After around 33 years, Theo Koll is saying goodbye to ZDF. The journalist and presenter will be giving a final tour of the television magazine “Berlin Direkt” on Sunday, October 22nd from 7:10 p.m. The broadcaster has now announced this. The farewell broadcast will therefore also focus on current events – including the political consequences of Hamas’ attack on Israel.
Koll has “shaped the ZDF information program over the past three decades,” explains ZDF editor-in-chief Bettina Schausten 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 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.