Schwimmen muss man selbst

The presenter on her unusual rise from a working-class background to a renowned journalist.

"I am often asked how I managed to do it, what was different for me. How, as a child of workers with Turkish roots, growing up in a village in East Westphalia-Lippe, I became the journalist and presenter who wishes Germans a good evening during prime time." Based on her own biography, Pinar Atalay knows: It is not the migration story itself that hinders many from rising, but their home in the working class. Children from non-academic families need to be encouraged to realize their potential and to look beyond their parents' horizons in their careers. This requires support and political change – but also the self-confidence and the will to forge their own path. Through her own story and interviews with personalities such as First Lady Elke Büdenbender, CDU chairman Armin Laschet, actress Sibel Kekilli, and the Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig, Pinar Atalay illustrates how success becomes possible.