The format at work which I find the most challenging - but which can also be the most interesting - is the reportage. It is essentially a five minute documentary, and involves going out onto the 'terrain' i.e out of the office, to talk to people and get lots of 'sons d'ambiance'. More on that later...
A couple of weeks ago I did a reportage on the Commemoration of the shooting of the '50 Otages' who were part of the French resistance in Nantes during the Second World War. Obviously, this is a very important topic and I wanted to do it justice. However, after missing the initial memorial ceremony due to getting the time wrong and consequently spending a long while desperately searching the recycle bin at work for the information I'd written down, I was quite worried that I would have no material whatsoever.
Luckily, thanks to the kindness of my colleagues, I found myself at a second memorial ceremony in a suburb of Nantes, which I missed almost entirely due to the 'Chronobus' taking a mysterious detour in what seemed to be a route that went back on itself. Alas, I fear I will never understand the Chronobus, nor the Busway, nor the Bicloo or the other hybrid-named Nantes public transport systems. I hitched a ride back into the city centre with a bus full of war veterans wearing copious medals. I felt very out of place indeed but it was really interesting to talk them.
Once the bus had disembarked I was directed towards 'le Colonel', a man who must have been at least in his 90s and seemed to be almost completely deaf. He began to tell me about how he had fought in the French Resistance, helping to liberate France from German Occupation. I was pretty astounded, obviously - having spent a large amount of time studying French History, it was of course incredible to meet him...
But as I walked away, a man ran up behind me urging me to wait. He was a local historian and he wanted to tell me that this man was an impostor. It was a very sensitive issue, he explained. The 'Colonel' often showed up to such commemorative events. Most people weren't aware of the truth behind his story, but the historian had done extensive research and had found that in fact there was no evidence at all of this man's participation in the Resistance. If anything, he added, he had most probably worked with the Vichy government.
As a young history student this was pretty astounding to me. Of course I knew that many people in France bent the truth about what they, or their families, actually did in the War. But it was a different matter to experience it in person. It made me realize just how important the memory of la deuxieme guerre remains today for France.
Here is the reportage if you are interested.
This is a reason why I like working at the radio - I have encountered people, and situations, that I would never otherwise come across. Coming up next: What racehorses eat before big competitions...
A couple of weeks ago I did a reportage on the Commemoration of the shooting of the '50 Otages' who were part of the French resistance in Nantes during the Second World War. Obviously, this is a very important topic and I wanted to do it justice. However, after missing the initial memorial ceremony due to getting the time wrong and consequently spending a long while desperately searching the recycle bin at work for the information I'd written down, I was quite worried that I would have no material whatsoever.
Luckily, thanks to the kindness of my colleagues, I found myself at a second memorial ceremony in a suburb of Nantes, which I missed almost entirely due to the 'Chronobus' taking a mysterious detour in what seemed to be a route that went back on itself. Alas, I fear I will never understand the Chronobus, nor the Busway, nor the Bicloo or the other hybrid-named Nantes public transport systems. I hitched a ride back into the city centre with a bus full of war veterans wearing copious medals. I felt very out of place indeed but it was really interesting to talk them.
Once the bus had disembarked I was directed towards 'le Colonel', a man who must have been at least in his 90s and seemed to be almost completely deaf. He began to tell me about how he had fought in the French Resistance, helping to liberate France from German Occupation. I was pretty astounded, obviously - having spent a large amount of time studying French History, it was of course incredible to meet him...
But as I walked away, a man ran up behind me urging me to wait. He was a local historian and he wanted to tell me that this man was an impostor. It was a very sensitive issue, he explained. The 'Colonel' often showed up to such commemorative events. Most people weren't aware of the truth behind his story, but the historian had done extensive research and had found that in fact there was no evidence at all of this man's participation in the Resistance. If anything, he added, he had most probably worked with the Vichy government.
As a young history student this was pretty astounding to me. Of course I knew that many people in France bent the truth about what they, or their families, actually did in the War. But it was a different matter to experience it in person. It made me realize just how important the memory of la deuxieme guerre remains today for France.
Here is the reportage if you are interested.
This is a reason why I like working at the radio - I have encountered people, and situations, that I would never otherwise come across. Coming up next: What racehorses eat before big competitions...
This experience perfectly encapsulates Marx's statement that History repeats itself twice:the first time as tragedy the second time as farce.
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