Pavlína Wolfová is a long-standing, excellent journalist. She started in print, but people got to know her thanks to television, with which she was long associated. Although she stepped away for a while, in recent years she has become a familiar TV face once again, now on CNN Prima News.
It's known that you prepare for your television shows almost obsessively. At the same time, you admit to being an impatient person. Doesn‘t that put you under pressure sometimes?
I’m very precise in my work, and my impatience comes from the fact that whenever I have any work ahead of me, it’s a challenge, and I want to get started right away. When someone interrupts me just as I’m about to get into it, I can be grumpy. At work, I need things to be in order, and I get anxious when I feel underprepared. Absolutely precise preparation is fundamental for me. But I’m impatient in many things; I don’t like waiting for anything too long.
Even after decades in the field, you don‘t operate on autopilot?
It’s quite the opposite - what I would easily breeze through at twenty-five, I wouldn't dare attempt now. I have a lot more respect for the craft and for the people I meet in the studio. The mutual respect forces me to be responsible and prepare accordingly. This is more about growing responsibility than about growing older. Being precise and prepared is my end-all be-all. I can turn up unprepared at a golf course, which I do regularly. [laughs] But I cannot appear in front of people unprepared and start explaining something to them.
So when you‘re preparing at home, it‘s best not to disturb you?
Exactly. When I’m working, it’s not a good idea to mess with me. But on the other hand, I also have an exceptional ability to shut myself off. I can ignore calls, focus on my family, ride a bike, make attempts at golf, or ski, and nothing will distract me. I’m not a workaholic. When I have time off, I do only what I enjoy. The truth is, I do enjoy politics, so it’s part of my free time as I keep up with it continuously.
When you moderate political debates, you must encounter situations where only half the audience likes you. Do you get reactions from people?
If it’s half, then that’s good! [laughs] Because most of the time, the broadcast ends, and I get criticized by both camps. Not long ago, one guest had a strong following on social media - more of an influencer than a politician at that point before the election - and the consequences in my life were instant and incredible, though lasting just a few days. But it was shocking. On the other hand, it made me fully realize what kind of situation politicians are in, especially female politicians. It must take really tough personalities to accept all of this and be in it 24/7. I hope they have teams who delete comments from social media, handle threats, and report them because it’s a really harsh environment, full of big, angry boys. And when they’re backed by more angry boys online, it’s a really tough situation. I’m lucky that my kids are much more computer literate than I am, so they help me out. They sit at the computer and say, “Mom, I’m reporting another cancer death threat.” Even my son, on his sports accounts, sometimes gets messages in English or Spanish saying I’m a bitch and that they’ll find me. Then he calls, asking if this is normal or if he should fly home. I tell him it’s fine, it’s standard. [laughs]
There was even a fake video with you promoting products…
They supposedly picked me because I come across as trustworthy.
But that‘s true, and you‘re even doing a credible, serious show.
Exactly. And then suddenly, I see myself selling dietary supplements, diapers, and the like.
When you think about how easily this can be done with artificial intelligence, can you imagine where things might go in the future?
No. But I’d like to meet someone who could imagine such things. This has already gone in directions we can’t even fathom, and we keep deluding ourselves that we can regulate it or counter it somehow. Personally, I think we’ll have to learn to coexist with artificial intelligence and retain something it lacks. But looking ahead, I’m not sure what we have that it won’t.
You worked in TV in the past and returned after many years. Is television journalism the peak for you?
I never really planned to work in television. I wanted to write and take photos. I didn’t take many photos, but I did write for a long time, and I still love it. I just don’t have the time. I always felt that I could write good reports. I loved traveling with photographer Honza Šibík - we saw and traveled a lot, just like with Tomáš Tesař. Those were the happiest moments of my career in journalism. What I’m doing now - political debates - I had never done before. Given that I’ve been in journalism for about thirty years, it is probably the last thing I needed to check off the list. [laughs] And I must say I really enjoy it. It’s probably obvious that I’m not a typical presenter; I never polished my speaking skills, I’m more natural. I was quite surprised when this offer came. After all, I was approaching fifty, and I thought, “Are they serious?”
Do you rewatch your debates?
When I feel that I didn’t handle one the way I wanted to, I’m a bit of a masochist. I come home at night, call Matouš, we talk for a while, and then I watch it. Internally, I beat myself up and it’s clear to me what I should have done differently. But what can you do???? No one is perfect.
Since you love politics so much, can you imagine yourself sitting in the Senate twenty years from now?
That idea never crossed my mind. [laughs] I believe that in twenty years, I’ll be sitting at a baseball field, trying to spread the glory of Czech baseball. I hope that will be my next mission in twenty years, one I’ll have more time for than I do now.
You once mentioned that in the future, you‘d like to ride horses on the Spanish coast near a house that you own…
That would be great. And it might happen. And add to that a Ford Mustang. Mind you, I’m not a gold digger or a die-hard car enthusiast. I think I already have everything I need. But my son once promised me a Mustang, so I’m waiting for it. And I’ll be able to get out of a Mustang and get on a horse - I’m really looking forward to that! [laughs]
Your partner is a geologist. Do you know at least a little about his field?
He studied geology and now mainly works in water purification. He really loves his work and often demands our attention. So a simple hike isn’t just about admiring the landscape - we also need to know what it’s made of. Sometimes I get tricky questions, and then I get praise when I can identify travertine or basalt. Or when we were in New ????ork, he was proud that I remembered there are glacial striations there. Of course, I don’t know much about the field otherwise, but I think it’s wonderful that someone is concerned with how the world will look in thirty thousand years and how it looked thirty thousand years ago. Some worries become trivial in that context.
And does he keep up with politics?
He used to follow it closely because of me. But about a year ago, he tuned it out and avoids it. Partly because whenever we go somewhere, someone inevitably sits down and wants to talk politics. So he decided that the political knowledge he has is enough, and he doesn’t spend more time on it than necessary. But he’s the best man I’ve ever met, because we’re completely incompatible. And that’s why we’ve been happy together for ten years. [laughs]
So each of you has your own world. Do you also have a third, shared one?
Of course we do. And it’s not just ours, but the whole family’s. We always have something to talk about. Even my dad, who’s quite introverted and doesn’t talk much, is willing to listen. Family is truly a sanctuary, a completely different space from the rest of the world. And it comes to us naturally. I have absolutely nothing to complain about because as long as you can come home to your loved ones, with arguments, pain, joys, and happiness, everything is just fine
BASEBALL
Pavlína fell in love with baseball thanks to her son Matouš nearly fifteen years ago. Initially, she had trouble getting into it, but eventually, she became a devoted fan. This year, in April, she became part of the management of the largest baseball club in the Czech Republic, Eagles Prague. She claims that there is no better sport in the world than baseball. Matouš has gone through all age categories of the national team and is now a member of the Czech men’s national team. He studies and plays in America for most of the year. Her daughter Matilda played softball for years also with the Eagles Prague club, and even Pavlína’s partner once actively played baseball for Tempo Prague.
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