INTERVIEWS & GESPRÄCHE 

Person wird zugeschaltet beim live TV-Bericht =  (name of person) joins us from (place)                                          

alle Kandidaten/Politiker/Polizeichef stellt/en sich der Presse  = all candidates had to field/answer questions from the press/reporters; the police chief had to front a hearing/front up the public; the minister was bombarded with questions about the health of the job market; tonight the prime minister takes questions from the press; “OK, fire away” (i.e. begin asking questions), the politician said to the host 

Comedians sind dafür bekannt, dass sie freche/ironische Antworten geben = comedians have a special penchant for answering questions tongue-in-cheek (i.e. slightly ironical/jocular/facetious)

Moderator/Reporter fühlen Politikern auf den Zahn/nehmen bekannte Politiker in die Zange = this evening the finance minister is scheduled to face a fresh grilling from the press in a podium discussion; the candidates had to front/field/tackle many tough/burning questions from inquisitive/intrusive journalists; the freshly appointed ambassador was peppered/showered with reporters‘ questions; journalists sometimes need to pick someone’s brains about social issues/financial affairs; the mc/comperee/presenter tried to elicit straight answers from him/her with a few pointed/awkward questions; reporters/journalists had a candid Q & A with the health minister over the pandemic; the show host asked the Prime Minister a few hardball questions 

der Moderator/der Journalist/der Politiker legt den Finger auf/in die Wunde bzw. spricht auch kontroverse Themen an = in his face-to-face interview with the prime minister the journalist didn’t hesitate to address the elephant(s) in the room;  with his candid declarations about the political affair the former minister opened a can of worms/Pandora’s box/hit where it hurts; presenters are not afraid to tackle serious issues/to let the sparks fly when necessary; some talk show hosts are known to have a no holds barred debating style; minister puts the finger on the need/urgency to tackle/address/take on hot button/red line issues; the genie was let out of the bottle when she made the bombshell revelations about her secret affair; the journalist hit/touched a nerve when he wrote about some political hot potatoes; reporter lays bare/exposes country’s harrowing social injustices; he was already very upset, but that last infamous remark twisted/turned the knife in the wound;  the host shouldn’t talk about the actor’s divorce as it still is a sore point with him; “I’m going to lay it on the line”, the talk-show host said: “is it true that you have an affair with your secretary?”;  the mc broached the subject of the politician’s marriage (i.e. a very sensitive topic), and he seemed to be quite upset about it

die Frage hat den Minister/Politiker überrumpelt bzw. hat ihn aus dem Konzept gebracht = the question throws/knocks the minister/ politician for a loop; minister/politician got blindsided/was taken aback by the question

in der Talkshow heute Abend wird die Flüchtlingskrise von Politikern/Journalisten/ Experten aktuell eingeschätzt/eingeordnet =  in tonight’s roundtable/panel discussion politicians/journalists/experts weigh in on/break down/examine/analyze/grade all aspects of the refugees crisis/issue 

“Ich danke Ihnen für die Einordnung der Lage”, sagte der/die Moderator/in = ”thank you for giving your thoughts on the issue/putting the situation/things into perspective”, the host said ;

in einem offenen Gespräch lässt berühmter Popstar/Schauspieler alle Hüllen fallen = in a candid interview famous popstar/actor speaks out/bares (it) all/reveals/shares some intimate details about his private life

das war noch nicht das letzte Wort  (d.h. Enthüllung) vom Sänger/Schauspieler = just wait for more shoes to drop 

etwas wird hinterfragt = we need to follow up on this subject in order to digest/dissect its implications; “let’s dwell a little deeper on this issue”, the talk-show host said; the press is calling the benefits/validity/reason of the minister’s decision into question; the President's political advisers also weighed in on the plan/decision

der Journalist/Moderator bohrt nach = the pesky journalist kept prodding the interviewee to find out more facts on the issue;  the show host/presenter kept firing questions at the interviewee

gestern stand der/die Kanzler/in Rede und Antwort = the prime minister held a Q and A session yesterday

ein Gespräch unter vier Augen führen = president goes one-on-one with host/anchor on channel 10 tonight; mc held a face-to-face/head-to-head/person-to-person/tete-a-tete interview/session; the reporter got some face-time with the minister; the two party leaders discussed the matter eyeball to eyeball

der Reporter, der dem Sänger eine dumme Frage gestellt hat, wird kritisiert  = the reporter who asked the singer a ho-hum/silly question gets called out

Können Sie etwas lauter reden? = Can you speak up, please?

ihre unüberlegten Kommentare waren aus dem Stegreif = her glib comments were off the cuff 

das ist/war eine Fangfrage = this is/was a “gotcha” question; "this seems to be a pop quiz-style questioning by reporters". the politician said

der Bürgermeister/er wollte sich nicht darüber äußern = the city mayor declined to comment/refused to be drawn on the sticky issue; he seemed not to be in a sharing mood at all during the interview

ich denke, dass die Frage, ob ich wieder kandidiere, viel zu früh kommt = “I think you are getting way ahead of yourself”, the politician replied, when asked whether he would stand for election again; Will I run for office again? „I’ll cross the bridge when I come to it”, he answered with a smile   

Journalist ergattert ein Exklusivinterview mit dem zurückgezogenen Milliardär= journalist scores a bombshell interview with the secluded billionaire    

infolge des Verdachts der Bestechlichkeit macht er reinen Tisch = "I wish to set the record straight about the bribing allegations", he said; he decided to come clean on the scandalous affair; now we have a chance to wipe the slate clean on the corruption affair; he’ll be glad to get this mess over with

Wie ist Ihre Einschätzung? Wie ordnen Sie diese Situation ein? (Frage des/der Moderators/in) =  reporter breaks down issue for us (i.e. for the TV host/viewers); What do you make of it/this new situation? What is your take/are your thoughts on that? Can you give/offer your thoughts on this issue? How do you assess this situation? Reporter/politician weighs in on the issue 

der Journalist/wir ordnen das Thema/die Angelegenheit ein   = the journalist/reporter breaks down the implications of a wider Middle-East conflict; we have to set the record straight on this issue; things have to be put in/into perspective; the matter/situation needs to be evaluated/weighed (up) accordingly 

Was waren die wichtigsten Erkenntnisse aus dem Gespräch? =  What were the key/main takeaways from the interview? 

ich muss noch darüber ein wenig nachdenken =  I still have to figure it/this out; I still need to ponder the matter 

das war eine sehr moderate Meinung über dieses umstrittene Thema = that was a very tame take on this controversial subject

ich freue mich auf Sie; Danke für Ihre Einschätzung/Einordnung = nice to have you on the show/on board; good to see you this morning/ this afternoon; thank you for being with us/joining us/coming on the show today/tonight; we appreciate your sparing the time to speak with us this morning; thank you/thanks for your company; thank you for/I appreciate your input/assessment/analysis/insights; thanks for breaking down/analyzing this complex issue into more detailed parts/elements 

aus Sicht der zugeschalteten Person = thank you/thanks for having me (on the show tonight)   

mir macht es Spaß, kurze Zitate aus Reden/Gesprächen von Politikern anzuhören  = I enjoy listening to sound bites from politicians’ s  interviews/speeches

“es bleibt/wird spannend” (kurzer Satz, der manchmal am Ende einer TV- Sendung vorkommt)= let’s see how this/it plays out/pans out/ turns out; stay tuned/connected for more news; it’s going to be challenging; these are challenging times; it’s a hot issue; it promises to be an interesting week; well let’s get ready for some thrilling action/real excitement

“bleiben Sie dran”(sagt der Fernsehmoderator am Ende einer Sendung) = “stick around”; “stay with us”; "stay in the know" (said by announcer at the end of a TV program) 

ich zitiere/er zitiert jemanden = I’m quoting/paraphrasing the author of a romance; “Are you listening (name of person)? “George Orwell, where are you?; “Hello (name of absent person)” (words said when using/quoting a line from an absent person)  

die große Frage bleibt noch offen = the big/burning question is still left dangling/pending; the key question is still being bandied about

Antwort vom Sprecher, dem gerade ins Wort gefallen wird = Don’t cut me short/off! Let me finish! I’m not through yet!

wir reden später darüber = I’ll get back to you later on this issue

er redet zu viel/vor sich hin = he keeps rambling/raving on and on about the same subject

man soll nicht in die Privatsphäre eindringen = privacy is a “no-go area” for questions

auf diese Frage gibt es keine schlichte Antwort = there is no black-and-white answer for the big unknown; this open question has no simple reply 

der Gast konnte Fragen zu heiklen Themen gut parieren/abschmettern = the interviewee did a good job of batting down/batting away/ skirting/sidestepping questions about/on controversial/delicate topics; the minister brushes off queries on the refugee issue

“Ihre Redezeit ist gleich zu Ende”, sagte die Talkshow-Moderatorin = “your time is running short”, the roundtable/talk show host/ presenter said 

wenn man unvorbereitet erwischt wird, sucht man nach Wörtern = when you’re caught off guard you kind of start fumbling for an answer/response

manchmal ist ein Politiker bereits mit vorbereiteten – sprich “leichten” - Fragen vertraut, die von seinen Anhängern im Publikum gestellt werden = sometimes a politician is already familiar with prepared-in-advance (softball) questions posed/lobbed by his/her supporters in the audience  

die Diskussionsteilnehmer beantworten die Fragen, die das  Publikum stellt =  on tonight’s Q&A session panelists answer questions posed /framed by the studio audience

am Rande des Treffens haben sich beide Diplomaten über verschiedene Themen kurz ausgetauscht =  on the sidelines/in the wings of the conference both diplomats shared their views/had a brief exchange/talk about various subjects   

Diplomaten leiten manchmal Geheiminformation über inoffizielle Kanäle weiter = diplomats sometimes pass/convey classified information through back-channels

ein Reporter braucht ein gutes Gedächtnis = memory is the cornerstone of a reporter’s armory

wenn ich mich nicht täusche  = if my memory doesn’t fail (me)/serves me right

mein Gedächtnis lässt nach = my memory is fading/straining 

er hat Gedächtnislücken/einen Filmriss erlitten und kann sich an nichts erinnern = he’s just had a memory lapse/blackout and can’t remember anything 

plötzlich saß/stand Minister regungslos mitten in der Pressekonferenz =  minister suddenly froze during press conference, he may have experienced a small seizure

dies ist mir gerade entgangen = it/this just slipped away from me

ich muss tief/weit ausholen = let me elaborate on the subject; I have to tap my memory bank/to wrack my mind for more details; I have to delve/dig a little deeper into the matter; it’s worth delving deeper 

werfen Sie mal einen Blick auf die Agenda unserer Pressekonferenz = here is what you can expect tonight; our press conference features (name of person) as the keynote speaker

er hatte keine Einladung = he simply crashed (and sort of disrupted) the press conference

Nachrichtensprecher/in lesen den Text vom Bildschirm/Spickzettel ab = TV announcers read the news from a cue card/screen 

Aufzählung einiger Nachrichtensendungen: Tagesschau; Tagesthemen; Heute, usw. = list of a few news programs: News at Noon; News hosted by (name of mc/anchor); Analysis of the day’s news; Detailed coverage of the day’s events; News: takes a look at today’s top stories, etc 

es ist immer lustig zu beobachten, wie Teilnehmer eines Meetings ihre Augen im Raum schweifen lassen = it’s always fun to watch how people present at the meeting pan across/pan up/sweep/survey/scan the room/the scene