"Bittersweet farewell" RTL figurehead quits after 32 years
After 32 years, Peter Kloeppel is stepping down as news presenter at RTL. "It's bittersweet, but it's good that it's happening in a self-determined way - and the way I imagine a farewell," says the 65-year-old.
Image: RTL
"As a news presenter, you're supposed to embody the anchor and the calm in the storm," says Peter Kloeppel.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
After more than 4,500 broadcasts of "RTL aktuell", Peter Kloeppel and sports presenter Ulrike von der Groeben are saying goodbye to the viewers.
Image: RTL
Peter Kloeppel has presented the daily news program on RTL since 1992.
Image: MG RTL D / Stefan Gregorowius
"Today, with over 30 years of presenting experience, I approach certain events with much more composure and calm and am not so easily shaken," reveals Peter Kloeppel.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
After 32 years, Peter Kloeppel is stepping down as news presenter at RTL. "It's bittersweet, but it's good that it's happening in a self-determined way - and the way I imagine a farewell," says the 65-year-old.
Image: RTL
"As a news presenter, you're supposed to embody the anchor and the calm in the storm," says Peter Kloeppel.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
After more than 4,500 broadcasts of "RTL aktuell", Peter Kloeppel and sports presenter Ulrike von der Groeben are saying goodbye to the viewers.
Image: RTL
Peter Kloeppel has presented the daily news program on RTL since 1992.
Image: MG RTL D / Stefan Gregorowius
"Today, with over 30 years of presenting experience, I approach certain events with much more composure and calm and am not so easily shaken," reveals Peter Kloeppel.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
He brought serious news journalism to private television - now RTL anchorman Peter Kloeppel is stepping down after 32 years. In this interview, the 65-year-old reveals how it feels to say goodbye as a presenter, how he looks back on his career and what he plans for the future.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- After 32 years and over 4,500 broadcasts as a news presenter, Peter Kloeppel is saying goodbye to "RTL aktuell", where he made a significant contribution to serious journalism on private television.
- He presented numerous important events, including a formative seven-hour special broadcast on September 11, 2001, which is considered a significant moment in German television history.
- Kloeppel plans to continue working in television, but without daily broadcasts, and will increasingly shift the focus of his life to the USA.
Serious, trustworthy, official, sober: for three decades, television viewers associated Peter Kloeppel with the qualities that were otherwise mainly attributed to public broadcasters. But the RTL anchorman, who is now saying goodbye to "RTL aktuell" after 32 years and more than 4,500 broadcasts, felt connected to his home and court broadcaster throughout his entire career. What's more, he was the one who brought serious news journalism to private television.
From everyday news, to covering numerous elections, to the unforgettable seven-hour special broadcast on September 11, 2001: the audience rewarded his appearance, which testified to his commitment and unwavering incorruptibility, and voted him the most popular news presenter in the country several times.
When he now retires as presenter - together with his long-time colleague Ulrike von der Groeben - the 65-year-old will leave a big gap in German television. On Friday, August 23, at 6:45 p.m., he will present the news on RTL for the last time.
Mr. Kloeppel, how do you prepare emotionally for your last show as a news presenter after more than 30 years?
I've been thinking about when my career will come to an end for a few years now. I decided a long time ago that it would be around my 65th or 66th birthday. It's worked out well, so the departure doesn't come as a surprise to me. I didn't have to mentally readjust to the fact that I'll be virtually unemployed from Friday (laughs). I'm looking forward to it. It's bittersweet, but it's good that it's happening in a self-determined way - and the way I imagine saying goodbye.
Are you a little worried about surprises on the last day?
I reckon there will be surprises (laughs)! But yes, I'm more of a control freak when it comes to that and would like to know what's in store for me and Ulrike von der Groeben. Nevertheless, we are looking forward to it. During the show, we still have some control. But not afterwards - there's supposed to be a party ...
Have you already thought about what you want to say for your final farewell presentation?
No, that will probably come on the last day. Sure, you toss different things back and forth. But I can definitely say that there won't be an apodictic speech or anything final. There's just a lot of gratitude that we've been able to do this great job for so long, that we've stayed healthy and that we can go our own way. That we have been able to work journalistically on topics that interest us and that we have a broadcaster behind us that has made it all possible. Ultimately, this was also made possible by the viewers who like to invite us into their living rooms every evening.
You have received several awards as the most popular news presenter, you are often described as an "anchor" or with attributes such as "reliability". Do you see yourself in that?
Yes, I find myself in that. As a news presenter, you should embody the anchor and the calm in the storm. You need a compass and should know what is important to you and your viewers. I think it's important to be at peace with yourself when selecting, evaluating and assessing topics, but I have to admit that I had to work on it.
Can you elaborate on that?
When I started presenting "RTL aktuell", I was 33, and the world around me was very different back then. But I always resolved to be that calm in the storm - and over the years I was able to fulfill that. Today, with over 30 years of presenting experience, I approach certain events with much more composure and calm and am not so easily shaken.
On September 11, 2001, you covered the attacks in New York live for over seven hours. You received many awards for your special broadcast, and there was often talk of "television history" being made at the time. Was that day also a turning point in your journalistic career?
It was certainly a turning point in that from then on we were also taken seriously by many critics. They simply realized very quickly what we had achieved that day, how we had appropriately portrayed a news event of global significance - and I don't just mean me, but the whole team at RTL. It was perhaps also a turning point for German television, because until then there had never been such a long live broadcast of a breaking news event. I wasn't the only one, the others just came a little later. For me personally, it felt less like a turning point because I knew what we had achieved. At that point, we had already been making good news with "RTL aktuell" for 17 years. This was just further proof of that.
You have announced that you will not turn your back on television completely after leaving "RTL aktuell". So you can't do without it completely?
I just really enjoy it (laughs)! So I'm pleased that I can continue with the format "Durchleuchtet". I'll probably be here in the studio commenting on the US election. And if there's any other demand - then I'll be available for that too. But I won't be hosting any more daily shows, and I certainly won't be on air at the rate I have been for the past 30 years.
Instead, you want to move the center of your life to the USA?
My wife is American and our daughter lives in New York. We already have a home in the USA and will be spending more time there. I won't have to fly back and forth so much. That will be nice.
