Today I had the steepest learning curve since sitting on stage and playing a Debussy piano piece whilst my brain cells turned to hummus.
A Boeing 777 crash landed at Heathrow airport. Nobody was hurt.
8 people had minor injuries, 128 passengers were safely chuted off the plane.
A wheel fell off, several LBC listeners saw the event and called in.
I had to field three hours of reportage, information, updates and breaking news.
I stumbled, lost the ability to read, caught my lips in my suspenders and generally made a monumental cock-up.
The boss was kind but firm, my producer was kind and caring, my manager was caring and clear.
I’ve come home ready to jump in the Thames.
I literally have a pain in the neck.
My producer and manager said ‘Don’t beat your self up about it.’
I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
I’m knackered.
Breaking news just about broke me.
Hopefully I will cu2morrer.
8 thoughts on “Breaking news”
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Stop beating yourself up! You know, I spend my life dealing with people, their problems, their children and their children’s problems! As a teacher, parents tell you all sorts of personal things because we deal with their most precious thing – their child! I always listen, am sympathetic, offer advice, but at the end of the day I could spend my life being miserable about other people’s plight – I have my own to think about – be professional!
One of those things, girl. We all get days at work where monumentally bad things happen to others and we are effected by the repercussions. I’m sure you did everything from the heart and thats a lot more than most would do.
Wish I’d heard the discussion about dementia. I work with elderly ladies and gents who have learning difficulties. One by one these dear, funny, mischevous folk are becoming people I don’t know. The dementia is rapid within this field, and heatrbreaking. I can only watch and imagine the confusion in their minds. Sadly, some of our ladies and gents remember us staff better than their families, as they see us at the centre almost daily. Most of our people have brilliant families who stay closely in touch, but it was horrible when one of our ladies last week asked me ‘Rhianon, who’s this?’ and I had to explain that it was her brother. He visits her at least 3 times each wek, but he’d simply dropped from her memory.
Hallo Jeni
I caught some of the broadcast yesterday and I thought you did just fine. I want a broadcaster who reports from the heart and this you always do, that’s why I listen when ever I can. Look where it got Oprah Winfrey!
You CAN do this, you just don’t realise it yet.
Extra Love June
You said it all in one line Jeni ‘A Boeing 777 crash landed at Heathrow airport. Nobody was hurt.’ That’s it.
When you relate it to a lot of other things going on in the world it’s a five minute story but no, in this media obsessed world in which we live we have to blow everything out of proportion.
I hate to say it but to people who are outside of the Capital (I’m in Darlington, the other end of the country) and who don’t often travel on planes or live near airports it was a story where we wanted to hear the key details and then move on.
I can understand why a London based radio station wanted to focus on it but sometimes that just helps to increase the hysteria.
I’m sure you did a fine job Jeni, certainly as well as anyone with your level of radio experience could have done. After all if they thought it was really out of your scope then they would have had no hesitation in replacing you with one of the news team!
Now have some lovely dark chocolate and relax. 😉
Hi Jeni,
I was listening and thought you did brilliantly! I’m not a professional radio manager or producer though so what would I know but I thought you coped so well. Can’t have been easy with info flying in from all angles & people desperate to know the latest.
You did your best, you could do no more so never, ever beat yourself up for that 🙂
And as for Debussy, I think playing his music everyones brain goes to mush! A quiet serenity in his stuff, isn’t there? Maybe thats why I always ran aground with it! You survived the radio show and Debussy. Now Mahler, THAT I could understand….Gives me a headache without even trying.
Hi Jeni,
I have just listened to the podcast of Thursdays programme and I think you did just fine and professional and you should feel proud.
The last time I wrote I told you that me and him are bitsa’s (bits a this and that) but I forgot to tell you that I also have a nearasdammit son. Ours is Catalan and has just married (I am such a proud mum) a lass from Tunisia and we will one day have nearasdammit grandkids who will be Belgian!
Will be with you on Sunday!
Love
Chrissie x x
you know,
i heard all of this broadcast, from before crash and during, i found it rivetting, full of humanity and compassion for such a potential tinderbox of hysteria,
your a great woman to listen too, your humour and understanding is dependable, and to tell you the truth in a funny way, quite reassuring during the day.
Give yourself a break .
Nice one.