Carlo Masala, a military expert and frequent guest on talk shows, says he is not nervous before his appearances. “I did music earlier and used it to finance my studies” he told the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”. Standing on a stage with a band had always felt very uncomfortable to him, but when he is invited to a stage to speak about international politics he becomes “the star of the show”. That is his world and he feels at ease there.
In “Die Zeit” three of the most regular guests on political talk shows were highlighted: Carlo Masala, SPD politician Ralf Stegner, and political journalist Melanie Amann. Stegner commented on his TV appearances: “Politics is a kind of combat sport, and if you’re not well prepared for a show like Markus Lanz’s it becomes uncomfortable. Defensive skill is required, and the same goes for Mehring Maischberger – you can’t get away with idle chatter”.
Amann replied to a question about whether the many talk‑show appearances leave a mark: “In my job I’ve had people push themselves to the brink when I would go on about a topic to the very end. That may have been amplified by the talk shows, but I don’t want to place the blame on Markus Lanz”.
