Christoph Jörg, ARTE France (France)

The tagline for ARTE, the European channel that covers both Germany and France, is "be curious." And, indeed, it has done an enviable job of getting viewers to do just that, luring them in with unique programs that often raise other broadcasters' eyebrows at pitching tables.

Partly responsible for getting ARTE France involved with such programs is Christoph Jörg, commissioning editor for the specialist factual department, which covers human adventures, science, civilization, and religion. No stranger to hard-to-define subjects, Jörg is helping spearhead the Democracy Project, a collection of 10 films on the mammoth topic he's commissioning with fellow broadcast partners in the STEPS International working group. "Each of the 10 films is complicated because we didn't choose easy and obvious projects," he says. Seems like a theme in Jörg's career.