What's gotten lost in all the crosstalk about what this clip represents in terms of Kelly's work-life balance, or his wife's parenting skills, or just the general adorableness of their daughter's dance moves, is the fact that this was a perfectly architected social media blockbuster. BBC host James Menendez, who was interviewing Kelly when the kids waltzed in, admitted later that he could have cut away from the interview but decided to keep going to see what would happen next. He must have realized it would make a terrific viral video.
Minutes after the interview was broadcast, BBC News producer David Waddell tweeted at Kelly, "Nicely handled interruption, Professor! Do you have any objection to me sharing the clip of that moment on BBC News?" Kelly, who later described himself as mortified and worried the BBC would never contact him again, replied with confusion: "What would that mean, please? Re-broadcasting it on BBC TV, or just here on Twitter? Is this kinda thing that goes 'viral' and gets weird?" The answer, as it turned out, was yes and yes. The video blew up, especially in Korea, where a public reeling from political scandal was eager for comic relief of any kind.
The BBC built this meme out of its own blooper, but not just for the sake of slapstick gold. Kelly's interview, now known as "the BBC dad" video, also underscores how much of today's news is reported by ordinary people. Populist leaders throughout the world are trying to paint the media as a powerful adversary, an "opposition party" that can take on governments. But the reality is that the media relies on mostly underpaid experts working in their home offices. The kids are just outside the door, waltzing in when they can.
NPR producer Linda Holmes said Kelly's experience on TV is a direct result of democratizing access to media and getting more voices into a story. Writing on Twitter, she said:
When you decide whom to use as sources, you make a profound decision. The more perfect, predictable, the more IDEAL the setup must be, the fewer people will be able to do it. Do you have a radio-quality phone line? Can we get a producer to you? All these things affect what breadth of humans you can talk to. Being open to stuff like people in home studios where kids might bust in is a thing that, to me, is important as part of not requiring everything to be super-perfect if the trade-off is the right guest.
Sure, the BBC could have brought in some political expert from London. But instead they wanted a well-informed commentator, immersed in the issues and living Korea. So they picked a guy whose knowledge was much greater than his access to recording technology. The result, as Holmes noted, is not "super-perfect." But Kelly, who writes a blog about security issues in Korea as well as teaching political science, was the perfect person to talk about how the ouster of Park Geun-hye might affect relations between North and South Korea.
Then, in just a few seconds, Kelly demonstrated what countless commentators on the news never could. Reporters and experts are just average folks with families and Skype connections. The charmingly wholesome BBC dad video reveals that broadcasting the news isn't a subversive activity done by paid operatives. It's something that regular folks do, just to share what they know before putting the kids to bed. Considered in that light, it's easy to see why the BBC didn't consider the episode a humiliating disaster. Instead it was the perfect opportunity to manufacture a pro-media meme.
Listing image by AFP
10 Reader Comments
...that was part of the attraction and helped make it more popular. We all slow down to watch accidents and this was no different.
Plus his kids were adorable. You can't beat that!
It's precisely because he did not handle it perfectly that lend the entire situation an aura of authenticity, and that authenticity is the best argument, the best meme, against those who sought to discredit the media.
What is this assertion based on? Doubtless it's true in some cases. But there's quite a few talking heads who are NOT underpaid and are elevated to insane celebrity levels.
This line reminded me of Warren Ellis' Global Frequency. Shame the TV series never materialized (beyond the leaked pilot).
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