Seemingly trivial things that cheer you up
Comments
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I must say it's not all that different to interview John Barnes again to say the same things he's been saying on the MSM. What's different is for the interviewer to add that the millionaires taking the knee are supporting defunding the police and dismantling capitalism in addition to the positive things they are protesting about.
Still, will give everyone something to get annoyed about, which is all it's there for, so a big win all round.0 -
Because he says what they want to hear? You see it time and time again on here that people quote the sources that say the things they agree with whilst those who disagree will argue they aren't a reliable source. This is just a more blatant example where the person has effectively come out saying "this is what our audience wants to hear so this is what we are going to tell them".Jezyboy said:Given Rick's (admittedly limited) running through of Neil's positions on big topics, why anyone would value his position as a talking head is beyond me!
Having said that, he is an entertaining interviewer...
I can't help but feel that what makes TV news have to turn towards a lack of balence and towards partiality, is simply the amount of airtime they have to fill.
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Neil is a good and immaculately prepared interviewer. If people come on and try to wing it with him, they look very bad. Any politician who goes to be interviewed by him on GB News will inevitably look stupid, and the clips will be all over the socials.1
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Won't that depend on whether the politicians are saying what their audience wants to hear? If he's going to give unbiased interviews (and I agree he is a good interviewer) that's great but it doesn't seem to fit in with the "being different" aims the channel has stated - he could have kept doing that at the BBC.kingstongraham said:Neil is a good and immaculately prepared interviewer. If people come on and try to wing it with him, they look very bad. Any politician who goes to be interviewed by him on GB News will inevitably look stupid, and the clips will be all over the socials.
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kingstongraham said:
Neil is a good and immaculately prepared interviewer. If people come on and try to wing it with him, they look very bad. Any politician who goes to be interviewed by him on GB News will inevitably look stupid, and the clips will be all over the socials.
This is a good article on him. https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/media/2019/04/more-spectator-rise-andrew-neil
There's no doubt he's a skilled interviewer with a sharp brain, though that's no guarantee against having questionable views.0 -
His twitter during covid made clear that he is as guilty as anyone of mouthing off about things he has no idea about.briantrumpet said:kingstongraham said:Neil is a good and immaculately prepared interviewer. If people come on and try to wing it with him, they look very bad. Any politician who goes to be interviewed by him on GB News will inevitably look stupid, and the clips will be all over the socials.
This is a good article on him. https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/media/2019/04/more-spectator-rise-andrew-neil
There's no doubt he's a skilled interviewer with a sharp brain, though that's no guarantee against having questionable views.
But as a set-piece interviewer, there's nobody better at getting people to put themselves in an awkward position.0 -
a) is it the job of the interviewer to do that andkingstongraham said:I must say it's not all that different to interview John Barnes again to say the same things he's been saying on the MSM. What's different is for the interviewer to add that the millionaires taking the knee are supporting defunding the police and dismantling capitalism in addition to the positive things they are protesting about.
Still, will give everyone something to get annoyed about, which is all it's there for, so a big win all round.
b) are they? In the UK? Certainly not that I'm aware of.0 -
Of course they aren't. The idea that Phil Foden has a political aim of dismantling the entire capitalist system seems unlikely.elbowloh said:
a) is it the job of the interviewer to do that andkingstongraham said:I must say it's not all that different to interview John Barnes again to say the same things he's been saying on the MSM. What's different is for the interviewer to add that the millionaires taking the knee are supporting defunding the police and dismantling capitalism in addition to the positive things they are protesting about.
Still, will give everyone something to get annoyed about, which is all it's there for, so a big win all round.
b) are they? In the UK? Certainly not that I'm aware of.0 -
He was/is a good political interviewer. His persona on Twitter is pretty childish and very full of his own importance.focuszing723 said:The BBC seemed perfectly happy to have him working for them for 25 years!
I'm also in no doubt both of you would have watched his shows over the years.
Employing a wazzock like Neil "lockdown was the greatest mistake in the history of humanity" Oliver suggests he's just interested in reactionary contrarianism rather than considering alternative viewpoints.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
That line alone shows this snippet quote is a load of twaddle.rjsterry said:
He was/is a good political interviewer. His persona on Twitter is pretty childish and very full of his own importance.focuszing723 said:The BBC seemed perfectly happy to have him working for them for 25 years!
I'm also in no doubt both of you would have watched his shows over the years.
Employing a wazzock like Neil "lockdown was the greatest mistake in the history of humanity" Oliver suggests he's just interested in reactionary contrarianism rather than considering alternative viewpoints.0 -
I suppose all publicity is good publicity - and it certainly seems to be getting a fair bit. Keep up the good work folks."I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]1
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Has anyone else watched it? It's admirably dull, and not particularly different from any other news channel's cheap bits, but without the actual news gathering part. They will need to try harder to get any interest.
They'll iron out the issues with outside broadcasts where you can't see because there's not enough lighting or hear because there's not enough microphones.0 -
Just snuck out for 30 miles in wall to wall sunshine, car free roads and a route PB. I think it's my first solo ride over 20 mph.
Now for an espresso and may even think about lighting the bbq for an early lunch, as I have a leg of lamb marinating in the fridge.1 -
I watched some last night, seemed a bit amateurish in terms of production but had a spot of attitude which will have the liberal left masses up in arms so should be good entertainment. The bit where Andrew Neil did the intro was weird because the sound wasn't synching with the pic but that seemed to sort itself later.kingstongraham said:Has anyone else watched it? It's admirably dull, and not particularly different from any other news channel's cheap bits, but without the actual news gathering part. They will need to try harder to get any interest.
They'll iron out the issues with outside broadcasts where you can't see because there's not enough lighting or hear because there's not enough microphones."I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]1 -
Tell that to Cliff Richard.Stevo_666 said:I suppose all publicity is good publicity - and it certainly seems to be getting a fair bit. Keep up the good work folks.
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You mean you disagree with him. I'm surprised at you RJS using emotive languages that. There will be plenty Of time to count the costs and effectiveness or otherwise of lockdowns in years to come when enquiries take place around the world and and after the true picture emerges in terms of cancelled health appointments and screening and the effects on the economy, jobs, mental health etc.rjsterry said:
He was/is a good political interviewer. His persona on Twitter is pretty childish and very full of his own importance.focuszing723 said:The BBC seemed perfectly happy to have him working for them for 25 years!
I'm also in no doubt both of you would have watched his shows over the years.
Employing a wazzock like Neil "lockdown was the greatest mistake in the history of humanity" Oliver suggests he's just interested in reactionary contrarianism rather than considering alternative viewpoints.
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Sorry, which bit is twaddle? Oliver's published views or my reporting of them?focuszing723 said:
That line alone shows this snippet quote is a load of twaddle.rjsterry said:
He was/is a good political interviewer. His persona on Twitter is pretty childish and very full of his own importance.focuszing723 said:The BBC seemed perfectly happy to have him working for them for 25 years!
I'm also in no doubt both of you would have watched his shows over the years.
Employing a wazzock like Neil "lockdown was the greatest mistake in the history of humanity" Oliver suggests he's just interested in reactionary contrarianism rather than considering alternative viewpoints.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19365417.neil-oliver-lockdown-biggest-single-mistake-world-history/?ref=twtrec
It's a shame because he makes very good history programmes, but appears to have been sucked in to being a Twitter commentator.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
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What's laughable, the fact that was your opinion at the start of Covid, "what can governments do anyway"?rick_chasey said:Haha it's laughable.
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Just the sixth form vibe of the whole GB news. Budget production, budget guests, "look at me" statements, half baked conspiracy ideas.focuszing723 said:
What's laughable, the fact that was your opinion at the start of Covid, "what can governments do anyway"?rick_chasey said:Haha it's laughable.
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I'm absolutely certain the same was said at the start of SKY, the streaming services, youtube... They evolve, and now look at them!rick_chasey said:
Just the sixth form vibe of the whole GB news. Budget production, budget guests, "look at me" statements, half baked conspiracy ideas.focuszing723 said:
What's laughable, the fact that was your opinion at the start of Covid, "what can governments do anyway"?rick_chasey said:Haha it's laughable.
It's akin to all the people saying Elon Musk was an idiot for creating SpaceX. Now he's launched 124 successful rockets and gets contracts from NASA!1 -
Two reviews published by the Telegraph....The Great British Breakfast was boring, repetitive and cheapskate – no matter where you sat on the political spectrum
★☆☆☆☆
By Judith Woods
When GB News head honcho Andrew Neil announced he was bringing something new to the table he possibly forgot that people don’t like new things at breakfast.
Breakfast is for toast, Bran Flakes, possibly bacon but definitely not surprises and certainly not a Culture War. The new station, officially launched on Sunday evening, pledged disruption – again, not really a thing unless the pubs are open – and giving ordinary people a voice. Seriously?
For those of us who can barely look our own spouses in the eye before the first coffee of the day, “ordinary people’s voices” had the ominous ring of a threat than a promise.
But as it happened the sound on The Great British Breakfast was so comically bad it was often hard to hear anyone; the outside broadcasts were beset by glitches and amateurish pieces to camera out of synch. The contrast with the breezily (forcefully) enthusiastic delivery of the presenters was so marked I was left hammering the volume up and down on the remote like a demented gamer.
But GB News was playing for real; breakfast time is the battleground on which any new station must fight for ratings and we were assured it would be appointment television. Truthfully the only less palatable appointment I can imagine would be a root canal. Regardless of where you sat on the political spectrum this was unutterably awful; boring, repetitive and cheapskate.
The three anchors did their best. My God, they did their best. On a day when Raheem Sterling ruled after giving England its first ever opening victory in the Euros, GB News didn’t even play any footage of the match.
Hard to claim, then, it was covering the stories “that matter to you”. Instead Kirsty Gallagher (smoky nightclub eyes), Nana Akua (amazing upper arms) and Darren McCaffrey (thwarted mansplainer who needs to work on his facial expression when someone disagrees with him) chit chatted about whether fans who booed players taking the knee were racist.
There was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it drop-in shot but it felt miserly. Because it was. Why stump up the cash for proper clips when you can rely on presenters?
Their sheer staying power was reminiscent of the old-fashioned voiceovers for the Lord Mayor’s Show – endless filling-in during the interminable longueurs. I suspect the makeup lady rushes in with emergency foil blankets during the ad breaks.
Meanwhile over on BBC Breakfast, there was a jolly item on the auction of the tiny yellow 30D bikini that pinged off Barbara Windsor in Carry on Camping. I wish I could haver stayed longer but I was contractually obliged to return to GB News and it was back to the same discussion about the easing – or not – of lockdown. Of course it was.
The Great British Breakfast's Rosie Wright live at the Borders Distillery in Hawick to see what impact the pandemic had on production and how drinking and spending habits have changed over the last 18 months pic.twitter.com/owS1lFTT05
McCaffrey wanted Freedom Day to go ahead on June 21. Akua felt we should wait. There’s proof of balance for you, folks. There were vanishingly few facts and figures, just feelings. Strongly-held admittedly, but feelings nonetheless.
Across on Good Morning Britain, where professional contrarian Piers Morgan’s loss echoes mournfully round the studio, they had Richard Madeley getting aerated. Nothing new in that but at least the set was brightly lit; the Stygian gloom of The Great British Breakfast would presumably explain Gallagher’s smouldering kohl.
I really didn’t want to go back but at least I had Rosie Wright, an award-winning defector from Euronews, to look forward to. She was TV gold and her microphone (mostly) worked as she reported on major happenings in Hawick.
Why Hawick? That’s the People’s Agenda for you. In terms of regional reach, the programme did quite well but it was all so unremittingly dreary that I struggled to engage; I never thought I’d miss graphics and whizzy special effects and busyness but I did.
The show ran an exclusive interview with Priti Patel which gave the Home Secretary an easier ride than she would have had on Woman’s Hour. I can only assume this was in order to reassure big hitters than GB News is friend not foe, still, it felt like an opportunity wasted.
The Great British Breakfast is unlikely to blast the opposition out of the water unless someone – one of those investors who live abroad – pumps a lot more money into it and switches on the lights. Optics matter at 6am. So does sound quality. Headlines would be a help too. Especially in the morning. But who am I to quibble with the GB News vision of a news channel without rolling news?
If GB News is to succeed then it will by dint of its late night discussion programmes and irreverent takedowns of wokery not this early morning dross. Spectator chairman Neil is obviously convinced his crack team producers, presenters and journalists are up to an audacious breakfast challenge. Shame the audience isn’t. Pass the marmalade, Kirsty.
On launch night, the GB News message came through loud and clear – despite glitches
★★★★☆
By Chris Bennion
Andrew Neil could hardly have picked a more auspicious day to launch GB News. The weather was glorious, England beat Croatia in the Euros (plus Wales and Scotland, variously, are still unbeaten in the tournament) and it was a Sunday in which most Britons will have been feeling pretty chipper. Could Neil’s right-leaning, fast-talking live news channel, which aims to take on the leftie, “woke” orthodoxy of mainstream British media, have asked for a better start?
Well, yes, frankly. The sound was often out of sync, one presenter suffered a microphone failure, Sir Alan Sugar disappeared one word into his interview and the sets looked as if they had been hastily cobbled together (which, of course, they have been). However, at this early stage the glitches may well have boosted GB News’s cause, giving more credence to the idea that they are “disruptors”, outsiders taking on the slick establishment. The BBC doesn’t have glitches.
Proceedings began at 8pm, with an introductory hour in which Neil chitchatted with the talent, allowing various presenters to set out their stall ahead of their debut shows. First, however, we got a five-minute monologue from Chairman Neil, in which he stared us down through the camera and laid out exactly what was going on. The set-up felt vaguely North Korean.
Neil didn’t tell us anything new, but that was beside the point. This was a chance to nail down GB News’s core values, which he has been trumpeting for weeks. “This will not be an echo chamber for the metropolitan mindset,” he said. Neither, he said, will it be Fox News.
Neil, however, revealed himself with a couple of gags. “We are proud to be British,” he said. “We won’t forget what the B in our title stands for.” Touche. The mission statement, Neil told us, is to “inform, inspire and entertain”, simultaneously cocking a snook at the BBC’s Reithian principles while subtly having a dig at Beeb execs for forgetting them.
The introductory hour was hamstrung by the fact that most presenters could only talk in vague soundbites and sentiment - “I’m passionate about what’s been going on in the world,” said Michelle Dewberry - but it was reassuring to see the reliable old hands assemble: Colin Brazier, Alastair Stewart, Simon McCoy. All of them full of humour, vim and a little twinkle.
Could one of them perhaps, or Neil himself, have fronted GB News’s first show proper? The 9pm slot on a Sunday belongs to former Sun showbiz man Dan Wootton, one of GB News’s big-name signings, and when Neil’s introduction was over we launched into Tonight Live.
Wootton has his strengths, but with Neil having spent an hour stressing that GB News would be grown-up, responsible and level-headed, what the channel cried out for was the firmest hand on the tiller from the go. If you were unsure about GB News’s claims of impartiality, you needed Brazier or McCoy to take your hand on the first night. Wootton will have scared a few nervous horses.
He did, however, provide entertainment, and never more so than in his chaotic Zoom call with Sugar, who branded Keir Starmer a “nutter” and, when asked if he’d taken the knee, retorted: “Where would I have taken the knee? Sainsbury’s? What a stupid question.” GB News could do worse than snap Lord Sugar up as a regular.
The nit-pickers and naysayers won’t be convinced by any of it, but Wootton’s opening speech - Dan’s Digest - held the key to GB News’s potential future success. Wootton was furious at the idea of another delay to pandemic restrictions. Many watching will have been too. Forget the glitches - GB News is already speaking their language.0 -
lol are you really into this GB news? hahaha, enjoy it mate.focuszing723 said:
I'm absolutely certain the same was said at the start of SKY, the streaming services, youtube... They evolve, and now look at them!rick_chasey said:
Just the sixth form vibe of the whole GB news. Budget production, budget guests, "look at me" statements, half baked conspiracy ideas.focuszing723 said:
What's laughable, the fact that was your opinion at the start of Covid, "what can governments do anyway"?rick_chasey said:Haha it's laughable.
It's akin to all the people saying Elon Musk was an idiot for creating SpaceX. Now he's launched 124 successful rockets and gets contracts from NASA!
Hopefully it will stop the whiners complaining they can't get their thick-as-sh!t populist nonsense parroted back at them.
The only person in the real world I know who is really into this is the same guy who feels the British race is literally under threat from immigrants and that white people have to protect their soil.
He also calls himself left-wing, and I keep telling my parents to stop associating with him. He's in a debating group with my old man (where all this nonsense appeared) and they share articles - his are almost exclusively unherd and spiked - go figure.
He also used the "MSM" acronym as I had to explain it to my father.
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I am enjoying the confusion on the faces of GB News' London hosts when their regional reporters are reporting back that most people are quite comfortable with covid restrictions being extended and that it seems sensible to move cautiously.
Think I'm done with it for now though - it's all painfully amateurish.0 -
At a BBQ yesterday and the people we were with were saying how for them this level of lockdown was absolutely ideal - they can do all the things they like (save for travelling abroad, which was a miss), going to pubs etc, but there's no pressure to go into the office or see anyone you don't like - the perfect get out.kingstongraham said:I am enjoying the confusion on the faces of GB News' London hosts when their regional reporters are reporting back that most people are quite comfortable with covid restrictions being extended and that it seems sensible to move cautiously.
Think I'm done with it for now though - it's all painfully amateurish.0 -
Actually, my first comment about GB News was I thought it was amateurish and there is nothing wrong with trying to get a balanced opinion. I see you glossed over that, still got your Dutch/EU orange sunglasses on.rick_chasey said:
lol are you really into this GB news? hahaha, enjoy it mate.focuszing723 said:
I'm absolutely certain the same was said at the start of SKY, the streaming services, youtube... They evolve, and now look at them!rick_chasey said:
Just the sixth form vibe of the whole GB news. Budget production, budget guests, "look at me" statements, half baked conspiracy ideas.focuszing723 said:
What's laughable, the fact that was your opinion at the start of Covid, "what can governments do anyway"?rick_chasey said:Haha it's laughable.
It's akin to all the people saying Elon Musk was an idiot for creating SpaceX. Now he's launched 124 successful rockets and gets contracts from NASA!
Hopefully it will stop the whiners complaining they can't get their thick-as-sh!t populist nonsense parroted back at them.
The only person in the real world I know who is really into this is the same guy who feels the British race is literally under threat from immigrants and that white people have to protect their soil.
He also calls himself left-wing, and I keep telling my parents to stop associating with him. He's in a debating group with my old man (where all this nonsense appeared) and they share articles - his are almost exclusively unherd and spiked - go figure.
He also used the "MSM" acronym as I had to explain it to my father.1 -
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The UK government received a lot of criticism for its purchase of One Web, but there now appears to be a reasonable amount of interest in it from other countries.focuszing723 said:
I'm absolutely certain the same was said at the start of SKY, the streaming services, youtube... They evolve, and now look at them!rick_chasey said:
Just the sixth form vibe of the whole GB news. Budget production, budget guests, "look at me" statements, half baked conspiracy ideas.focuszing723 said:
What's laughable, the fact that was your opinion at the start of Covid, "what can governments do anyway"?rick_chasey said:Haha it's laughable.
It's akin to all the people saying Elon Musk was an idiot for creating SpaceX. Now he's launched 124 successful rockets and gets contracts from NASA!
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While I broadly share your view, I think you're getting a bit hysterical now.rick_chasey said:lol it's a self proclaimed right-leaning news outlet.
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That would be great, if that could be turned into a success.TheBigBean said:
The UK government received a lot of criticism for its purchase of One Web, but there now appears to be a reasonable amount of interest in it from other countries.focuszing723 said:
I'm absolutely certain the same was said at the start of SKY, the streaming services, youtube... They evolve, and now look at them!rick_chasey said:
Just the sixth form vibe of the whole GB news. Budget production, budget guests, "look at me" statements, half baked conspiracy ideas.focuszing723 said:
What's laughable, the fact that was your opinion at the start of Covid, "what can governments do anyway"?rick_chasey said:Haha it's laughable.
It's akin to all the people saying Elon Musk was an idiot for creating SpaceX. Now he's launched 124 successful rockets and gets contracts from NASA!0
