It seems like he’s done it all. For the last 15 years, Ernst- Marcus Thomas has been a popular face in both German and Swiss media. Doing what he does best, Thomas has been a presenter for both radio and television and has also gained experience as a newspaper cadet. Living a busy life, Thomas works as a freelance journalist, media and communications trainer and is also a journalism lecturer. He took the time to speak to me about his career as a working journalist.
Back in high school, Ernst- Marcus Thomas decided to become a presenter. By the age of 15 Thomas had commenced speech training classes, his mom called him crazy for paying 50 German Marks ($ AUS 25) per hour for one lesson at that time. “Young man, you are annoying. Ok, come to the job interview!” This is the answer Thomas received while applying for many jobs as a presenter after he finished school.
Sacrificing his summer holidays, he finally made it- not directly as a presenter but as a cadet at the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. Although enjoying the experience and learning how journalism works, Thomas stayed focused on his dream of becoming the next big German presenter and he found his first big job working for the youth radio program XXL at radio HR3.
Studying drama, ethnology and psychology at the University of Munich, and writing his bachelor thesis “theatre in the circus dome” (where he investigated circus programs across Germany, Strasbourg and Vienna for over 6 months), he finished his Master of Arts finally at the age of 30.
While Thomas has been acting in smaller roles in the German television show Marienhof and Die Kommissarin, he says “my talent just lies somewhere else.” And he’s right. He’s not an actor, but an excellent presenter, so excellent that his story about his unusual meeting with Dutch/German television presenter Rudi Carrell ended up in Rudi Carrell’s biography “Ein Leben für die Show” (a life for the show).
Currently Thomas works as a communication trainer with his company Charismedia. Alongside he is also a journalism lecturer at the Zürcher University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland, and the ARD.ZDF.Media-Academy in Germany.
When did you know that you wanted to become a journalist?
Actually I never wanted to become a journalist. I always wanted to become a presenter. I already knew that when I was about 15 years old, and the reason was pretty simple too. At that time I wanted to have a girlfriend and I thought if I would become a presenter for radio or television, I would be irresistible for the ladies. Later in time, I figured that I really did have some kind of talent in talking and presenting things so I still wanted to become a presenter.
How did you then get into the journalism field?
Back in high school I sent audio tapes and job applications to several radio stations- unsuccessful. But I never gave up and I was very intrusive and I finally landed a few internships at some local radio stations. Nothing major came up though, and I didn’t see myself working as a presenter anywhere at that stage. I decided to get a journalism education first to increase my chances for the future so I applied for cadetships at local newspapers. The Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper was the only newspaper who said yes. I worked there as a cadet and learned a lot about journalism, how to do research and write articles. In the end though, I still dreamed of working as a presenter for radio or television and so I left after two wonderful years and a really good journalistic education.
Which has been your biggest journalistic challenge so far?
That was September 11th . I was the presenter of the show Mittagsmagazin (lunch magazine), which airs daily around lunch time at HR3. I was the only who was ‘on air’ at this point in time when the two towers collapsed, and since I was doing the information show anyways, I was the one spreading out the news which was a big thing. I felt the adrenalin in my body and also felt paralysed at the same time. Spreading out the news took over the entire day, from 12pm until 8pm. I did the entire coverage because everyone from the radio station thought that I was best familiar with the topic. So I did, there was no choice really.
How did you handle this situation?
From a personal perspective point of view, I thought what happened was terrible, but what I learned during my news reporting time helped me to stay focused and act professional. You kind of put a mask on and you have to try to report what just had happened in a very neutral way, and you have to show that you’re a professional. After I finished reporting the whole day, I almost collapsed. I was under such adrenalin that I just made it through the show, but it wasn’t easy at all.
Did you ever get nervous interviewing someone?
Definitely. I think I became most nervous when I had to do an interview with Robbie Williams. This was during my time working for HR3. Back then, he already was a big star but not yet the ‘superstar’. I did the entire afternoon show together with him, a two hour
live show, and he also brought two guitarists with him for the musical support. I was really scared because my English was ok, but not perfect and I thought, hopefully he won’t let me embarrass myself with my English skills because then I would appear really silly on a live show. So yeah, I was really nervous but this was entirely for no reason. He arrived in a sweat suit and held a McDonalds bag in his hand, which was his lunch. During the breaks while I was playing music, he kicked his soccer ball outside the studio. He was probably one of the friendliest interview guests who you can imagine. He played along, answered every silly question and he gave a fantastic live concert in the studio.
Next to your current job working for WDR4 as a radio presenter, you also work as a communication trainer with your Zürich-based company Charismedia.
How important is such training for emerging journalists?
I also work as a lecturer at the Zürich University of Applied Sciences and they have a so called ‘stand-up’ workshop where students have to learn how to present themselves in front of a camera, microphone, and an audience. We also train how to use the voice, rhetoric, and content. I think this is really important, everyone should know how to hold a speech and not bring the audience to sleep with a boring presentation. The presenter should glare in front of his audience, no matter if working in broadcasting, politics or economy.
What do you need to become a journalist?
The perfect cocktail for me is curiosity, a portion self-confidence, and a portion insanity. It is a fantastic job, but also has its disadvantages.
Which disadvantages are you thinking of?
Especially working as a presenter, you never have the security of having the job. You get engaged for a show or a serial program. If you’re lucky, you get an annual contract. You are also the face of the show, and therefore always the one who will be the first to leave the show. The editors stay until they are 65 years old but you will be the first who has to leave. This means that you have to be able to handle insecurity and to know that you are the one who gets in trouble if someone is to blame. You are the face and the voice.
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