Appalling English: this time on live TV - the Vienna Opera Ball 2010

Sometimes I do regret not owning a TV. The live reports from last night’s Vienna Opera Ball were one of these rare occasions since this broadcast would have given me enough material for my blog for the next three weeks.




I know it’s not a nice thing to point out the obvious and don't we all hate to hear "I told you so". Nevertheless: if I were a TV journalist covering the Vienna Opera Ball on live TV, something that at least in Austria will get a few people tuning in, then I would try and be prepared.

Come on, prepping your interview ideas is the expected norm. If you are planning on speaking to an English native, why not think of a few questions beforehand and get them translated? That's what journalism is about: being prepared, asking clever questions.

Or if you already know your English is not up to scratch: ask someone to do a little language training with you beforehand - even if it is just an old friend who happens to live abroad, they might be happy to do you the favour?

And if I were the ORF - the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation: today I would be asking why did we not hire a journalist or a TV presenter who was actually able to hold a conversation in fluent English?

Ok, maybe that is asking a little too much... But why not bring a certified English interpreter on to the broadcast? It is the Vienna Opera Ball - it is in general an event that gets at least some media coverage, even if it is just to point out the controversial aspects of the event...

So you see there were so many options for not making that kind of impression on live TV. And really: there are no excuses. In any bog-standard job interview you will be tested on your ability to speak English. It's not asking all that much of people who report live on TV and have to do so in a foreign language.