Claus Kleber

Last updated

Claus Kleber
MJK 46223 Claus Kleber (Deutscher Filmpreis 2019).jpg
Kleber at the Deutscher Filmpreis in May 2019
Born
Claus-Detlev Walter Kleber

(1955-09-02) 2 September 1955 (age 69)
Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
NationalityGerman
Occupation(s)Journalist, news presenter
Years active1986–2021, 2022–present
Employer ZDF
Notable credit heute-journal (2003–2021)
Spouse
Renate Kleber
​
(after 1982)​
Children2
AwardsSee Awards

Claus-Detlev Walter Kleber [1] (born 2 September 1955 in Reutlingen) is a German journalist and former lawyer. He anchored heute-journal , an evening news program on ZDF, one of Germany's two major public TV stations. He is also known for his expertise in United States politics and German-American relations, as evidenced by his 2005 bestseller Amerikas Kreuzzüge ("America's Crusades").

Contents

Early life

Claus Kleber was born in Reutlingen, Germany. [2] He attended the Otto Hahn Gymnasium in Bergisch Gladbach, completing his Abitur in 1974. During his schooling, Kleber freelanced as a local reporter for the newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger . From 1974, he studied law at the University of Tübingen, spending two semesters abroad in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1978 and 1979. In the autumn of 1980, Kleber passed his first Staatsexamen in law: this was followed by further training in Stuttgart. In 1983, he completed his second Staatsexamen, followed by extended dissertation research stays in New York City and Washington, D.C., for which he was awarded scholarships from Studienstiftung and DAAD. After this, he worked as a lawyer for a law firm in Stuttgart, specializing in commercial law and competition law. In 1986, he completed his PhD in law under Thomas Oppermann at the University of Tübingen. [3]

Career

Radio and television

Claus Kleber in July 2008, attending Barack Obama's speech at the Victory Column in Berlin Claus Kleber 2008.jpg
Claus Kleber in July 2008, attending Barack Obama's speech at the Victory Column in Berlin

Kleber financed his 14 semesters of studying law as a freelancing radio reporter and anchor for SWF (a public service station). After completing his PhD, Kleber became a journalist and worked during the 1980s he served as the Washington correspondent for Deutschlandfunk (DLF), a German public broadcaster. In the spring of 1989, Kleber returned to Germany as Chief Editor of RIAS, a major broadcaster in Berlin under the control of the United States Information Agency.

From 1990, he worked for 12 years as Senior Correspondent and Bureau Chief for ARD, one of the two nationwide German public television networks. [4] He conducted interviews with all U.S. Presidents of that period, [5] as well as Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell. In June 2002, Kleber moved to London as ARD Bureau Chief. [6]

A few months into the new job, he received an offer to become managing editor and principal anchor of heute journal , the 30 minute late evening news show of ZDF, the other public television channel besides the ARD. [7] In 2014, he interviewed US President Barack Obama. [8] In June 2021, he announced his departure from ZDF at the end of the year. [9]

Documentaries

Kleber is also a documentary filmmaker. With his long-standing professional partner, Angela Andersen, he has created documentary films, including India – Unstoppable (2006) for the DVD market. [10]

They later also made Documentaries for broadcasting, such as The Bomb (2009), about nuclear threats in the 21st century, [11] Machtfaktor Erde (2011) on climate change. HUNGER! and DURST! (thirst) is a 2-part documentary (2014) which showcased the global challenge and efforts to feed 10 billion people by 2050. [12]

In 2019, their 90-minute report on the situation of Human Rights (Unantastbar / Inviolable) won the Silver New York Film Festival 2017 and was nominated for Best Documentary at the Monaco Film Festival. [13]

In 2021, ZDF aired "We have the better story". Kleber's 40-minute conversation with US President Barack Obama about his achievements and shortcomings. [14]

Books

Kleber's book Amerikas Kreuzzüge ("America's Crusades") won the 2005 Corine Literature Prize for best non-fiction work. [15] Shortly before the 2008 presidential election, Kleber published an updated edition with his views on the candidates. In 2012, Kleber published Spielball Erde about global strategic consequences of Climate Change.

Further information

Since 2015, Claus Kleber also works as an Honorary Professor at his alma mater, the University of Tübingen. [16] He is a member of Atlantik-Brücke, an invitation-only organisation promoting cultural, economic and military co-operation between Germany and the USA. [17]

Recognition

Kleber is the recipient of several awards, including the Media prize of the Johanna Quandt Foundation (1998) for excellence in economic reporting, [18] the RIAS Berlin committee TV prize (1997, 1999 and 2003), and the Deutscher Fernsehpreis (the German equivalent of the American Emmy) in 2005, [19] 2006 and 2013 [20] (heute journal as best German news program). Claus Kleber and his ZDF partner anchor Marietta Slomka were awarded the prestigious Grimme Prize in 2009 for their merits on the evolution of television. [21] In 2010, he won the Hanns Joachim Friedrichs Award for Outstanding Journalism. [22] His work in documentaries on global challenges (with Angela Andersen) received the Deutscher Fernsehpreis for The Bomb in 2009 [23] and the Bayerischer Fernsehpreis for HUNGER! DURST! in 2015. [24] In a 2018 survey conducted by Forsa Institute, he was voted Germany's most trusted news presenter. [25]

Awards

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Buhrow</span> German journalist

Tom Buhrow is a German journalist who has been serving as intendant of the WDR since 2013. He also served as Chair of the ARD from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021 and from 4 August to 31 December 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felicitas Woll</span> German actress

Felicitas Woll is a German actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the television series Berlin, Berlin (2002–2005) and the television film Dresden (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hape Kerkeling</span> German comedian (born 1964)

Hans Peter Wilhelm "Hape" Kerkeling is a German comedian, TV presenter, author, and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maybrit Illner</span> German journalist and television presenter (born 1965)

Maybrit Illner is a German journalist and television presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olli Dittrich</span> German television personality, comedian, actor, and musician

Oliver Michael Dittrich is a German television personality, comedian, actor, and musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klaas Heufer-Umlauf</span> German television host, producer, actor and singer

Klaas Heufer-Umlauf is a German television host, producer, actor and singer. He is best known as part of the duo Joko & Klaas, alongside Joko Winterscheidt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marietta Slomka</span> German journalist (born 1969)

Marietta Slomka is a German journalist who has been the anchor of TV news show heute-journal since 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Welke</span> German television presenter and comedian

Oliver Welke is a German television presenter, journalist, satirist, comedian and voice actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martina Hill</span> German actress and comedian (born 1974)

Martina Hill is a German actress and comedian. She has been awarded the German Comedy Award, the German TV Award, as well as the Adolf-Grimme-Preis and the Bambi Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominik Graf</span> German film director

Dominik Graf is a German film director. He studied film direction at University of Television and Film Munich, from where he graduated in 1975. While he has directed several theatrically released feature films since the 1980s, he more often finds work in television, focussing primarily on the genres police drama, thriller and crime mystery, although he has also made comedies, melodramas, documentaries and essay films. He is an active participant in public discourse about the values of genre film in Germany, through numerous articles, and interviews, some of which have been collected into a book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Böhmermann</span> German satirist and television presenter

Jan Böhmermann is a German satirist, journalist, podcast and television host. He also worked as a writer, producer, radio host, and is best known for his activism through publicity stunts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klaus-Peter Siegloch</span> Former German journalist and lobbyist

Klaus-Peter Siegloch is a former German journalist and lobbyist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enissa Amani</span> Iranian-German comedian and activist

Enissa Amani is an Iranian-German comedian, artist and activist. She was the first European Woman with an international Netflix special in 2018 called "Ehrenwort" and a follow-up short-special called "Comedians of the World" also on Netflix. She produced an hosted a viral panel talk about racism called "Die beste Instanz" in 2020, which led her to win the German Grimme Online Award; the Grimme Award is one of the most prestigious German television awards. Her comedy often focuses on the subjects of politics, social issues, racism, and ethnicity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans-Joachim Heist</span> German actor and comedian

Hans-Joachim Heist is a German actor and comedian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dietrich Hollinderbäumer</span> German-Swedish actor

Dietrich Hollinderbäumer is a German-Swedish actor. He is known for his role in Downfall as Robert Ritter von Greim and for playing Adam in the German Netflix series Dark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lutz van der Horst</span> German television presenter and comedian

Lutz van der Horst is a German television presenter and comedian. He is most known for being a political satire reporter on the heute-show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bettina Schausten</span> German journalist

Bettina Schausten is a German journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariele Millowitsch</span> German actress

Marie-Luise Millowitsch is a German actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gert Scobel</span> German journalist, television moderator, author and philosopher

Gert Scobel is a German journalist, television moderator, author and philosopher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philipp Käßbohrer</span> German film producer and director (born 1983)

Philip Georg Käßbohrer, born 30 October 1983, is a German film producer and director. He is the founder of German film production company bildundtonfabrik and known for creating the shows Neo Magazin and How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast).

References

  1. ↑ "Atlantik Brücke/Deutsche Welle Media Conference". 4 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "Claus Kleber". IMDb. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "Biografie". ZDF Presseportal (in German). Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  4. ↑ "DAAD – Claus Kleber". www.daad.de. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  5. ↑ Interview: Claus Kleber and Condoleezza Rice
  6. ↑ "Stabwechsel im ARD-Studio Washington: Claus Kleber und Bernd Schröder gehen, Tom Buhrow und Georg Schwarte kommen / WDR übernimmt Federführung". presseportal.de. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  7. ↑ ""Soll das etwa eine Karriere sein?" – Medien – Tagesspiegel". www.tagesspiegel.de. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Obama Confronts German NSA Skepticism in TV Interview But Doubts Remain". TechPresident. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Claus Kleber hört beim ZDF-heute-journal auf". Focus (in German). 16 June 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  10. ↑ DVD details from amazon.de
  11. ↑ "America, the Baleful". The Weekly Standard . Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Claus Kleber als Elends-Reporter: "Bloß nicht barmherziger Ritter spielen"". Spiegel Online. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Inviolable – The Fight for Human Rights". FilmFreeway. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  14. ↑ "Interview with Barack Obama: "We have a better story"". www.zdf.de (in German). Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  15. ↑ "CORINE 2005 | Preisträger". www.corine.de. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "Institut für Medienwissenschaft – Kleber, Claus, Prof. Dr". www.uni-tuebingen.de. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  17. ↑ Marc Stegherr: Der neue Kalte Krieg der Medien: Die Medien Osteuropas und der neue Ost-West-Konflikt, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2018, p. 62.
  18. ↑ "Johanna-Quandt-Stiftung". www.johanna-quandt-stiftung.de. Archived from the original on 15 August 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  19. ↑ Borcholte, Andreas (17 October 2005). "Deutscher Fernsehpreis: Es geht doch!". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "Deutscher Fernsehpreis 2013: Alle Kategorien, alle Gewinner". Spiegel Online. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  21. ↑ "Grimme-Preis | Besondere Ehrung". www.grimme-institut.de. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  22. ↑ "Claus Kleber erhält Hanns-Joachim-Friedrichs-Preis". Welt Online. 10 November 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  23. ↑ "Preisträger 2009". www.deutscher-fernsehpreis.de. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "Wirtschaftsministerium Bayern" (PDF). Wirtschaftsministerium Bayern. Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wirtschaft und Medien, Energie und Technologie. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  25. ↑ Vertrauenswürdigster Nachrichtenmoderator ist Claus Kleber Der Tagesspiegel , 21 March 2018.
  26. ↑ "Claus Kleber, Cleo Paskal: Spielball Erde. C. Bertelsmann Verlag". Verlagsgruppe Random House. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.