Doing Something Well

I got in from work this afternoon and switched on the news to find myself watching the day's press conference on the missing flight. The minister involved was taking questions and switching between Malay and English depending on the language used by the reporter addressing him at that point. It struck me immediately that this was a tricky bit of broadcasting with regard to Sky News who were carrying the conference live. After all the domestic British audience, indeed the international audience that I assume the broadcast now reaches and of which I am one, would be unable to make much at all of the passages in Malay (embarrassingly for me!) and there was no interpreter on hand to do an instant translation. The solution was tricky but elegantly executed: the anchor lady asked questions of a couple of experts at hand in the studio as the live feed from the conference played and we heard their voices discussing various aspects of the situation until the questions and answers reverted to English. Remarkably this was handled seamlessly. The information given was genuinely interesting and there was no sense at all of the studio commentary detracting from the primary importance of the press conference.

So far, so good, insofar as anything good comes out of fundamentally bad news. But what really struck me was a moment in which the aviation expert being addressed (who really knew his stuff) talked about the hopeful news of wreckage being found. In context it was entirely clear what he meant, he wasn't being crass in any sense, but I found myself wondering briefly if the families of the passengers and crew waiting for news of their loved ones, would see the development as hopeful. Then, slightly to my surprise, the anchor sort of echoed this thought, but in a very tactful manner, with real consideration of how hurtful these findings might prove but, rightfully, with no sense of any criticism of what the expert was saying. To manifest this level of tact and understanding on several levels in what must be the high pressure environment of a news studio live on air seemed to me the height of professionalism.

We are exposed all the time to people doing their jobs well. I'm all for being critical of those who provide the news, indeed of any profession you care to name, but I think it's wise to recognise quality and applaud it sometimes.