Post by Teddy Bear on Apr 11, 2012 13:53:33 GMT
Clearly the 'Expense Conscious' BBC felt that their licence fee payers believe that the expense involved in sending the Today programme's John Humphreys out to Liberia is well worth it. Frankly I'd be happier if he stayed there. But is live reporting from this country right now really relevant to the problems we're facing in this country right now?
Now if they would have sent him to Salford to report on the problems there...
Now if they would have sent him to Salford to report on the problems there...
So why IS John Humphrys in Liberia? Listeners baffled by veteran Today host's jaunt to Africa
By Rick Dewsbury
Radio 4 listeners are more used to a sedate browse through the morning papers.
But they were left slightly confused this morning when they tuned in to Today expecting the usual topical round-up only to hear that the show was being broadcast from Liberia.
Veteran presenter John Humphrys flew to the west African nation and presented his regular morning programme from a makeshift studio in a shabby hut.
Mr Humphrys' gravelly tones were noticeably exaggerated by the basic equipment and the distant line from Bong County 3,500 thousand miles away.
There were even the hum of crickets and tropical birds in the background. That was followed by the rustles of a young boy climbing a tree to shake down mangos for Mr Humphrys' breakfast.
However, they're sounds that listeners may have to get used to.
The BBC said the programme is just the beginning of a year-long focus on the troubled country.
They dismissed suggestions that it is part of John Humphrys' 'pet project' and that he has insisted on taking his show to the region for a 'tropical trip'.
'I will be reporting from here in Liberia to see if the country really is turning a corner,' Mr Humphrys told listeners shortly after 8am.
As Mr Humphrys' co-host Sarah Montague was in the Today studio in London, he described arriving at a hotel and asking the host for fresh mangos for breakfast from a nearby tree.
'She sent a small boy up a tree to shake some down but after she explained that the food was not good enough for us,' Mr Humphrys said.
'This is food that would normally cost two or three pounds in the supermarket at home and here they were lying all over the ground.'
He added: 'I've been coming to Africa for 40 years and you have to leave the preconceptions at home, you have to look at it through African eyes.
'There are wonderful things about this country. While I'm broadcasting I'm looking at the most beautiful, beautiful, beautiful vista I've ever seen in my life. The sun's rising and the canopy of trees stretches into the distance.
'There's been a light rainfall overnight and there's a man collecting mangos from the trees in the distance, that we can see just behind the mosquito nets. There's been a beautiful moth trying to batter its way into the studio.
'It's a stunningly beautiful country. The land is fertile. There's a tremendous sense of energy in all the little shops.
'But it's mismatched country and it just needs somebody to get it by the scruff of the neck and shake it, but that's a European attitude.'
Mr Humphrys presented several features from from the rundown Phebe Hospital in Bong County. He spoke with youngsters who dreamed of getting jobs in the media or starting their own business.
The host also looked at some of the social and political changes that the country has seen in recent years.
He said: 'In many ways the story of Liberia is the story of sub-sahara Africa. But this a no longer war and famine. There's a different story being told these days. It says the country is beginning to get itself together.
'The potential of the continent is vast and it it succeeds the effect on our economy will be profound.
'The economy is growing a little and so is democracy, in spite of the secret societies. This doesn't mean that sub-Sahara Africa is on the brink of a great leap forward. It is however just one country on the continent.
'But it has seen the horrors of the past, and it is on the verge of moving forward.'
Liberia has been blighted since the 1980s by political and economic instability and two successive civil wars that have left approximately 250,000 people dead and devastated the country's economy.
But it is now seen as one of the more progressive of the African nations, highlighting the potential of the continent.
The broadcast also coincides with the end of the war crimes trial at the Hague of the country's former leader Charles Taylor.
Taylor is charged with 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War. He was the President of Liberia from 1997 until 2003.
By Rick Dewsbury
Radio 4 listeners are more used to a sedate browse through the morning papers.
But they were left slightly confused this morning when they tuned in to Today expecting the usual topical round-up only to hear that the show was being broadcast from Liberia.
Veteran presenter John Humphrys flew to the west African nation and presented his regular morning programme from a makeshift studio in a shabby hut.
Mr Humphrys' gravelly tones were noticeably exaggerated by the basic equipment and the distant line from Bong County 3,500 thousand miles away.
There were even the hum of crickets and tropical birds in the background. That was followed by the rustles of a young boy climbing a tree to shake down mangos for Mr Humphrys' breakfast.
However, they're sounds that listeners may have to get used to.
The BBC said the programme is just the beginning of a year-long focus on the troubled country.
They dismissed suggestions that it is part of John Humphrys' 'pet project' and that he has insisted on taking his show to the region for a 'tropical trip'.
'I will be reporting from here in Liberia to see if the country really is turning a corner,' Mr Humphrys told listeners shortly after 8am.
As Mr Humphrys' co-host Sarah Montague was in the Today studio in London, he described arriving at a hotel and asking the host for fresh mangos for breakfast from a nearby tree.
'She sent a small boy up a tree to shake some down but after she explained that the food was not good enough for us,' Mr Humphrys said.
'This is food that would normally cost two or three pounds in the supermarket at home and here they were lying all over the ground.'
He added: 'I've been coming to Africa for 40 years and you have to leave the preconceptions at home, you have to look at it through African eyes.
'There are wonderful things about this country. While I'm broadcasting I'm looking at the most beautiful, beautiful, beautiful vista I've ever seen in my life. The sun's rising and the canopy of trees stretches into the distance.
'There's been a light rainfall overnight and there's a man collecting mangos from the trees in the distance, that we can see just behind the mosquito nets. There's been a beautiful moth trying to batter its way into the studio.
'It's a stunningly beautiful country. The land is fertile. There's a tremendous sense of energy in all the little shops.
'But it's mismatched country and it just needs somebody to get it by the scruff of the neck and shake it, but that's a European attitude.'
Mr Humphrys presented several features from from the rundown Phebe Hospital in Bong County. He spoke with youngsters who dreamed of getting jobs in the media or starting their own business.
The host also looked at some of the social and political changes that the country has seen in recent years.
He said: 'In many ways the story of Liberia is the story of sub-sahara Africa. But this a no longer war and famine. There's a different story being told these days. It says the country is beginning to get itself together.
'The potential of the continent is vast and it it succeeds the effect on our economy will be profound.
'The economy is growing a little and so is democracy, in spite of the secret societies. This doesn't mean that sub-Sahara Africa is on the brink of a great leap forward. It is however just one country on the continent.
'But it has seen the horrors of the past, and it is on the verge of moving forward.'
Liberia has been blighted since the 1980s by political and economic instability and two successive civil wars that have left approximately 250,000 people dead and devastated the country's economy.
But it is now seen as one of the more progressive of the African nations, highlighting the potential of the continent.
The broadcast also coincides with the end of the war crimes trial at the Hague of the country's former leader Charles Taylor.
Taylor is charged with 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War. He was the President of Liberia from 1997 until 2003.