Contemporary . Arts
In Time of Trouble
DURING the last weeks we've been using radio as we used it during the war—the nine o'clock news particularly must have made a big come- back in listening figures. And it's interesting to see how the new boys on television have been, doing. Not too bad, most people seem to say; but certainly not as well as we might have hoped. The ITN reaction in particular has been hampered by the tighter scheduling of programmes. It's clear that at times of crisis Auntie BBC is right : the personalisation of newscasters (as they insist on calling them) that serves ITN so well when the news is dull, renders Messrs. Day, Kennedy and Brown (a useful addition that last one) too often intrusive, too often over-conscious of their own reactions as the iron history is spelled out. What gives a touch of spice to a dreary Thursday has seemed tasteless and undignified in recent days. There has also been an increas- ing tendency by the two news setups to dramatise the role of war correspondent. Mr. Jones, both on Radio Newsreel and (most uncomfortably, poor chap) in the television news on Monday, dwelt at some length on his own fears and worries while in Budapest. Mr. Jones has obviously had an unpleasant time and done a hard job zealously. But what people are interested in is the observed fact, the detailed description of conditions that only someone who's been on the spot can give— fact about Hungary, description of Hungar- ians' conditions, not those of Mr. Jones and his colleagues. ITN go a step farther; their commentators describe excitedly films of fight- ing in Egypt, giving star billing to Ronnie or Billy ('Ronnie was there when the boys let loose at . . .') or whatever the Christian name might be. Let's get back, please, to a little straight reporting and stop living danger- ously by chummy proxy.
Free Speech this Sunday demonstrated again how wise the planners were who stole the admirably matched Boothhy-Brown- Foot-Taylor team from the BBC. Their argument on Suez gave vocal and coherent expression (albeit fiery, and correctly so) to the current lines of opinion. But almost as soon as Hungary was touched on, time ran out. Surely at a time like this twenty-five to thirty minutes is hopelessly inadequate fdr four such stout, so closely followed debaters to be handed? Couldn't we maybe have managed to steel ourselves to do without Liberace for once? Sure, programmes are organised well in advance; and sure. ATV had e a duty to their advertisers. But unless the medium as a whole (and my impression i5 that the BBC is less blameworthy in this respect) can make itself flexible enough to handle problems as important and as absorb' ing as those the whole country's been trying to grapple with, to handle them sensibly and sanely and to give them their proper weight, much of the influence that it has been develop' ing through its newsreels• and news pro' grammes will be lost. Of course we want enter' tainment too. But in days of crisis thirty' second newsflashes every now and then, and under thirty minutes for Free Speech, make nonsense of the whole structure. When yo' look back to the splendid record of BBC reporting during the war and check it against the job that sound radio is doing now, sound radio stands up to the check; but television has a serious failure on its hands unless it
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