Those regular followers of my musing will know the passionate belief in quality over quantity. With so many options in every aspect of consumerism how do you get to filter the truth from the fiction, the sell from the flaw. Where can you get balanced perspectives on current events and cultural perspectives?
In the UK we have been spoilt with the warmth and affection we lavish on the BBC, a purposeful protectionism against any slip in a morale standard so perilously high, that it should not be allowed to be degraded by the kind of advertising of another sofa sale in a nearby shopping warehouse.
To that degree in the UK we have come to love and cherish the BBC and whose kept correspondents we allow into our homes with a trust you rarely see in other global media organisations. It is therefore rare when these icons of news reporting get moved around but listing to Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent I learn that Justin Webb is coming back to lighty after 7 years in the USA. Taking his place is the BBC’s current Europe Correspondent Mark Mardell.
Ed Stourton replaced by Justin Webb on BBC Radio 4's Today programme
I really like Justin Webb’s reports; he has a wonderfully creative language and perspective that is simply inspiring. It’s been quite an eventful 7 years for Justin in the USA. Seven years where is has seen president Bush be re-elected, then Obama take his place, the tribulations of the Golf war as well as the personal experiences with the berth of his youngest child as an American citizen and then the difficult personal experiences of the much debated American health system with the diagnosis of type one diabetes for his oldest child.
And where is Webb’s destination, he’s coming back to replace Ed Stourton on the fabulous Radio 4 ‘Today’ breakfast programme. I personally can’t wait!
If you get ten minutes, kick of the shoes, grab a cup of your favourite hot beverage and delight in his final American report, it should be posted as an audio clip later today on the ‘From Our Own Correspondent’s’ web site:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/default.stm
In the mean time, here is the full transcript:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8176448.stm
