I spent four years working as a video journalist for “Tele Top”, covering the Zurich and Eastern Switzerland regions. I had to deliver a finished news segment every single day. This meant doing everything myself—from the initial research and finding interview partners to the actual shoot, where I acted as both the cameraman and the interviewer.
Back at the studio, I had to edit the material and have the story ready by 6 pm sharp for the evening news. The time pressure was huge, but it’s how I truly learned the craft. I covered everything from politics, crime, and protests to sports and cultural events, and I conducted countless street interviews along the way. I really enjoyed being so close to the people and telling their stories directly from where they happened.
Attendant retires as parking garage closes
As a local reporter I often had to attend press conferences that seemed quite boring and dry, like—in this case—a media invitation about the closing of a parking garage in Zurich. Instead of a routine report on the official event, I looked for a more interesting story and found the parking attendant who was about to retire. By making him the center of the story, I was able to give the report a personal and emotional touch.
Activists block major bank and trigger police response
When climate activists blocked the entrance of a major bank in Zurich, it triggered a massive police response. The challenge was to get the best possible shots of the action without missing the emotions from bystanders watching it all unfold while also giving all parties involved a chance to share their point of view.
Air Force One draws crowds to Zurich airport
World politics also happens on local TV, but often in an indirect way. When Donald Trump visited the World Economic Forum in Davos, he landed at Zurich Airport on Air Force One. For many planespotters, this was a rare highlight—they waited hours in the cold just to get a single shot of the iconic aircraft.
On patrol with the Schaffhausen river police
On a hot summer weekend, the Rhine is always busy, so I arranged to film with the Schaffhausen police on their river patrol. But the boat arrived way behind schedule to pick me up, leaving me under massive time pressure. By the time they dropped me off and I had driven back to the newsroom, I had barely an hour left to edit the entire segment for the 6 pm evening news. Given the pressure, I was actually quite happy with the final result.
Zurich parliament discusses climate initiatives
As someone passionate about politics, I regularly reported on political issues and followed the debates in the Zurich parliament. While the topics were often quite dry, things occasionally got very emotional, as in this case.
FC Winterthur vs. FC Schaffhausen
I also covered sports on occasion, like when two rival soccer clubs from our region were both at the top of the table with a great chance of winning the “challenge league” and getting promoted. Instead of the usual interviews with club officials, I chose a more creative approach: I asked the local governments of both cities to champion their teams. While the mayor of Schaffhausen represented his club, a city councilor from Winterthur stepped up to defend his team’s honor.
Fans and players celebrate FC Winterthur’s promotion
Finally, it was FC Winterthur that pulled it off: after 37 years, my hometown club secured its promotion to Switzerland’s top soccer league. Being a bit of a “Winti” fan myself, it was almost a dream come true to be the one to capture the emotions of the celebrating fans and players. Even Swiss TV legend Beni Thurnheer was there—and ended up getting showered with beer by fans during our interview.