Kleber moderated “heute journal” last time: He reveals how things will continue - and what will happen to his cloakroom

Created: 12/30/2021, 12:00 PM

From: Anna-Katharina Ahnefeld

Farewell after almost 20 years and almost 3,000 broadcasts: This Thursday, Claus Kleber will guide the ZDF “heute journal” for the last time.

Berlin - He is one of the most famous faces of public broadcasting.

After almost 3,000 broadcasts, Claus Kleber will host “heute journal” for the last time this Thursday, December 30th.

As early as the summer it became known that the journalist is taking his hat off after almost 20 years on the news program and is retiring.

It takes a lot of getting used to for his audience.

"I want to try to stay cool, but I probably won't be able to do it," said Kleber in a recent interview with the German press agency. So far he has managed to suppress the topic quite well. "But at some point I will realize that this happy chapter of my professional life and my life in general is over," said Kleber. “I have to deal with that moment. Hopefully not while the camera is fully aimed at me. ”However, he wants to continue working as a journalist. “What I definitely want to continue is the documentaries that were close to my heart from the start. Because I got to know the world. Not like a tourist, but like a person who plunges into everyday life, ”said Claus Kleber to the German press agency.

Kleber moderated “heute journal” last time: He reveals how things will continue - and what to expect from his suits

He was constantly approached on the street, he revealed.

The topic now is always that he will soon stop with the “heute journal”.

“That gives a stab every time.

But the comments are almost always appreciative and friendly.

Occasionally there is also criticism, mostly constructive and taken seriously.

What we find in so-called 'social media' and also in the post often sounds different, ”stated Kleber.

The outgoing “heute journal” presenter complained about the tactic of evasive action, which can be observed more and more frequently in interviews with politicians.

"This demon, driven by so-called media consultants, of not answering and evading questions is spreading more and more," he said.

“They're probably all getting some kind of training from the same school of thought that persuades them: If you've avoided the question, you've won.

But that's nonsense. ”Viewers noticed that and were upset about something like that.

Claus Kleber leaves ZDF- “heute journal” after almost 20 years: That happens to his cloakroom

There are also exceptions: “Someone like Robert Habeck, for example, is interested in the questions you ask and tries to answer them.

He doesn't always have a really convincing answer, but he gets involved in the conversation. ”As a journalist, it is not only he who enjoys talking to someone who specializes in Habeck.

The viewers like it better, too, because they feel that their representative, the questioning journalist, has been treated better by this politician.

In his penultimate broadcast, on Wednesday, December 29th, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection paid a visit and addressed warm words to the outgoing moderator.

Claus Kleber in the studio of ZDF “heute-journals”.

© Klaus Weddig / ZDF / dpa

In an interview, Claus Kleber also revealed what will happen to his suits: “I can buy the suits that ZDF has made available at a sale price.

I'll take a few of these with me.

I think I've had the same nine suits for many years.

Half will be enough. ”These are familiar things that would still be more or less appropriate.

"Besides, who else wants them?" The journalist jokes.

In just under two decades, Kleber had “left a lasting mark on“ heute journal ”, according to ZDF - since 2003 as main presenter and until 2009 also as editor-in-chief”.

Christian Sievers has already been announced as the successor to Claus Kleber.

In the new role, Sievers will have his first “heute journal” appearance on January 10th on ZDF.