October 2, 2007 12:10

World, This Is America. America, Have You Met the World?

Matt Frei, international anchor of mystery. Sean McCormick / BBC Worldwide

The title of BBC World News America needs a comma between "News" and "America." As in: This is what world news looks like, America. Do you remember it?

I exaggerate slightly, but last night's inaugural newscast on BBC America was relatively light on the "America" and heavy on the world news that has famously been disappearing from American media outlets, on TV and elsewhere. And while this serious but stylish broadcast is not going to challenge Brian, Charlie and Katie anytime soon, I wouldn't be surprised if there turns out to be a decent, international-news-starved audience for the show. [Update: There is, of course, the CNN International hour on CNN. It just spent three minutes on Britney Spears' losing custody of her kids.]

The newscast, anchored by Matt Frei, kicked off with long reported pieces from Sudan and Burma (a name that the BBC, whether out of habit or charming colonial nostalgia, continues to prefer to Myanmar). It followed with long interview with former Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto, and another, with Laura Bush, that focused largely on international issues. There were a few domestic stories as well, but they--such as one on the John Edwards campaign in Iowa--felt more perfunctory and elementary to someone who follows U.S. political news regularly. (A little like reading the U.S. news in the Economist.)

Not to belabor the comparison with The PBS NewsHour--which isn't a for-profit competitor--but the long pieces on World News America resembled PBS' format more than the network evening news', with the important exception that the BBC news had more reported segments and fewer in-studio talking heads. (A function, I would assume, of the BBC News organization's bigger bankroll.) Like PBS, the BBC newscast also places less emphasis on flashy visuals, yet the BBC has always been good at putting non-telegenic stuff (phone interviews, etc.) in a crisp, contemporary package--its graphic designers know what they're doing.

Substantively, the show's interviewers seem to have a more aggressive, pugnacious style than the sometimes punch-pulling PBS crew. Frei, for instance, pushed Bhutto relentlessly on the question of whether, if restored to power, she would let the U.S. military grab bin Laden on Pakistani soil--a touchy hypothetical she did her best to dodge. (She'd have to say the evidence that they knew where he was, she said. Let's assume it's overwhelming, he pressed. Well, she'd prefer that Pakistan handle the job itself, but if necessary, they might co-operate--So that's a yes? he pushed.)

However it's packaged, of course, the audience for an international news broadcast on a digital cable station is probably small. But not necessarily worthless. The advertising for the first night of the show assumed a wealthy niche audience: Lexus, Credit Suisse, India and Qatar tourism. BBC World News America may be brand-new, but it already achieved one victory over the Americans. Those all beat Metamucil.