Wednesday, December 1, 2010

What the Americans could learn from the BBC

Whilst visiting Washington DC I popped in to the wonderful 'Newseum' to kill some time before my flight back to Boston. One cannot help but be impressed by the scale and interactivity of the exhibits: highlights include a giant segment of the Berlin Wall, a film on the history of journalism in 4-D and the chance to read the news live on camera. But the overall effect is dizzying. In truth, it is sensory overload. A bit like American news coverage.

At first, watching American news provides a novel and fun contrast to the more laid back coverage typical of the UK. Shows like 'Hardball' and 'Keeping em Honest' are refreshingly direct and deliberately designed to provoke a reaction from guests and audiences alike. But after a while it begins to overwhelm - it is just a bit too intense. For example, one favourite trick of American news broadcasters is to split the screen so that the viewer is given a close up of the interviewer and each guest's face, which when an argument becomes heated, creates a bizarre kind of angry talking heads effect. The only way to describe it is like being in a room with a bunch of angry, screeching, drug-fuelled schizophrenics. If you want a good example, click on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEvaw8jmU3c

I now long for the more dulcet tones of BBC news broadcasters and a calmer, more reasonable approach to political debate and news coverage. But perhaps I'm just an elitist who can't handle the sight (and sound) of real conflict and debate.