Words Dept.: entry

God love BBC business editor Robert Peston, whose broad range of bizarre vocal ticks brings a light touch to news of even the most dire financial crisis. His willingness to experiment with the boundaries of word and syllable emphasis within a given sentence never ceases to amuse. You sit there waiting for it to die down but then it pops up again. Sort of like hiccups.

Peston’s hair is also entertaining enough to distract from the recent shit storm of appalling business headlines. He seems to have slightly misaligned his side parting, meaning a few strands permanently drift downwards on to his forehead – with hilarious consequences! This, together with a fondness for colourful polyester ties, gives the impression of an alcoholic English literature teacher in a failing comprehensive, rather than the most esteemed business journalist in the UK.

I personally enjoy hearing about what Peston has “learned” on a day-to-day basis and like the way he always tells us that he has “learned” something interesting within the first three lines of his reports. First he “learned” about Northern Rock getting a bail-out from the Bank of England, then he “learned” about the merger of HBOS and Lloyds TSB and last night he “learned” about Banco Santander acquiring part of Bradford & Bingley.

Interestingly, Peston’s own blog scooped BBC One’s Sunday night bulletin by a surely-not-coincidental one minute with that last story. I’m not sure what this means. But it must mean something.