Sir David Attenborough has been part of the global media landscape for decades. Now 94 years old, Sir David began his career with the BBC back in 1952, and has been a household name since. But just as he has kept up with the changes in our physical landscape, he has now ventured into the new and changed media landscape.
Joining Instagram over the weekend, posting his first post, Sir David instantly broke an Instagram record, gaining over one million followers in just four hours and 44 minutes. The previous record, held by Friends star Jennifer Anniston, was sitting at five hours and 16 minutes. However Sir David’s first post, a to camera piece addressing the viewers about the current climate crisis sweeping the world, was enough to rocket him to the top spot.
In just three days, the veteran of the screen and airwaves has reached 4.4 million followers, with his first post explaining that “Saving our planet is now a communications challenge.”
“I am making this move and exploring this new way of communication to me because, as we all know, the world is in trouble,” he said.
“Continents are on fire. Glaciers are melting. Coral reefs are dying. Fish are disappearing from our oceans. The list goes on and on. Saving our planet is now a communications challenge.”
Working alongside collaborators Jonnie Hughes, BBC film-maker, and Colin Butfield, of the World Wildlife Fund, Sir David’s latest media adventure is being used to celebrate his almost 70 year career, as well as raise awareness about his latest film and book, which is a direct look at how the world has changed in his time studying ecology and bringing the stories of our planet and its inhabitants into our homes.
“Social media isn’t David’s usual habitat,” wrote Hughes and Butfield. “So while he’s recorded messages solely for Instagram, like the one in this post, we’re helping to run this account.”
Sir David Attenborough has witnessed first hand the way the climate and our world has changed, offering unique and experienced insight into what has happened, and what can be done. In the words of the man himself, he intends to use his new and booming account to show us “what the problems are and how we can deal with them”.
And while entering this new age of media, Sir David has kept true to his more traditional media values, signing off his first ever post with an invitation.
“Join me – or as we used to say in those early days of radio, stay tuned”.
Image Source: Sir David Attenborough Instagram @davidattenborough
