As a dull gong heralds the start of the national 8 o'clock news, better known as "Tagesschau," information addicts across the country settle down to the familiar sight of Germany's best-known newscasters perched at their desks delivering the day's bad tidings. It's a staid sight which is soon to become yesterday's news.

Some time later this year newsreaders on both the Tagesschau and its in-depth sister show, "Tagesthemen," will do their job from a specially designed stool.

The construction, which is reported to be back-friendly, can be adjusted to meet the differing needs of its leggy and less leggy users.

It's an all new look, which follows the progressive example of broadcasters such as CNN and the BBC. But what will Germans, who are not renowned for embracing change, make of it?

Perhaps they will be won over by the benefits of this daring act of de-institutionalization, for the stool promises to deliver better intonation and improved body language.