John Stonborough F.C.I.P.R.

Its a wrap.

What a year this has been! We celebrated 20 years in the business in February with a party. It was great to welcome so many friends and colleagues - and colleagues who have become great friends.
I wish you a peaceful and joyous Christmas and the very best for the coming year. My especial thanks to David, Heidi and the gang at PA, CamCrews and Jerry, Jane R, David W, Taz, Viktoria, Lyndsay, all the Oxford contingent, my excellent clients and patient suppliers. Merry Christmas.
 
Click for advice on handling the credit crunch.
 

Peace, goodwill to all men and a bit extra.

Putney Bridge, Fulham SW6. On my bike.
Unusually, I was stationary at a red traffic light today.
Two smart Japanese men walked up, stopped and bowed deeply in unison.
‘Where is Stadium?,’ said one, still bowing.
I puzzled for a moment. ‘Craven Cottage? Stamford Bridge?’ Both are near.
‘Fulham?’ He said.
I pointed out the shortcut along the River, through Bishop’s Park.
‘It’s nicer.’ I said. 
‘Sooh!’, he hissed, bowing again.
‘Thank you’, growled the other, also bowing. ‘Happy Christmas!’
Proud smiles.
So I bowed. Awkwardly, over the handlebars.
Chris Hoy meets the Mikado.
‘Happy Christmas’, I replied, speeding off.
I glanced back.
They were still on the pavement, calling ‘Happy Christmas’ smiling and bowing.
So polite. So, composed.
I felt like a train departing Tokyo Central.
Peace, Goodwill and Shinkan-Zen.

At the top of Putney Hill, where the busses turn,
there’s a café run by Turks. Very friendly.
Not the hijacker-chic sort you avoid outside West End nightclubs.
These men make the best bacon sandwiches.
The one doing a degree at City University,
shoved a tin wrapped in Santa paper at me.
‘Merry Christmas’.
I laughed. ‘Hang on’ I said, ‘You’re Muslim!’
‘Yes,’ he said, all smiles, ‘but I live in London.’
Peace, Goodwill, 40p to Otto-men.

Voice Recognition. Let’s hear it for the posh boy!

“‘Ere John! You Scottish?,” said Frosty, drawing alongside in the stand-ups at the Britannia pub, Bow Common Lane, Mile End, E3. A villainous dive thirty five years ago and way off piste for all but brave or foolish reporters from the East London Advertiser.
‘No Frosty’ I said, ‘why?
“Cos you don’t ‘alf talk funny.” he said.
Frosty (who had a walk on part in Profession of Violence, a book about the Kray Twins), thought I ‘talk funny’ and must be Scottish because he had never heard a public school accent.
The way I speak has often been the cause of comment, even though I don’t think it’s particularly accented (is it?).
When I was a copper for a few years in the seamier part of pre-gentrified London N1, freshly nicked tow-rags, would say, ‘Ere, don’t the f*ckin’ plod talk posh!’ To which the reply from coppers and yobs alike was “Yeah, f*ckin’ posh git!”
Jokes aside, it took an Irishman George Bernard Shaw  (in Pygmalion)  to observe “it is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him”.  This is as true now as it was in 1916. Class wars seethe at the Beeb too. I don’t know the ins and outs of why Ed Stourton is to be dropped from the BBC R4 Today programme in favour of Justin Webb. They say he’s too posh. (God we live in a weird country!) Historically the BBC recruit, via the left leaning Guardian, the brightest most gifted state educated kids. Though, both Ed Stourton’s bosses Mark Damazar and BBC DG Mark Thompson went to public schools. So did Justin, I think?
When I went for my first interview at the Beeb in the early eighties, I did a short voice test. They said I was too nervous, too nasal and too upper class. I still got the job. Gin and Otrivine dealt with probs One and Two and the offer of three times my BBC salary by Thames Television sorted the third for them a few years later.
At the time the Beeb was in transition. The old Home Service Toffs were mothballed and new voices were heard. Celts. Suddenly BH and Television Centre were full of Selinas, Eamons, Terrys. Soft, lilting, but above all classless to the English ear. Yoof and Estuary vowels didn’t surface for another ten years.
So what are my choices? Detune like Eton boy George Osborne (it must be true, I read it in the tabloids), adopt a faintly ludicrous glottal gob stop like Tony Blair, talk Mockney like my children’s public school friends or just rabbit on regardless, wearing language like an ID tag. Tim Nice but Dim. The trouble is, as GBS also said ’ The English have no respect for their language and will not teach their children to speak it.’

VNRs - Save yourself the hassle and the cost.

Organisations are increasingly producing their own video and audio news releases for the media to use in programmes.
But they can save their money. The BBC’s editorial policy on video and audio news releases is unchanged. Only in exceptional circumstances will they use material supplied by outside organisations – including PR companies, emergency services, Government agencies, interest groups, campaigners and charities – especially if the BBC was not present when it was recorded.
The fact that the organisation has a vested interest in the subject matter can lead to concerns about the editorial integrity of the material. The organisation supplying the material may claim that it has been produced objectively, but the BBC cannot vouch for the circumstances in which it was gathered or the editorial standards applied.
Some PR companies make interviews available in such a way that the original questions can be edited out an replaced by the voice of a programme presenter. The revoicing of questions by someone who did not carry out the original interview is never acceptable in BBC content. Thankfully there is always the independent sector, but if you would like more detailed guidance on the use of VNRs, give me a call.