Newscasting: Dimbleby the Second

The ritual of most British television commentators is as fixed and inflexible as the Nelson Monument, and it calls for a straight face and unwavering tone before even the obvious follies of the mighty. The broadcaster who established the form was the late Richard Dimbleby, the eloquent voice of Britain whose specialty was such sonorous events as the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill. Last week Dimbleby the Second — Richard's 30-year-old son David — revised the ritual for the BBC. To mark Richard Nixon's visit to Britain, he gave the President of...