Biography
After finishing high school in 1977, Kloeppel initially completed military service. He then pursued agricultural sciences at the University of Göttingen, earning a diploma in 1983. Following his studies, Kloeppel shifted to his true passion, journalism: from 1983 to 1985, he trained at the Henri Nannen Journalism School in Hamburg, alongside internships at various print media and the private TV station RTL.
In 1985, Kloeppel joined the private TV channel RTLplus, becoming studio manager at their Bonn office in 1987. In 1990, he moved to New York to serve as RTLplus's USA correspondent. He gained recognition among German viewers in 1990/91 through his daily coverage of the Gulf War. Early in 1992, Kloeppel returned to Germany to become chief presenter of RTLaktuell, the main daily news program. The following year, he was also promoted to deputy head of RTL's news department.
In 1993, Kloeppel married American journalist Carol Sagissor; they have a daughter together. Under Kloeppel’s leadership, RTLaktuell tripled its audience during the 1990s. By 2001, the show ranked as one of Germany’s most popular news programs, coming second after ZDF's "heute" and ahead of ARD's "Tagesschau." Kloeppel’s exceptional popularity stemmed largely from his credible reporting style. His calm and composed demeanor during coverage of tragic events further enhanced his reputation for professionalism.
Alongside his presenting duties at RTL, since early 2001, Kloeppel has been training aspiring journalists as head of the Cologne "School for TV and Multimedia." His accolades include the "Golden Lion" (1996), the "Bavarian Television Prize" (1997), and the "Special Grimme Prize" in 2002, awarded for his reporting on September 11, 2001. In early 2003, Kloeppel reported live from Baghdad for RTLaktuell ahead of the Iraq War. In June 2003, on the 50th anniversary of the June 17, 1953 uprising in East Germany, he presented a compelling RTL documentary on the history of the socialist German state.
In September 2003, Kloeppel received the German Television Prize for "Best Moderation Information." In November 2004, he was appointed editor-in-chief of RTL. According to a 2004 representative poll of the German population, Kloeppel was ranked the top German news presenter.
