Post by Teddy Bear on Mar 25, 2013 21:44:41 GMT
Not a lot of grey area in this article.
'Vacuous, gushing nitwits' are ruining the BBC's arts output, warn two of Britain's leading arts experts
By Damien Gayle
BBC cultural programmes are fronted by 'nitwits' whose 'vacuous, gushing' contributions to broadcasts overshadow the topics they are supposed to be covering, two leading arts experts said.
Art critic Brian Sewell said he 'loathed' the public service broadcaster for its treatment of culture, saying it failed to replace the experience offered by books and museums.
His comments were echoed by Sir Roy Strong, former director of the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum, who accused the BBC the 'outrageous exploitation' of academics.
Both were speaking at the Oxford Literary festival, which took place all last week at the city's world-renowned university, the Telegraph reported.
'I am sick to death of doing television broadcasts fronted by nitwits,' said Sir Roy. 'It seems as thought they've got a set of people who just turn up all the time on everything.'
Mr Sewell singled out the performance of Fiona Bruce on the 2011 documentary Da Vinci: The Lost Treasure.
'The most unforgivable thing the BBC ever did was spend an hour talking about Leonardo...' he complained. 'And it is fronted by that vacuous woman gushing.'
Sir Roy told the audience he had refused to have anything to do with the production of the documentary.
Mr Sewell accused the BBC of trying to replace the experience of buying a book, going to a library or visiting museums and cultural venues like Buckingham Palace.
'All you do is watch television and that is it in a nutshell. But that's a nutshell that I think is no good to anybody.'
The criticisms are just the latest attack launched by Mr Sewell on the quality of the BBC's cultural output.
In an article for the Daily Mail published two years ago, he accused the broadcaster of issuing 'diktats which insist every programme be dumbed-down in the endless quest for mass-market appeal.'
'In measuring success only by the number of its listeners or watchers, the BBC proves the first director-general of the BBC, Lord Reith, right in his belief that the audience will follow the corporation's lead,' he wrote.
'Lead uphill and the audience will do its best to follow, but the number may be slow to grow. 'Lead downhill and an ever-increasing audience will rush downhill, like the biblical Gadarene swine, to follow.
'If entertainment is all that matters, then so be it. Abandon the BBC licence fee and let it become commercial.'
- Brian Sewell and Sir Roy Strong spoke at the Oxford Literary Festival
- Mr Sewell said he 'loathed' the BBC for its coverage of the arts
- Sir Roy accuses broadcaster of 'outrageous exploitation' of academics
By Damien Gayle
BBC cultural programmes are fronted by 'nitwits' whose 'vacuous, gushing' contributions to broadcasts overshadow the topics they are supposed to be covering, two leading arts experts said.
Art critic Brian Sewell said he 'loathed' the public service broadcaster for its treatment of culture, saying it failed to replace the experience offered by books and museums.
His comments were echoed by Sir Roy Strong, former director of the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum, who accused the BBC the 'outrageous exploitation' of academics.
Both were speaking at the Oxford Literary festival, which took place all last week at the city's world-renowned university, the Telegraph reported.
'I am sick to death of doing television broadcasts fronted by nitwits,' said Sir Roy. 'It seems as thought they've got a set of people who just turn up all the time on everything.'
Mr Sewell singled out the performance of Fiona Bruce on the 2011 documentary Da Vinci: The Lost Treasure.
'The most unforgivable thing the BBC ever did was spend an hour talking about Leonardo...' he complained. 'And it is fronted by that vacuous woman gushing.'
Sir Roy told the audience he had refused to have anything to do with the production of the documentary.
Mr Sewell accused the BBC of trying to replace the experience of buying a book, going to a library or visiting museums and cultural venues like Buckingham Palace.
'All you do is watch television and that is it in a nutshell. But that's a nutshell that I think is no good to anybody.'
The criticisms are just the latest attack launched by Mr Sewell on the quality of the BBC's cultural output.
In an article for the Daily Mail published two years ago, he accused the broadcaster of issuing 'diktats which insist every programme be dumbed-down in the endless quest for mass-market appeal.'
'In measuring success only by the number of its listeners or watchers, the BBC proves the first director-general of the BBC, Lord Reith, right in his belief that the audience will follow the corporation's lead,' he wrote.
'Lead uphill and the audience will do its best to follow, but the number may be slow to grow. 'Lead downhill and an ever-increasing audience will rush downhill, like the biblical Gadarene swine, to follow.
'If entertainment is all that matters, then so be it. Abandon the BBC licence fee and let it become commercial.'