TINA TALISA: (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

Talk show host Tina Talisa, who appears on tvOne's Apa Kabar Indonesia Malam, says she unearthed her passion for communication late in her life.

She enrolled as an undergraduate at the School of Dentistry at Padjadjaran University in her hometown of Bandung. She earned her bachelor's degree, but not her license to practice.

"I never thought I wanted to be a journalist until I worked at a radio station in Bandung. From there, my interest built up. I never regret not practicing dentistry."

A journalist has more chance to meet people from various backgrounds -- something she calls "a dynamic process".

The 28-year-old television personality worked at state television station TVRI and Trans TV as a presenter and reporter before taking up a position at tvOne.

The experience of hopping from one station to another television bore fruit, with a blog, http://newsanchoradmirer.wordpress.com, naming Tina anchor of the month for two months in a row.

Tina has been interested in politics since she was in high school.

"It's fun observing a politician stating something and then contradicting what he or she said later on. It's dramatic."

Her friends joke that rather than make a living through other people's mouths by being a dentist, she makes a living through her own mouth.

But her background gave her some advantages, she says. When she had to cover the aftermath of the tsunami in Aceh, she had no fear of corpses, thanks to her university anatomy classes.

Tina says she views her current occupation as a talk show host as a natural progression after being a reporter and news anchor.

Doing a talk show, she says, is more challenging than reporting or presenting. In a talk show, the host needs more in-depth knowledge to get things going in the right direction.

"For Apa Kabar Indonesia Malam, I am also the producer, who has to decide on the topic of the show. Researching and brainstorming are part of my daily routine. I wake up promptly thinking what's going to be the right issue of the day."

She digs up information mostly by reading or asking experts for a more thorough explanation.

From Monday to Friday, when the show is broadcast from 9 to 10 p.m., Tina gets her adrenaline pumping during the afternoon because she's waiting for the confirmation of her guest speakers.

"We don't know who the speakers are until late in the day because the topic that we pick has to be current."

She adds she is relieved if the guests are confirmed by 5 p.m. Each show has two topics with about four to six speakers.

One of the most memorable shows she did was about the recent oil price hike.

"We had the chance to interview the Vice President through satellite live mobile. We asked tough questions to hold the government accountable."

Another memorable show was when they were about to have people from different sides of politics. They once invited Muhaimin Iskandar and his opponent Ali Masykur Musa from PKB (the National Awakening Party) into the studio.

"The atmosphere was really intense and we were not really sure of what was going to happen."

Preparation, she says, is key.

To make for this kind of show work, choosing the right guest speakers is imperative, she says. Some of the people who are important to the issue might talk less, whereas others might be more articulate.

"For example, when we invited (alleged serial killer) Ryan's mother, she was taciturn but in this world there is only one mother of Ryan."

Each night, Tina meets her speakers 30 minutes before air time so they can get to know each other better.

"If I argue with any of them on screen, they know that it only occurs during that situation."

tvOne also broadcasts Apa Kabar Indonesia in the morning, although the evening show has higher ratings. This is typical, hence the term prime time. Apa Kabar Indonesia Malam wraps up of what we presented in the morning, she said.

She says they were being daring broadcasting a news program at the time where the popular sinetron (soap opera) is king.

"I realize it's a niche program where most of our audience are mature men and policymakers. The topics for our talk show are mostly politics, social issues, laws and economics."

Tina's heroes include Riz Khan of Al-Jazeera, Bill O'Reilly and Rizal Mustari. She worships them for their ability to brew and exchange ideas.

"We like our show to have arguments. That's why the pros and cons of an issue are important. I don't like being a host when the speaker is always agreeing. It's boring and I am easily bored."

According to Tina, the necessary training for being a talk show host is to be on the field presenting live reports. "From there you can build confidence."

But despite her success in the studio, she still has to go into the field to cover events.

"For four straight years I have covered Independence Day at the State Palace. It feels odd to see that I feel so old there among many new reporters. Almost everyone has been rotated except me," she laughs.

Tina admires the way presidential candidates in the United States can gather so many voters. She says that, as a democracy, Indonesia should also have a great public participation, but that the difference between the United States and Indonesia is that Americans are able to respect differences of opinion.

And if she could ask President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono anything?

"The question I'd ask him is how he was able to sleep after the government decided to raise fuel prices. It's a humane question for a humanist like me.

"I would like also to interview Bu Mega (Soekarnoputri) because she has always been resistant to be interviewed. The harder people avoid an interview, the more eager I am to go further with my questions."

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