The tagesschau on TikTok - An interview with Felix Edeha

The tagesschau TikTok channel now has 1.3 million followers and was nominated for the Grimme Prize in 2021. Current news and socially relevant topics are posted there every day and discussions are held with young people.

We spoke to Felix Edeha (29), presenter and author of the news program on TikTok. He and his colleagues Anna Albrecht and Antje Kießler set and research topics, write the scripts and present the videos.

In this interview, he gives us an insight into his day-to-day work and the tagesschau's recipe for success on social media.

nextMedia: What makes the tagesschau TikTok channel so successful?

Felix Edeha: We bring the most important news to students and young people, providing them with compact and reliable information at eye level. At the same time, we have become an important address for teenagers' questions on the platform. For example, at the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, many young people were very worried and asked us, among other things, whether they should be afraid of a nuclear war. We addressed this question in a video, categorized it with the help of a security expert and were thus able to reassure the young people.

In addition to news, background information and media literacy videos, we have the privilege of producing approachable and entertaining content with tagesschau speakers such as Susanne Daubner or Tagesthemen presenters such as Ingo Zamperoni. These videos, for example on the youth word of the year, repeatedly achieve several million video views and show that the tagesschau can have a sense of humor every now and then.

nextMedia: How important is it for tagesschau to have a presence on TikTok and why?

Felix Edeha : There are many people on TikTok that all newsrooms in Germany would probably like to have as recipients much more often. With our videos on TikTok, we not only reach teenagers aged 14 to 17, but also young people from different social backgrounds. The potential to reach the group of under 20-year-olds with tagesschau news and to make these users interested in information is currently nowhere as great as on this platform. That's why our account is an important piece of the puzzle in our digital distribution strategy.

nextMedia: What are the biggest challenges in producing TikTok content for a news format like tagesschau?

Felix Edeha : The challenge is to explain news and contexts that require a certain level of prior knowledge in an easy and understandable way - ideally in 30 to 45 seconds. For example, if the Federal Cabinet decides that China can buy parts of a Hamburg port terminal - then you have to explain and illustrate how this deal came about, but also why it has attracted a lot of criticism. In order for young users to be able to comprehend and understand this, it must first be clear what significance the Port of Hamburg has for Germany and Europe, what both sides expect from the agreement and how the deal could change the relationship of dependency with China.

When in doubt, you should always assume less prior knowledge than too much.

nextMedia: How do you choose the topics that you and your colleagues* report on TikTok?

Felix Edeha : When selecting news items, we make sure that they are relevant to young people. It's about asking ourselves what really offers added value and how to tell a story. However, we also expect our users to read important news that may not initially play a major role in their lives. For example, when government districts or buildings in Brasilia or Washington D.C. are vandalized or stormed. We also focus on teaching media skills to our young community: for example, we explain how TikTok selects which videos users see in the For You feed or how to recognize fake news.

nextMedia: How does the content and presentation style of how you present news on TikTok differ from your more traditional approach on linear TV or, for example, the website?

Felix Edeha: In our TikTok videos, we use quick cuts, simple wording without agency language and an eye-level approach. I try to present the news for TikTok as if I were telling it to my younger brother or sister. This may all sound unusual to traditional journalists. Especially if they haven't grown up with social media. But teenagers are not "news junkies". On the platform, we have found our own way to provide young people with serious information - but in a young and relaxed way.

nextMedia: How do you interact with the community? How do you react to negative comments or disinformation, for example?

Felix Edeha : On TikTok, we can enter into a direct dialog with our viewers. This usually happens in the comments, but occasionally also in Lives, in which we answer questions about our work or show how we get information, for example. In addition to many constructive comments under our videos, there are also sometimes negative comments, depending on the topic at hand. Thanks to the TikTok algorithm, it feels like we are poking different filter bubbles with every video. This is sometimes reflected in the comments. However, I perceive the comments on the platform to be somewhat more civilized and benevolent than on Instagram or Facebook, for example.

When it comes to disinformation, which unfortunately often spreads rapidly in videos by private individuals or influencers, we act as fact-checkers on the platform. Our users often draw our attention to suspected fake news. They tag us under the videos. They ask us whether what they say is really true. This happened particularly frequently during the coronavirus pandemic, at the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and, most recently, during the mass protests in Iran. In these cases, we uncover misinformation and provide verified information. We also give our viewers important tips - for example, how they can recognize false reports themselves.

nextMedia: What are your plans for the future of tagesschau's TikTok channel?

Felix Edeha : We are constantly developing our channel and the content. Since the end of 2022, we have been offering a news review with the three top topics of the week every Friday with the "News of the Week". We will also be testing ways to make our topics and videos available on even more platforms in the future. In addition to current day-to-day business, teaching media literacy content will continue to play a major role.