“Tagesschau” spokeswoman
How Susanne Daubner became a popular figure in the nation
Susanne Daubner in the “Tagesschau”
© ARD-aktuell / DPA
A hearty laugh and great happiness – news anchor Susanne Daubner thrilled countless people this week. It’s not the first time that the presenter has become a hit with viewers.
Serious clothes, a meaningful face, well-chosen words – news anchors and anchors always have to hide their true personality behind a professional job self. But sometimes there are surprises.
Susanne Daubner, who has been adhering to these codes for almost twenty-five years, began to parody herself in a subtle way in 2021. She recites the ten young people’s words from the Langenscheidt publishing house, which are up for vote every year, with emphasized seriousness, and she doesn’t bat an eyelid when, like this year, she says “Rizz”, “Is it allowed to do that?” and “Slay” reads. The moderator then announces the winning word a few weeks later, usually in an ironically packaged sentence: “The youth word of the year 2022 is smash. If you want to smash someone, the person would swipe to the right when dating online – or even more. The opposite of that is Pass: a rejection.” Her explanation last year was even funnier: “Cringe is the feeling you have when I say the following sentence: Digga, how fly is the ‘Tagesschau’ when it uses youth words?”
Susanne Dauber has been with the “Tagesschau” since 1999
The 62-year-old received even more sympathy during the morning news two days ago. Irritated by her colleague Sven Lorig, who was acting in the background, Daubner burst into laughter, her cheeks lit up with her pink blazer, she had to keep interrupting her introduction and wiping the tears from her eyes. But you could also feel her shame at having just lost control. “It felt like it took forever,” she later said in interviews. The viewers were happy because they could finally see a real person behind the moderation facade, a woman with humor and heart. The clips have almost achieved cult status, have been clicked millions of times and commented on thousands of times, especially by young people. ARD likes that.
Susanne Daubner was born in Halle in 1961 and her career began in the mid-eighties with GDR radio. In 1989 she fled to the West after the Stasi tried to recruit her. The escape was spectacular; the former competitive swimmer swam across a border river with her boyfriend. After working at various radio stations, Susanne Daubner joined ARD’s “Tagesschau” in 1999 – as the first brunette news anchor. One of her favorite youth words, she said in an interview on the NDR talk format “DAS!”, was “YOLO” (you only live once). “You only live once, you should take advantage of your opportunities and be more risk-taking in life,” she said.