neighbour, whose first name had been John. Not even an hour had gone by, since they had lowered him down into his grave. In came the landlord, calling out: „John ‘s on the phone - he says: the first round is on him !“

What is laughter good for in a radio documentary ? You may say: leave it to the comedians, the sit-coms. Our task is to inform, to document. A common misunderstanding !

Documentarists are no book-keepers of current affairs. We are authors, publicists, journalists - our job is a very personal one, it deserves as much passion as accuracy. We talk to people - we are dealing with an audience. book-keepers may stay isolated in their offices, their archives. Who is full of stage fright should not work in the documentary sector !

The author, shaping and polishing his programme in the silence of his study (or studio) must be aware, that he’s working for listeners - not just for himself. As a radio-worker he rarely has the chance to see his audience and tends to talk to his own reflection in the mirror. And there is seldom much to laugh about.

If people burst out with laughter listening to a documentary, the radio-documentarist may take it as evidence that he reached their ears „Er fand ein offenes Ohr“. In military terms: he hit the target - „die Pointe hat gesessen !“ I like to play back my own programmes in front of an audience, watching carefully, if people „laugh out“ - where, how often and so on. Does it work ?

Comic-effects, punch-lines, points (Pointen) are intellectual tools. Compressed ideas with a detonator, a fuse at one end. Sharpened, to pierce the lethargy of listeners; to penetrate their hearts and minds;