CULTURE EDITION
STEWART WHITE 5 minutes with Louise Hoffman catches up with a
much-loved local news presenter who helmed more than 8,000 editions of BBC Look East – and whose memoir is now published
the Royal Television Society and being shortlisted on two other occasions, as well as walking into 10 Downing Street to interview prime ministers. Usually, journalists don’t get to walk down the famous stairs, but on one of my early visits I asked if I could and they very kindly said yes! Also my interview with Lord Hanningfield, who had been jailed for parliamentary expenses fraud, which was voted the best broadcast interview of that particular year across the whole country. Were there any moments where you had to think on your feet live on air? Live television is always about thinking on your feet. I was very lucky in that I usually felt more relaxed in those situations than in most others. I think having worked in live radio, where you don’t have a script, actually helped. I enjoyed those moments more than any others. How do you think the role of the television news is changing? The big challenge is that social media very often gets the pictures and sound online before the traditional news cameras I think that the most important thing about being a TV presenter is to be yourself
It’s been five years since you retired from BBC Look East , which seems to have gone by very quickly to me! How has it been for you? When lots of people retire, they do so with a sense of relief. In truth, although I enjoy having time to myself, I miss the cut and thrust of broadcasting. I spend time in the garden, being with my grandchildren and playing a little more golf. It was my grandchildren who made me decide to write the book. When they grow up, they will be able to read about how I spent my life, if they want to. How do you feel when you think back to your time on the programme? I think about how lucky I was to have a job I loved. I was able to meet so many fascinating people and travelled all over the world, from China to the US and from the Normandy landing beaches to the Falkland Islands. I have been inside 10 Downing Street and Buckingham Palace, filmed inside Sandringham House and peered out of a Sea King military helicopter flying along the border in Hong Kong. Most of all, I enjoyed meeting ordinary people who had done extraordinary things. But there were also moments of terrible tragedy where people trusted me to tell their story, which is something I never took lightly.
and reporters arrive on the scene. A lot of younger people do not bother with traditional news outlets because they have already seen everything online. Broadcasting companies need to find a way of getting the news on air much faster without jeopardising the quality and reliability of the journalism. What qualities, in your opinion, make a successful television presenter? I think that the most important thing about being a TV presenter is to be yourself – to be relaxed, real and in control. If you are pretending to be somebody you are not, you will be found out. I also believe that the best interviewers do not just have a list of questions. They should have some questions they want answers to, but the most important thing is that they listen and follow up on what is said or left unsaid.
Read Stewart’s full story in See You at 6:30, published by Pegasus Publishers
What are a few of your favourite memories from your TV career? There are so many proud moments. Winning three national awards from
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