Jacqueline Stuhler, longtime face of the ARD-Buffet, dies aged 70 in Friolzheim

Death and tribute

SWR announced on Tuesday, 27 October, that Jacqueline Stuhler had died on 24 October at the age of 70 in Friolzheim in the Enzkreis. Her husband confirmed the death to the broadcaster, and the reports describe her as having died after a long and serious illness. Stuhler was a former television journalist and presenter whose work reached a national audience chiefly through the ARD-Buffet, a consumer-advice programme produced by SWR. Kai Gniffke, intendant of SWR, paid tribute to her in the broadcaster's statement.

“Jacqueline Stuhler was one of the defining faces of SWR. She listened carefully, took people seriously and made even complex topics understandable.”

Gniffke added that the station is losing a clever journalist and an approachable presenter.

Early career at public broadcasters

She was born on 23 April 1956 in Lindau and grew up on Lake Constance. After a traineeship at the Nürnberger Zeitung and a degree in theatre studies in Erlangen, she joined Bayerischer Rundfunk as a reporter in 1980. There she hosted youth programmes such as Zündfunk and Live aus dem Alabama, and she also worked for WDR. The children's programme Links und rechts vom Äquator was broadcast in the ARD.

Politics desk and the ARD-Buffet

From 1990 she led the domestic politics desk of the then Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR), where she was responsible for Pro und Contra and for Schlaglicht in the Third Programme. For Schlaglicht she presented the week's main topic herself, alongside the news. In 1998 she was brought into the founding team of the ARD-Buffet, produced by SWR, and for eleven years she was the face of the advice show on Das Erste. Between 2000 and 2008 she interviewed prominent guests in SWR Wortwechsel and shaped the state politics magazine Ländersache for Baden-Württemberg. From 2009 to 2011 she hosted the discussion series Leben! Was Menschen bewegt on Einsplus, the former digital channel of the ARD.