Jean Pütz (born 21 September 1936) is a German
science journalist
Science journalism conveys reporting about science to the public. The field typically involves interactions between scientists, journalists and the public.
Origins
Modern science journalism originated in weather and other natural history obs ...
and
TV host
A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people who garnered fam ...
.
Life
Pütz was born in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
. He originally took an education as an electrician before completing his
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
, after which he studied physics, mathematics, sociology, and national economy. In 1970, he became a regular host on science shows on
WDR Fernsehen
WDR Fernsehen is a German free-to-air television network owned and operated by Westdeutscher Rundfunk and serving North Rhine-Westphalia. It is one of the seven regional "third programmes" television stations that are offered within the federal ...
.
He is mainly known for his show ' which ran for nearly 30 years, from 1974 up to 2004, on the channels WDR and
NDR Fernsehen, where he explained scientific phenomena with an emphasis upon
do it yourself
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, wikt:modification, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals ...
, environmentally-friendly homemade solutions for everyday health and household problems. Over the decades, the ''Hobbythek'' show spawned a series of 56 ''Hobbythek'' books by Pütz, containing the most popular household tips from the show the written instructions of which were most frequently requested by letter from viewers. Beside the ''Hobbythek'' books, Pütz also authored more than 20 other guidebooks dedicated to health, food, gardening, popular science, nature, and do-it-yourself hobbies.
The end of ''Hobbythek'' in 2004 came unconsensually, when Pütz's show was cancelled against his own intentions by his former protégé
Ranga Yogeshwar
Ranganathan Gregoire Yogeshwar (born 18 May 1959) is a Luxembourgish physicist and science journalist based in Germany. He started gaining attention at the end of the 1980s in the German-speaking area for his science documentaries that were oft ...
, now head of WDR's science department. Since 2004, Pütz travels extensively throughout Germany and abroad with a stage show called ''Pützmunter'' (a pun upon his last name with the German adjective ''putzmunter'' meaning "lively", "full of beans") which is based in concept upon his old ''Hobbythek'' show. In 2007, he started his new show ''TechniThek'' on TechniTipp-TV.
See also
*
HobbyCom
External links
*
Homepage
Living people
1936 births
Television people from Cologne
German male journalists
German television journalists
ZDF people
ARD (broadcaster) people
Westdeutscher Rundfunk people
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