Martin Lewis, BBC News
I just stumbled across a video of myself when I was doing freelance business reporting for the BBC back in 2001-2. It was a strange time as I was just starting off as “Money Saving Expert”. But because there wasn’t a huge demand for that sort of journalism back then, I just filled in for general business reporting. My how things have changed…
What smacks me when I watch the videos how different the reporting was. While working on Simply Money TV from 2000-01, I delivered the info much more like now: more conversational, enthusiastic and quick paced.
But with the BBC it was a bit different. In the newsroom they said they were then keen for us to ‘fit in’. That meant we had to adopt the slower paced, more serious news delivery, and of course in a (badly fitting) suit.
Having stumbled across the first video, I managed to track down a second. You’ll need Real Player to open them – there’s a piece to camera in each…
- Aol Time Warner report video (from the related news story)
- Household insurance washout video (from the related news story)
Some may say the reporting is clearer this way. Though having said that when I do voice-overs on films now (which the 2nd video mostly is) I speak much more slowly than when I’m in the picture, as then mannerism and body language are key to delivering the message.
Now I suspect that if i’d kept on like that I probably would’nt have made the move across to mainstream telly.
Also strange is hearing myself signing off as “Martin Lewis, BBC News” and not “Martin Lewis of BBC News”. There’s a very strict etiquette on these things and with the BBC the rule is you simply say your name and the organisation – occasionally including the place if it’s extremely relevant.
