For almost 24 years, only men in stiff suits had presented the 8 p.m. edition of the Tagesschau. Berghoff was 33 at her debut and had already completed acting school and gained experience as a speaker and host on regional public television.
The Hamburg native remained loyal to the news program for decades and even became chief news anchor in the late 1990s. Unlike her predecessors, she allowed herself to show hints of emotion while maintaining objectivity — a quiet departure from the strict stoicism of earlier anchors.
Her appearance on ARD was not a revolution but a step toward normalcy: suddenly, female viewers felt addressed as well. East Germany had earlier featured a female news anchor, Anne-Rose Neumann, on its “Aktuelle Kamera,” and ZDF had already hired a female anchor for “Heute.” But the Tagesschau time slot was the most prominent in West German television.
Source: www.nd-aktuell.de
