Online reports – Culture – False start for daily talk show “061 live” on TeleBasel

© Photo by OnlineReports / Screenshot TeleBasel

“Three totally exciting weeks”: Talk host Esther Maag

The background show introduced last December was cancelled after three weeks / Restart planned before summer

From Peter Knechtli

The exercise was cancelled after just three weeks of broadcasting: the daily talk show “061 live”, which TeleBasel had announced as a background focus, got off to a bad start last December. But editor-in-chief Willy Surbeck and presenter Esther Maag are determined to stick with the show.

In her letter of resignation last November, the Green Baselbieter district councillor Esther Maag expressed her delight “that I will continue to be close to political events and will be able to stay in contact with you, albeit in the neutral role of moderator in the future.” She said she was “sure” that there would be “many more opportunities” “where I can invite your representatives to join me on the show '061 live' on TeleBasel, which starts next week.”

Flop in prime time

So far, almost nothing has come of it. After just a few live broadcasts in which the former politician addressed the “esteemed viewers” from the noisy restaurant “Pap Joe's” on Barfüsserplatz with the “most prominent guest possible on the most prominent topic possible” (her own claim), the vessel was quietly taken out of service. There has been a break in broadcasting since Christmas.

Thanks to massively increased splitting fees, “061 live” on the Basel regional station was supposed to be one of the new flagships of prime time between 6 and 7 p.m. Editor-in-chief Willy Surbeck had brought the former district president and trained psychologist, but not TV-trained Esther Maag, on board as anchor woman and tough interviewer and expected her to host the daily quality talk show. Even then, warning voices were asking whether the region would provide journalistically justifiable daily topics and daily celebrities, whether the presenter's preparation for her new journalistic task was serious and whether the human resources behind the scenes were adequate.

Quick shot with “Image clash”

Today it is clear that the conception of the daily talk show, which goes beyond casual chatter and meets the demand for nuanced debate, was a hasty decision. This is also demonstrated by Willy Surbeck's answers to questions from OnlineReports.ch.

The three weeks of broadcasting in “Papa Joe's” were enough to identify a whole list of deficiencies in the barrel planning. Surbeck now speaks of an “image clash” between the world of experience in “Papa Joe's” and the problem-oriented program “061 live” (“in the midst of everyday life with controversies and abysses”). Added to this were the “daily renovation work”, the “ambience noise level that was too loud for the conversation”, and even “our interference with the service staff”. Presenter Esther Maag remembered that she “sometimes couldn't hear the technology in her ear anymore”.

The TeleBasel boss admits that the broadcaster could have foreseen the excessive “frictional losses”. According to him, the broadcast, which was first announced for October and then postponed to early December, appears to have been an experiment: “We wanted to know first how serious the impact would be. We also wanted to find out where the pain threshold lies under the strict austerity measures.”

“Jumped in fresh and cheerfully”

Presenter Esther Maag, who worked as a journalist in her younger years but had no television experience, now knows where the pain threshold lies. Maag was otherwise relaxed when she was mercilessly exposed to the eye of the live camera. Her questions were correct, her The appearance seems serious but brittle, the flow of the broadcast was faltering. There was clearly a lack of journalistic thrills, without every long talk show becoming a sure-fire sleeping pill.

“I jumped in with a fresh smile,” says the spontaneous presenter, looking back on her first broadcasting experiment. Her live performances, with the active documentary support of Eugen Schwarz Jr. (“we were TV newbies”), were “three really exciting weeks.” However, in her experience, they were “measured against very high standards.”

Surbeck: “We should have waited”

“It hurts that it didn't work the first time,” admits Surbeck. “The mistake was that we didn't wait a year and a half until we had the money for a bigger budget.” TeleBasel saved on preparation, coaching, technology, editorial staff and production – a somewhat daring, streamlined concept for a program that is supposed to give the licensed broadcaster a high-quality profile and position it during prime time.

The underestimation of a successful talk show project – “TalkTäglich” on “TeleZüri” served as a model – is also shown by the fact that TeleBasel only relied on one broadcasting location without considering alternative options – the wrong one.

Restart planned by summer

Esther Maag has now reduced her workload at TeleBasel from 40 to 20 percent, but is still in good spirits: “I'm quick to learn and I like to jump in at the deep end.” Since the beginning of the year, the presenter has been studying camera presence and interview techniques. She also says she is “further training with the competition.” Last week, for example, she looked around at her “TalkTäglich” colleagues at “TeleZüri.” She also works in the background for the Sunday “Salon Bâle.” But she's not thinking about quitting – quite the opposite. Because boss Surbeck is determined to give “061 live” a restart, as he announced to OnlineReports.ch: “The show is definitely on schedule. It will continue.”

According to Surbeck, the decisive factor for the new edition of “061 live” is the fulfillment of a number of important requirements. For this show, he would need a production location that is “sealed by fiber optics” “without us incurring unacceptable costs”. In addition, this location must be “close to the studio in order to keep logistics costs low” and “have the visual qualities of a studio”. Finally, an external TV partner is being sought who will cover 20 percent of the production costs.

If necessary, a new studio

If all external options fail, Surbeck will have to look for an internal solution at the Steinenschanze transmitter site. But this would entail considerable costs because an additional studio would have to be built: the main studio is needed for other purposes during the evening broadcasting time.

Surbeck will not commit to a date forecast. Esther Maag is a little more specific: “I am pushing for the restart to take place in this half year.” Then she will still have the opportunity to greet her former district administrator colleagues in the live studio.

25 February 2009

Further links: