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Michel Friedman joins 'Conflict Zone'

Michel Friedman and Tim Sebastian will alternate as hosts of DW's interview program 'Conflict Zone' in the future. Tim Sebastian successfully established the show with his approach to questioning high-profile guests.

New on DW: Michel FriedmanImage: picture alliance/Eventpress Mueller-Stauffenberg

'Conflict Zone' brings standout political interviews to DW. The conversations draw international attention - particularly in the countries from which the show's guests hail. Broadcast as part of Deutsche Welle's English-language TV programming, the interviews are confrontational, uncompromising and uncomfortable, featuring decision makers who carry political responsibility. The show invites a tough struggle between differing perspectives and claims to truth - with the hosts scrutinizing their guests' actions in an unrelenting fashion. That's what Tim Sebastian and Michel Friedman stand for.

DW Director of Programming Gerda Meuer said: "With Michel Friedman, we've been able to gain a German interviewer who perfectly measures up to the idea behind the 'Conflict Zone' format. He's persistent, unconventional and provides rhetorical brilliance."

'Conflict Zone' brings guests face to face with difficult facts and questions. A German interviewer well versed in Anglo-Saxon approaches to questioning is the perfect supplement to Tim Sebastian. Together both 'Conflict Zone' moderators are set to make the program one of the defining interview shows in international television.
DW Director General Peter Limbourg: "I'm very pleased that Michel Friedman is joining DW. He thinks internationally, and when it comes to investigative interviews and discussions, he is second to none in Germany."

Michel Friedman highlights journalistic responsibility as part of his new role, saying, "You have to grasp politics in international terms. Everything depends on everything else. Regardless of where something happens, it affects us too. Exposing these connections and critically investigating them is a wonderful task and a great challenge."