[Published in Talon Magazine, Fall 2012]
While the United States may be a vast mixing pot of the world’s various cultures, many assume that the U.S. has the most in common with Great Britain, as both countries share the same language and a long historical background. Despite these similarities, Dr. Jake McNeill, director of COM Digital Media, experienced a variety of differences between the two countries as he worked at a small BBC radio station. During his two years in Great Britain, McNeill watched 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq unfold through the eyes of the British while also experiencing differences between American and British journalism.
Accents
McNeill began working with BBC Radio in Canterbury, Kent, England on Sept. 2001 while working to complete his Master of Arts at Christ Church University. “This was a very small studio,” he said. “We did a lot with very little.”
McNeill produced a variety of interviews – setting up the interviews, prompting questions, and conducting post production editing. “It was a lot of meeting people, greeting people, and miking people.” Every once in a while the station would cover outside events as well.
In the facility McNeill worked, everyone was British besides himself and occasionally a French guest.
“You felt like an outsider but I think that would be the case with any kind of job in when you worked in a foreign country,” he said. “By the time I left I didn’t feel that way and I don’t feel like they viewed me any differently. It was just kind of a ‘getting to know you’ kind of scenario.”
According to McNeill, his accent often acted as a conversation starter especially in studio.
“British people are very interested in accents,” he said. “That’s just because whenever you travel through the U.K., even county to county the accents are ever so slightly different and that’s just due to hundreds and hundreds of years of cultivation of these particular accents so they’re very, very interested. They can read each other’s accents and know almost down to a few square miles where you’re from. It took me a long time to pick it up.
“So, they were obsessed with American accents, and ‘where is your accent from?’ ‘What part of the states are you from’ is always the question I was asked. Sometimes I was even asked ‘what colony you are from,’” he laughed. “I don’t know if that was sarcasm or if they weren’t aware there was a war a few hundred years ago.”
Watching 9/11 and the Invasion of Iraq from Abroad
After the events of September 11, 2011 McNeill received a lot of emails from his British co-workers.
“I got emails saying, ‘Oh, I hope everyone in your family is okay.’ Initially it was a lot of sympathy and was really, really shocking to everybody. They thought that every American they knew somehow was right next to it or living a block away.”
McNeill continued his work as the War in Afghanistan began. Then he watched the invasion of Iraq unfold through the British side of things. “So, I was out of the American fishbowl and watching it through their media. It was so strange.”
“I avoided all conversations of this at work. I didn’t want to even talk about it because they assumed I felt a certain way and I didn’t want to even engage in that type of conversation. That’s not a workplace thing even if it is a news organization.”
“[It] made me realize there are two sides to every story.”
One Heated Protest
“Probably starting in 2002 and 2003 it got to be very heated,” McNeill said. “We were covering things that were unpleasant regarding American and British forces invading Iraq.”
In late February 2003 McNeill was doing some documentary filming at Canterbury Cathedral during the enthronement of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams when, for the first and only time, he pretended not to be American.
“All walks of life there, megaphones, this was the Archbishop of Canterbury’s enthronement. There were members of Parliament, the House of Commons, the members of the royal family were there. [The current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]Tony Blare was there – and that was the major reason why the protest was happening because they knew Tony Blare would attend.”
Among various groups of protesters were individuals protesting the upcoming war in Iraq and the protest became heated.
“It got to the point where it was probably for the best that I just say I was from Canada or something else just because I was nervous about it,” McNeill said. “But at the same time in hindsight I don’t know if my fear was necessary justified because it was a British and American co-operative.
“That was the only time where I did actually make a conscious effort to not even answer the question and say I was from Canada. I said I was Canadian and moved on.”
Ironically the U.K. Prime Minister went through the back of the cathedral. “No one went in through the front,” McNeill said. The Iraq Invasion began in March of 2003.
American vs. English Journalism
“British Journalism – I respect it highly,” McNeill said. “They do have a habit of having sensational headlines. Now suffice to say, sensational headlines appear in their newspapers that are called red tops. Their versions of red tops are the equivalent to our tabloid magazines except they are more news based. They ask pointed questions and they are very, very thorough in their journalism.”
For example: “One high ranking U.S. official came for a press conference and he left because the journalists that were interviewing him were not allowing him to get away with ‘soft responses.’ They weren’t throwing him soft ball questions. They were asking him very direction questions … He left early.
“[The official] was a really seasoned person when it comes to dealing with journalists,” McNeill said. “He was very good at evading questions and I guess [with] the American press if he rebuffs they would press him a bit but then move on. British people never moved on.”
Saying Goodbye
McNeill returned to America in the fall of 2003, and returned to England briefly in spring 2004 before returning to America for good. “The simple fact of the matter was my time was up,” he said. “I have positive memories; I would have loved to have stayed. By the time I left I felt like I made some good friends.”
McNeill began teaching Media Studies at Kennesaw State University in fall 2005. Today he serves as chair of the Owl Radio Executive Board among the variety of courses he teaches.
According McNeill the best part of his experience in England was “working for one of the most prestigious news organizations in the world, even if it was a very, very small affiliate station. I was the most minor of minor people working there… I thought it was really cool to cover some of these world events as they were unfolding.”
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