“Berlin direct”
The last edition with Theo Koll runs on Sunday
Theo Koll has been working for ZDF for around 33 years.
© ZDF/Jens Koch
The political TV magazine “Berlin Direkt” will be hosted by Theo Koll for the last time on Sunday. He is retiring.
After around 33 years, Theo Koll (65) is saying goodbye to ZDF. The journalist and presenter will appear for the last time on Sunday, October 22nd from 7:10 p.m. on the television magazine “The station has now announced this. The farewell broadcast will also focus on current events – including the political consequences of the Hamas attack on Israel.
Theo Koll: More than three decades at ZDF
Koll has “shaped the ZDF information program over the past three decades,” explains ZDF editor-in-chief Bettina Schausten (58) in a statement. “He stands for profound, calm, reliable information. This has distinguished his journalistic career and will also shape his last ‘Berlin Direkt’ broadcast.”
Around 33 years ago, Koll became an editor at the ZDF studio in Bonn, and many other positions followed at the station. Among other things, he headed the ZDF studio in London for eight years, moderated the political magazine “Frontal 21” for eight years and also ran the “auslandsjournal” for five years. In 2014 he took over the management of the ZDF foreign studio Southwest Europe in Paris, and at the beginning of 2019 he took over the management of the capital studio in Berlin.
A few weeks ago it became known that Koll would be leaving the Mainz station and retiring. Diana Zimmermann (52) will take over the management of the ZDF capital studio on December 1, 2023. From November 2023 she will be moderating “Berlin Direkt”. Shakuntala Banerjee, who presents the format as deputy head of the ZDF capital studio alternating with Koll, will host the program on October 29th.