Americans are still learning the superb work being produced by Radio Netherlands, and Jonathan Groubert's "London: One Day On" is a perfect lesson in sound-rich, conversational reportage. NDs can surely find five minutes in their news package to wiggle free for this one – just do it, today.
Groubert's first name interaction with Londoners puts the listener right on the street with real people. That's reassuring in a Disneyfied media environment. It's the opposite of what David Zurawik reported in the Baltimore Sun, reviewing television coverage of the bombings:
Over a red logo emblazoned with the words LONDON TERROR, CNN anchorwoman Soledad O'Brien reported: "An eyewitness described utter pandemonium -- bodies strewn around. ... People were screaming. ... They felt they were trapped like sardines essentially waiting to die."
At the same time, viewers of the BBC watched business editor Jeff Randall sitting behind his desk as he reported that the market had dropped in the immediate wake of the blasts, but was recovering. "They're a pretty stoic lot over here in the City, and the market has recovered... There is no sense of panic," he said.
Though I don't agree with Groubert's direct comparison of these London bombings with the WTC attacks in New York, the broad historical context he presents of Britons' laconic resolve is not only insightful, it's instructive.
Here's a piece where the package compliments the contents; Groubert's reportage is a good match for that character of Londoners we all strive to uphold.
Review of London: One Day On
Geo Beach
Posted on July 08, 2005 at 05:40 PM
Americans are still learning the superb work being produced by Radio Netherlands, and Jonathan Groubert's "London: One Day On" is a perfect lesson in sound-rich, conversational reportage. NDs can surely find five minutes in their news package to wiggle free for this one – just do it, today.
Groubert's first name interaction with Londoners puts the listener right on the street with real people. That's reassuring in a Disneyfied media environment. It's the opposite of what David Zurawik reported in the Baltimore Sun, reviewing television coverage of the bombings:
Over a red logo emblazoned with the words LONDON TERROR, CNN anchorwoman Soledad O'Brien reported: "An eyewitness described utter pandemonium -- bodies strewn around. ... People were screaming. ... They felt they were trapped like sardines essentially waiting to die."
At the same time, viewers of the BBC watched business editor Jeff Randall sitting behind his desk as he reported that the market had dropped in the immediate wake of the blasts, but was recovering. "They're a pretty stoic lot over here in the City, and the market has recovered... There is no sense of panic," he said.
Though I don't agree with Groubert's direct comparison of these London bombings with the WTC attacks in New York, the broad historical context he presents of Britons' laconic resolve is not only insightful, it's instructive.
Here's a piece where the package compliments the contents; Groubert's reportage is a good match for that character of Londoners we all strive to uphold.