Josef Ritler (born 1939 in Naters, canton of Valais), also known as "Sepp Ritler" or "Seppi Ritler", is a Swiss journalist, who worked as a writer and photographer for the newspaper '' Blick'' for 40 years.Josef Ritler wird VJ
(October 9, 2003 (in German) Today, he works as a video journalist for the central

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

television station

Tele Tell Tele may refer to: * Television * Tele (band), a German rock/pop band * Tele Ikuru, Deputy Governor of Rivers State * Télé, Mali, a rural commune of the Cercle of Goundam in the Tombouctou Region of Mali * Telemarketing * Telegraphy * Evening ...

Life

Ritlers was born in the canton of Valais. He went to the local primary school in his place of birth, Naters. Because of

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...

, he was forced to change to a school in

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. In his free time he often assisted his father in his work, who was a foreman, wanting to follow his father's profession when older. During his apprenticeship as a

mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

, he learnt that he had an allergy to cement and had to quit the course. But he discovered his passion for photography and began photographing everything that crossed his way. He moved to

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

as it was one of the few locations where photography apprenticeships were offered. When Ritler accidentally photographed a film set producing an army

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

film for the Swiss national exhibition "Expo 64", the paper ''Blick'' became interested in hiring Ritler as a journalist. The chief

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of the time,

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, invited Ritler to write for the paper. Ritler was hesitant due to the reputation of ''Blick'' as a

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. He eventually accepted the job offer for one year only initially. Eventually he would work for ''Blick'' for forty years. The journalist managed to become something of an intermediary between the more conservative people of central Switzerland and the modern Zurich team of ''Blick''. Ritler's character attracted a considerably amount of curiosity and trouble; on occasion he was chased by farmers with pitchforks, his tyres were slit, he received death threats and for a while was only able to work under police protection. One of Ritler's attributes is his curiosity for the "people behind the headlines", such as in the case of the chainsaw vigilante where Ritler was keen to find out more about the person behind the story. Ritler was only interested in real news. Because of that, he often held interviews after conferences, not during. When the Kapellbrücke was on fire, Ritler was there. At the age of 64, Ritler was retired early (one year before the regular Swiss retirement age) and had to leave ''Blick''. He had a number of job offers and finally accepted the offer of

, where he is now working as a video-journalist. For the first time, Ritler is working for TV. Within this young team, Ritler has a reputation for being a "total professional who knows central Switzerland like no one else" and who has an "eye for the perfect picture".

Awards

* 1997 "Swiss Press Foto" * 2003 "Ringier Medienpreis" * 2007 Lifetime-Award Schweizerischer Berufsfotografenverband

References

External links

Ritler's profile on the "Tele Tell"-pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritler, Josef Swiss television journalists 1939 births Living people