Journalism Reflection: BBC

For my journalism reflection this week, I decided to cover the news outlet BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation. Today, the BBC (and other news outlets) had to cover the unfortunate news of the death of the 100th British soldier to die in Afghanistan in 2009. You can read the article here. The name of the killed soldier has yet to be released, which presents difficulty in humanizing the story. How can a journalist present this statistic as more than just a number? Well, the BBC reporter included an on-camera interview of a woman whose fiancee was killed in Afghanistan (scroll down to the middle of the article to view). Although she is not a family member of the soldier killed today, she can relate to them through her personal experience with a similar tragedy. 

The reporter did an excellent job of framing the interview subject and as a viewer, I am immediately drawn into her eyes, which seem to have a look of hopefulness and hopelessness at the same time. The interviewee talks about her struggle to stay positive for the sake of her children and how to explain to them that their father is not coming back. In the coming days, the identity of the 100th killed British soldier will most likely be released. It is unknown whether he or she has children of their own. This person is a daughter or a son, could be a sister or a brother, and could be leaving someone like the woman interviewed. 

Whether you agree or not with the current situation overseas, your heart goes out to the families who lose loved ones. It takes a journalist to report a statistic such as "100th UK Soldier Killed..." but it takes an excellent journalist to give that number a name and a greater sense of meaning. While this is not always possible, this report from the BBC proves one can still provide readers and viewers a "personal" connection to the story. 

I look forward to seeing the BBC's coverage of this "statistic" in the coming days ahead. Hopefully, the audience will get a "humanized" experience.