Raudsik says not every strong story works on television

Heliis Raudsik, making her television debut as a reporter on ERR’s investigative programme Pealtnägija, said she must adapt from print journalism to television, where compelling visuals are essential. She told ERR’s R2 Hommik! that the programme receives story proposals about issues that concern people most.

Raudsik has worked as a background editor on Pealtnägija for several seasons. She said she was unexpectedly offered the reporting role in late July after Merilin Pärli left the programme. Producer and current affairs editor-in-chief Peep Kala and the production team decided to choose someone from within the programme’s existing team, she said.

“My face is unfamiliar to television viewers, but I have been working behind the programme for quite some time,” Raudsik said.

Raudsik said her television debut will focus on käsundusohvitserid, officers who have accompanied Estonia’s presidents. One of the country’s longest-serving such officers is retiring along with President Alar Karis. The officer also accompanied former presidents Kersti Kaljulaid and Toomas Hendrik Ilves, and the team managed to interview him on camera about the work.

Raudsik said stories about harassment scandals often take a long time to develop because journalists must establish that the facts are reliable and also determine what can be shown on television.

“There are many stories that pass through our newsroom and are very good written stories, but they are not television stories,” she said. “As a print journalist, I have to get used to the fact that showing visuals is an art in itself, and that skill comes with time.”

According to Raudsik, data-driven stories are made less often because data alone does not engage viewers. Data processing is still used in the background, she said, but audiences are more interested in people and emotions than in graphs and figures.

Pealtnägija team member Reimo Sildvee said public interest was also an important filter for deciding which stories the programme should investigate. The programme receives proposals ranging from neighbourhood disputes to revelations about public procurements, Raudsik said.

Sildvee, who has worked on the morning programme Terevisioon for more than a decade, said reporters usually have two or three days to understand and develop a Pealtnägija story. He will continue working on Ukraina stuudio as well.

Pealtnägija returns to ETV on Wednesday, September 2.