Jonathan Harley’s chapter, Death by Buffet, in his book Lost in Transmission successfully uses the first person to tell the larger story of the frustration, politics, smoke and mirrors he encounters in his life as a foreign correspondent. The incidental or inner stories along the way are also recounted. The result is a funny, moving, real-life account of the people at the coalface of these conflicts.
The article is fleshed out by his observations, the first person narrative humanises the story, it gives us connections with these people. His own reactions also add to the telling of the story. His thoughts about the widowed woman, his anger and frustration with the hotel porter, the diplomacy required to keep his staff happy. Even unflattering admissions add an air of authenticity to the story. He wonders if the job will help him mature “…put chalk on ya bones” as he struggles to leave behind a fledgling romance. These are not things I would normally wonder about the foreign correspondent speaking to me through the radio or the television or the Age. The first person narrative actually humanises the journalist as well.
In this scenario, long-form writing, the style works admirably. It wouldn’t work in a shorter news forum, and is completely inappropriate for a hard news piece. But for Harley, whose self-deprecation is sufficiently amusing without crossing into pap, his voice resonates with an informative calibre and relaxed style.
Of Note: Lost in Transmission is also the name of the Leaping Larry’s Monday Age sports column that attempts to translate the tongue-tangled tautologies and mangled Mondegrens uttered over the weekend by our not-so-bright footy commentators. It’s a humourous finger point at the ineptitude of the media.
