INPUT / … / … / Who Do You Think You Are? The Role of Presenters on TV

For a TV programme to be compelling, what's more important: The story or the storyteller? It's an old question, but in a new environment for public TV – more competition, fewer resources to do research, the need for new audiences – it is more relevant than ever. So what do you do when you want to tell a distracted world about an important issue that is faraway or “boring?” You get an in-your-face, maybe a well-known messenger, so the message gets across to the audience. The presenter provides a personal touch, sometimes even makes a difference, changes someone's life for the better. So what is wrong with that? Well, sometimes it is too much. You watch and think, 'who does this guy (and it usually is a guy) think he is?! He is not the story, just the storyteller.' While engaging the viewer, does this technique dumb everything down, trivialise important subjects or even create a tunnel vision? Can it damage the credibility of the broadcaster? Then again it brings audiences, especially young ones, and often gives light to an issue that would never see the light of day on commercial TV.