Face of Flanders: Ruth Joos

Ruth Joos is a radio personality who has, as many people who have heard her would agree, attained a mastery of the craft of talk radio. Many have skill – the demands of talk radio are such that the individual needs to carry most of the burden, as there are few props to rely on. Very few have real talent: A British listener might think of Alistair Cooke, Mark Tully or Dr Anthony Clare.

Joos is an example of Joni Mitchell’s words: You don’t know what you’ve got 'til it’s gone. Earlier this year, she lost her spot on Radio 1, where she had delivered consistently great performances on her interview show called simply Joos.

She was born in 1976 in Dendermonde where she grew up with her brother Filip, three years older and himself a media personality as a sports commentator. She began her career with the VRT as a theatre reviewer for Klara, then moved to Studio Brussel, filling several roles there, including sports programming, until 2007, when she returned to the VRT and Radio 1, presenting first the cultural programme Mezzo and later her own interview show.

Those interviews often made headlines of their own, not to mention personal testimony of people pulling over to the side of the road to hear the show without distraction. Despite the enormous esteem in which she was held, falling listener figures led to the show's cancellation. Widespread protest from some prominent names could not help.

“My ambition is not to have the most listeners,” she told De Morgen at the weekend. “I want to conduct the best interviews.”

Last week it was announced that she would reappear in 2014 on Canvas, also a VRT property. “Canvas has given me the time and the space to think up a new programme,” she said. “What sort of programme, I don’t yet know.”

Photo credit: Koen Broos/VRT