Cherno Jobatey is a “ well-known German TV personality”, according to the Washington Post. His talent to talk politics in a very informative but entertaining mood made him a constant guest in talk shows.
Expert in Politics
Cherno Jobatey watched and reported on politics for decades. He is breaking down pressing political issues and pulling back the curtain on Berlin, London or Washington.
Behind well-known public faces
At his ZDF network he persuaded his editor in chief to a timeless form of journalism. Portraying politicians and public figures in a more personal private surrounding trying to get behind the well-known public face. So, Cherno Jobatey jogged with party leaders, barbecued with Germany’s President, cycled with the vice-Chancellor or played on keyboard Van Halen’s “Jump” with Germany’s Secretary of Justice Marco Buschmann.
Journey from Berlin’s streets to Media
As a young boy, the Berlin native dreamed about being a reporter – asking cool questions to cool people. He started while in school writing for the “taz” newspaper. Soon he branched out writing for several dailies, Tagesspiegel, Welt, taz, Bild and for weeklies: Spiegel, Die ZEIT, Cosmopolitan, the business weekly Wirtschaftswoche.
Soon radio followed he cut his teeth performing live at Berlins local Radio station RBB and from there, with a lot of luck he made it to the local TV news, roaming with a camera crew the streets of Berlin. As a rookie reporter he got lucky managing to get an internship at ARD Networks Washington bureau and did even cover the White House.
ZDF Morning News
When morning news made its debut to Germany, Cherno Jobatey was one of the main hosts from the very beginning. He quickly became a mainstay on the ZDF morning news show and a trademark for the network. The FAZ newspaper noted he turned the mixture of news, interviews and consumer service into an improbable success with audiences. The “ZDF Morgenmagazin” became a huge success for the network and for Cherno Jobatey, who hosted it for more than twenty years.
CHERNO! The RBB Talk Show
In the German Capital, the TV moderator soon added his own brand: Cherno!The RBB Talkshow. For five years, Jobatey conducted clever, deep and revealing interviews in prime time, winning 24% ratings at the hugely competitive 8:15 pm slot. Political heavyweights, intellectuals, small fry and people “on the street” were among his wide variety of guests.
Getting digital
When the Internet became ubiquitous, the number of people who are fans of Jobatey’s political knowledge and instincts has grown constantly. The number of readers of his analytical press review JobateyJournal.de has grown steadily. The format UdLDigital Talkshow was created to make politics accessible to younger people in a different form, placed where they watch TV: on the Internet.
Editor of the Huffington Post
Since its founding, Cherno Jobatey has been part of the team leading the German edition of the HuffPost as its Editorial Director. In less than its first year, the news platform managed to get close to the top ten of German news portals. As an author, Jobatey wrote not only for the German, but also for the US Huffington Post, and was a frequent interview partner for the US-based online TV offshoot HuffPost Live.
Praise of Cherno Jobatey’s work
- “His unusual conversations create a completely different tangent in high politics. Jobatey negotiates questions of power and the will of politicians beyond the polished and punched-up texts and soundbites. He breaks through political correctness in a pleasant, respectful way.“ The European
- “Cherno Jobatey combines his extensive knowledge with pure entertainment. And he does it with astonishing ease” BILD Europe’s biggest Newspaper
- “With a market share of over 20%, Jobatey’s personality show outperformed other talk shows and is „the street sweeper.“ (MAZ)
- “Television viewers liked the journalist and show host above all because of his friendly and almost always good-humored manner,“ news.de.
- „Cherno Jobatey is often underestimated: more of a news junkie than a good-humored animator“ (WAZ)
- “Jobatey gives deep insights into people. His ZDF portrait series elicits a confession of personal weaknesses from Berlin’s governing mayor, for example.“ (Tagesspiegel)
- “Jobatey has incidentally renewed the genre of the politician home story” Sueddeutsche Zeitung
- „Cherno Jobatey perfectly captures the ironic and relaxed chatty tone … Jobatey – in a good mood and wearing white sneakers as always – did always follow up with penetrating questions“, Märkische Allgemeine.
- „Jobatey hosts one of the most successful shows in 3rd (local) programs“ (Die Welt).
- “Cherno Jobatey is someone who works hard for his success“ (Berliner Morgenpost)
- „Hello Cherno, I liked your questions. You did put your finger on the weak spots, but always appreciative. Journalistically flawless and unmasking. Thanks to the ZDF team for this portrait“ Martin Strauß via Twitter
- “While many moderators just take an intellectual approach, Cherno Jobatey displays a refreshingly honest curiosity” MAZ