There are a couple of specific memories that I have about Turnill. One was the voice and its delivery. There was a bite and acuity about it. It conveyed a sense of import. A notion that his current topic was important, worth paying attention to; and that certainly was the case in developments such as the space programme and the Concorde project.
In that respect he was akin to the likes of Charles Wheeler.
Another aspect of his career was his proficiency as a reporter and a broadcast journalist with a striking ability to take a big picture and render it in crayon terms, though not for a moment with any hint of 'Blue Peter' or 'Newsround' paring down. The nuance and the detail of each new stride, or set-back, was still there and the audience felt they had a grasp of the essentials without feeling they had been patronised at all.
While he didn't quite enjoy the celebrity of, say, an Alastair Cooke, or a James Cameron, he certainly had their same ability to communicate and connect with the audience.
What other explanation is there for the fact that a broadcaster whose time wholly pre-dates the digital era is so fondly and widely recalled today, decades later.
In that respect he was akin to the likes of Charles Wheeler.
Another aspect of his career was his proficiency as a reporter and a broadcast journalist with a striking ability to take a big picture and render it in crayon terms, though not for a moment with any hint of 'Blue Peter' or 'Newsround' paring down. The nuance and the detail of each new stride, or set-back, was still there and the audience felt they had a grasp of the essentials without feeling they had been patronised at all.
While he didn't quite enjoy the celebrity of, say, an Alastair Cooke, or a James Cameron, he certainly had their same ability to communicate and connect with the audience.
What other explanation is there for the fact that a broadcaster whose time wholly pre-dates the digital era is so fondly and widely recalled today, decades later.
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