News About News

I had a somewhat unexpected occurrence yesterday, but much-appreciated because it helped assuage an awkward feeling I had.

I don't think it's really possible for most people, if anyone to adequate the feelings one has when a tragic massacre happens like that in Manchester.   You can use the same cliched words because the feeling in universal, but that's about as far as one can go.

And you turn on the television to get some coverage of what happened.  But for me, that generally tends to last about 20 minutes, because at that point in the news no one has anything more to report.  It's just the same words over and over, the same videos, the same experts and nothing new is being said.  I understand the need that many feel for a sense of community, but I still want news, and if there isn't anything different to say, then I don't want it said over and over, for five hours.  That's me.  When there's news to report, report it.  But there is other news happening, and I want to know it, to not only keep informed, but to keep it all in perspective.

And the day after -- yesterday -- there was even more of the same, still going on, nothing new, but still being reported.  Though as the day progressed, there finally was something new, with the investigation leading to an arrest.  But mostly, the same things were being repeated.  Out of curiosity, and with that sense of perspective, because I was in my car that has Sirius/XM Radio, I decided to put on the BBC World Service.  If I was going to hear news about Manchester, I at least wanted to hear it from England.

And to my surprise -- unlike in the U.S. on television...the story they were covering wasn't about Manchester!  Nor was the next one!  They did address it with the third story, but then I had reached my destination and left for lunch.

When I got back an hour later, I put the BBC back on -- and again, they were covering something else.  The next story was about the attack, but from a completely different angle than anything I'd heard on American TV -- it was a report on how to deal with children at such times.  It was interesting and profoundly low-key.

And then when that was over --

They went to a program about technology!  And did a story on government innovation.  

There, in the middle of the storm, life was going on.  The story was being covered.  And being covered well.  And in detail.  But it was being covered when they had something to report and talk about.  And done in a mature, thoughtful way that respected the listener.  Yes, I know, this was "the Beeb," and that's their style, even during a tragic bombing in their country.  But they covered it as Really Important News -- not the only news.

​And it was done wonderfully.