential opinion builders in Germany.

Presenters

Since 1 October 1985 Tagesthemen, like Tagesschau, has been presented by various hosts. Since the start, the hosts alternate weekly.

The hosts write their scripts themselves; the presentation generally has a much looser style than Tagesschau. Since the Tagesthemen hosts are not restricted to simply reading the daily dispatches, they can develop a lively, personal style compared to their colleagues at Tagesschau, although they are still required to be neutral and objective.

Current presenters

PresenterDate startedComments
24 October 2016 Main presenter
4 September 2021 Relief presenter
Jessy Wellmer 30 October 2023 Main presenter

1985 onwards

PresenterStartedEnded
Ulrike Wolf 1 October 1985 23 July 1987
14 October 1985 27 June 1991
4 August 1987 September 1997
1 July 1991 31 August 2006
Ulrich Deppendorf (Relief presenter) 1993 1999
6 September 1997 5 April 2001
Anne Will14 April 2001 24 June 2007
1 September 2006 16 June 2013
Caren Miosga16 July 2007 5 October 2023
Ingo Zamperoni (Relief presenter) 6 January 2013 12 January 2014
Thomas Roth5 August 2013 2 October 2016
Pinar Atalay (Relief presenter) 7 March 2014[1] 9 May 2021

1978-1985

Trivia

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: "Tagesthemen": Zamperoni geht nach Washington - DWDL.de. DWDL.de. 2015-10-22.
  2. Web site: ARD Tagesthemen - Wetteransage mit Thomas Gottschalk. NoMainstream88 YouTube channel . NoMainstream88 . 28 February 2023.
  3. Web site: "Die Ärzte": Tagesthemen-Intro . tagesschau Youtube Channel . Tagesthemen . 19 October 2022.