BBC - Around the World - Ariel's 'Foreign Bureau' - 16 March 2004

By Peter Bowes, Stringer, Los Angeles, 16 March 2004

Working in a time zone that is eight hours behind the UK poses many challenges. Luckily for me, a few years working as a newsreader on the Radio 1 breakfast show ensured that my body clock is permanently attuned to early mornings.

So I am usually at my desk by 6.30am. It is already mid afternoon in the UK and my inbox is bursting with emails. One of my first calls is to the duty editor of 1Xtra’s TX Unlimited.

I do a daily slot wrapping up the day’s US news – anything from the latest rapper in trouble to a report on the LA Lakers basketball team.

Then there is often a package to do for the 5.45pm edition of Newsbeat (9.45am in LA) or a two-way on Five Live Drive. The late night hours usually bring a fresh round of two-ways for breakfast shows.

When I conduct interviews, the venue could be a Beverly Hills hotel for a movie star or the LAPD’s HQ downtown for a feature about gang warfare.

Three years ago my partner and I bought a five-acre ranch in the canyons to the north of LA. For reasons of sanity we have found it a good idea to put some distance between the circus world of Hollywood and our home. At the ranch, coyotes play in the brush while bobcats and the occasional mountain lion prowl in the mountains nearby.

Some people find the tarantulas and rattlesnakes a little scary, but we love the place. We recently installed solar panels on the roof of our barn. With sky high electricity prices in California – and dawn to dusk sunshine – solar energy makes sense.

Hi-tech California is a good place to experiment with new radio technology. We have been field-testing a Zephyr Xport, a codec that connects to a standard phone line but links to an ISDN unit. The result is a remarkably good line from anywhere with a phone point – particularly useful when programmes ask me to set up a guest for a live interview, in quality.

The Oscars have been and gone for another year. Contrary to popular belief, you do not get to drink cocktails with the stars or let your hair down at the parties.

It is a long grind of a night. Media access is tightly controlled and for those of us who provide radio coverage there is a frustrating ban on the use of any audio – live or recorded – during the actual ceremony. That said, there is always a phenomenal amount of interest. This year’s clean sweep by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was a great story for Radio 1 and I presented the entire 12.45 edition of Newsbeat from LA – at 0445 local time.

This year is destined to go down as the year of the celebrity trial. Phil Spector, 70s tv star Robert Blake, LA Lakers player Kobe Bryant, musician R. Kelly and the godfather of soul James Brown, are all due to appear in the dock over the next few months. But the big one will be Michael Jackson’s trial.

The singer’s first appearance in court in January was the most surreal event I have ever covered in my eight years in LA.

I was standing a few metres away when Jackson leapt onto the roof of his 4x4 to blow kisses to his supporters. I was broadcasting live on Five Live at the time, struggling to remain on two feet as the crowd surged forward.

A young fan almost sent my mobile flying as he struggled to get a better view of his idol. ‘He touched me. Michael touched me,’ squealed the teenager.

For better or worse, this story will dominate my world for at least a year.