大象传媒

Fifty years ago this year, Westminster Abbey played host to a remarkable occasion, a memorial service for a mere journalist and broadcaster. The Abbey was packed. Hundreds of members of the public stood outside in the cold and wet to pay their respects to someone they saw as a trusted friend, Richard Dimbleby.

In this programme, Jonathan Dimbleby dips into the extensive treasure-chest of his father's work, dating back to the 1930s, when Dimbleby Sr boldly wrote to the 大象传媒 to propose the idea of such a thing as a 'radio reporter' and promptly got the job he'd envisaged. Right from the start, he displayed a remarkable natural flair for bringing reports alive through his choice of language, facility for painting vivid pictures and ability to improvise under pressure.

Richard Dimbleby was the 大象传媒's first-ever out-and-about radio reporter, cutting his teeth by reporting live from a telephone box on the burning down of Crystal Palace. He was the Corporation's first war correspondent and air correspondent during the Second World War, remembered for flying with bombers, reporting the horrors of the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp and sitting in Hitler's chair. Dimbleby pioneered the art of broadcast commentary on major national events, describing the Coronation of Elizabeth II and the funerals of Winston Churchill and John F Kennedy. When the Telstar satellite enabled live trans-Atlantic television, there was Dimbleby to host a debut programme. And who was in Red Square to host the first live tv broadcast from Moscow?

Dimbleby was the first to perfect the art of anchoring General Election results broadcasts and was a major factor in turning a faltering Panorama programme into essential viewing for millions in the depths of the Cold War. As a radio personality, he graced Down Your Way as presenter and Twenty Questions as panellist.

'Assisting Jonathan Dimbleby in assessing his father's talents are three leading figures in post-war broadcasting - Sir Paul Fox, Sir Jeremy Isaacs and Michael Peacock.

Produced by Andrew Green
A Falling Tree production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.