Feedback? Well, my mom will tell me if my tie is not tied correctly.

Today was so refreshing - even if I only understood about 1/3 of it.

This afternoon we went to the ARD German TV Bureau in Georgetown and spoke with Klaus Scherer, ARD's Senior Correspondent. He told us all about his job, which consists of doing hard news stories, background pieces ("a small story to represent a big one"), and even documentaries - all of which the German people mandatorily fund. He also does commentary, which is tough, because once the audience knows his opinion, they can then blame him later on for being biased even when he's doing a straight news piece. 

Klaus mimicking how an earpiece works

Klaus was so honest and blunt and just really forthright about stuff like that. He really let us in on the real challenges that he has to deal with as a correspondent - like getting past each country's stereotypes and quirks, and dealing with the difference between what sells / what is the easiest to cover / and what is the most newsworthy & important information.

He gave one example of a hurricane that was supposed to hit Florida but ended up changing direction at the very last minute, leaving the reporters in Florida bereft of any story. So instead, those still in the area decided to cover "how happy everyone was that there was no hurricane" as opposed to moving on to another important issue elsewhere. 

Klaus on TV commentating

He also mentioned how nowadays too often are reporters going into a situation knowing exactly what type of story they are going to get from it, when instead they should be looking for something new and surprising (something I've grown more and more aware of during my stay here, and that I honestly think needs some real looking into...news is not what you think is going to go on, it's what is really going on, and just because it's possible to find examples that support your hypothesis doesn't necessarily mean your hypothesis is right). 

but anyhowww...

I even loved hearing about the stupid little pain in the butt technical stuff - like dealing with delays, mics that fall out of your ear, and your own echo when communicating via satellite - Or not being able to wear a blue or green tie because the image on the blue/green screen behind you will then appear in the stripes - or how at some point, you stop listening to a person's words, and just wait for them to take a breath or say 'um' or 'ah' so you can cut them off and still make the time limit. 

good, really important stuff like that. 


really made me love Europeans even more. 
Not that all Europeans are honest and forthcoming. That would be a stereotype and a generalization Klaus would advise against. 

Klaus showing us how the monitor works

Klaus and his German (and Chinese) companions