Rachel McCrum - 5 O'Clock Poem #4

I met BBC Scotland Newsdrive presenter Bill Whiteford in passing on my very first day at BBC Scotland’s HQ in Glasgow. An invitation was cast to visit the Newsroom, and have a look at the operation there, .The more I thought about it, the more a challenge seemed to present itself. Could I write a poem in the style of a news bulletin, at the pace at which news reports are put together and broadcast? Poetry tends to get thought of as a slow artform, taking time to mull over, reflect, pull things together slowly. Time to shake that up a little.

This week saw me take up that invitation and present myself at the newsroom in Glasgow’s Pacific Quay, the largest BBC news hub in Scotland. There is a constant stream of background noise, multiple news channels playing on various screens dotted around the place, people on telephones or live editing interviews on their computers, conversations and discussions. Time moves quickly here – the day punctuated by bulletins and summaries. I’m taken on a whistle-stop tour of the floor by presenters Bill Whiteford and John Beattie via the news gathering hub to the studios. Reporters and presenters sit cheek by jowl with editors and producers. Everyone is part of a team and has serious focus.

Bill and I chat briefly about the specific language of the news vs the language of poetry. He's interested in this: could the news be made more poetic, more memorable? I'd argue it has to be the opposite, by its very nature. The language in which the news is written or presented has to be as unambiguous as possible, to be understood in the same way by as many people as possible. He sends me off with a copy of the BBC style guide, and I start to understand how incredibly specific this language is. Present perfect and present continuous tense preferred. Active, not passive tense. Subject Verb Object. No jargon.

People trust the news. People need to trust that they're hearing the same thing. In a way, it's a community that every listener belongs to: they all hear and share the same story.

On the other side, I find it interesting how much jargon and shorthand is used off air in the Newsroom. It's another sort of community, the ones who deal in the news and, like any community, a specific language acts as a bonding element. 'We understand this: we are together: this is impenetrable to those not in this community.' Talk of copy, cues and clips, voicers and wraps, donuts and windows, pol corrs (political correspondents) and packages.

I have two hours to write a poem. I listen to a few old news headlines, and think about all of the above. There is an idea unfurling, a certain mischief to be made here. The result 'The Five O'Clock Poem' is, I think, one of my favourites of the residency so far.

This is the five o'clock poem.
Good evening.

Almost everything that has happened today
is in the five o'clock poem.

Trust in it being the truth.
This is the five o'clock poem.

The five o'clock poem began somewhere sometime ago.
The five o'clock poem has been scooped and hacked.

All jargon has been removed from the five o'clock poem.
The five o'clock poem has been meticulously researched.

The reporter has recorded a feature on the five o'clock poem.
The editor has sighed over the five o'clock poem.

The five o'clock poem has been torn from typewriters and tape.
A webpage has been produced about the five o'clock poem.

But first, the five o'clock poem.

Downing Street has denied the five o'clock poem.
Video footage has emerged of the five o'clock poem.
Police have raided the headquarters of the five o'clock poem.
The Education Secretary has announced the testing of the five o'clock poem.
The death has been announced of the five o'clock poem.

This has been the five o'clock poem.
Good evening.