News can be tough to watch at times. I have had a lot of people say they are steering clear of it this week and I can understand why. News is often grim and, adding in the constant nature of social media, you can see why, for some people, the only option is to switch off.
One of my first jobs as a journalist was to interview the family of Lesley Ann Downey, one of the murder victims of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. I can still remember knocking on the door of their house and being met by a woman who was clearly on the edge. She was keen to talk about her experiences but, for most of the interview, she and her partner simply cried and hugged as they recalled what Lesley Ann had gone through. It was heartbreaking to witness but I am thankful that, even as a young reporter barely out of university, I was having to learn skills that would be essential in later life.
This week, those listening skills have been put to good use as we have spoken to people on both sides of the current conflict in the Middle East. Fairness and accuracy are essential and one of the most important things is to take care of the people to whom we are speaking.
When I used to present BBC Breakfast, we had something that Louise Minchin referred to as the “breakfast cuddle”. The show would often deal with subjects that were difficult to discuss on national TV and when we did that we would invariably be joined by a number of guests; one would normally be an expert and the other would be a case study.
We tended to put the case study next to us because they would normally be the one who you would need to look after during the interview. It’s much easier to do that when you are in touching distance. It is always awful to see someone crying when you are too far away to do anything about it. There were several occasions on Breakfast when I would hold the hand of a guest during an interview. The height of the desk made sure that it was obscured from the view of the camera, but it always made a difference. As soon as you touched their hand, you could feel their breathing change and see them visibly relax. Even when you’re asking difficult questions, it’s important to be a human.
Like any job, the longer you do it, the better you get at dealing with those times when things become really difficult and you just find yourself reading out death tolls. You fall back on all the lessons you have learned over the years. I can still remember being thrown on air on 11 September 2001 to cover the terror attacks in New York. I was the Sports Editor at a commercial radio station in Manchester, but they dropped all the music and adverts and I was on air for hours. It was an incredible learning experience and – apart from calling the Pentagon an “octagonal-shaped building in Washington” – we did a decent job.
I often go back to being on air, including on the morning after the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017. I still remember sitting in the studio looking at the digital clock just under the main camera. It said 05.59:30. In 30 seconds, the Breakfast titles would run and we’d be live to the nation. Sitting on that sofa was a peculiar privilege: you are inside peoples’ homes, their bedrooms and front rooms. You are sharing an important moment, having breakfast with them and preparing them for the day ahead.
It was one of those moments when all that time in the saddle becomes invaluable. The experience of covering 9/11, all the big stories you’ve covered, the mistakes, the triumphs, the hours and hours of broadcasting, all boil down to one morning when you must get it right.
The other thing that helps when the news is hard to watch is light relief. That’s why I was delighted this week by a story about fat bears. On 5 News we spoke to Mike Fitz, a ranger from Katmai National Park in Alaska, who told us all about a bear called 128 Grazer, who had been judged to be the bulkiest beast and the winner of Fat Bear Week. We had four minutes of fun with Mike at the end of the show and it was so important to leave our audience with a much-needed lift.
In addition to the bears, I know that my faith gives me a great sense of perspective and balance at work and our family dog helps too. I woke up on Thursday this week to our lovely cockapoo – Winnie – staring at me, desperate to play.
I posted the picture on social media and one thing that struck me was the number of people who shared their experience of how their dogs get them through tough times. Dogs are pretty amazing. I often chat to Winnie on our walks. I’ll tell her how I feel about something, pose her the occasional deep question and occasionally talk through big life decisions. As long as I give her an occasional treat, she’s a very good listener – and a lot less dangerous than a fat bear.
This week I have been…
Golfing. As well as walking the dog, the other way I switch off is by playing golf. Watching The Ryder Cup recently has inspired me to work on my chipping, pitching and bunker play. I have been for a couple of lessons recently with short game legend Dan Grieve at Woburn Golf Club. Last week I learned a new shot he calls “the scythe”. It’s a way of getting the ball on the green when it’s buried deep in the long grass at the side of it. I am slowly getting the hang of it but, the first time I tried it in a proper round, it came out so fast at head height and it nearly hit my playing partner.
Vanishing. This week I have also been doing some interviews about the new series of our show, called Vanished, about missing people, which returns to Channel 5 on 1 November. The programme originally came out of the Nicola Bulley investigation, but we quickly realised that someone goes missing every 90 seconds in the UK and, although most of them are found within 48 hours, there are so many people who need help and families who need support. We had a fantastic response to series one and, as any investigator will tell you, one piece of evidence, one call, can make a difference and transform a case.
Socialising. I went out a bit this week… one was a success and the other was not. I don’t know if you’ve ever walked out of a show early, but I did that for only the second time in my life. I won’t tell you what I was watching because I don’t think that would be very kind but… safe to say it wasn’t my cup of tea.
I also went to a very snazzy fashion launch and really enjoyed myself. There were lovely brands there, but the highlight for me were the biscuits you got on the way in. I am a sucker for a memorable nibble, and this was a shortbread number with icing on the top. If the show we walked out of had provided significant nibbles, maybe even a bag of Wotsits, then it would have been a much more difficult decision to head for the fire exit.