Post by Teddy Bear on Jan 6, 2008 18:28:08 GMT
While the attitude and largely arrogant thoughts of John Humphreys on various topics has already been covered previously, now this self serving prig declares how wonderful a 'journalist' he is by denigrating others doing a similar job.
If only he was a good journalist his comments might be tenable.
If only he was a good journalist his comments might be tenable.
John Humphrys attacks job of news reading
Chris Hastings, Arts and Media Editor
Last Updated: 11:26pm GMT 05/01/2008
John Humphrys, the presenter of BBC Radio 4's flagship Today programme, has attacked the dumbed-down world of television news where presenters have nothing to do but read off an autocue.
The veteran broadcaster reveals that he was bored rigid reading BBC1's Nine O'Clock News which, he says, isn't a job "for a grown man".
On Desert Island Discs on Radio 4 today, Humphrys, 64, also expresses regret that his hectic career meant he missed seeing his children grow up.
The father of three, an award-winning journalist, talks about the poverty-stricken Cardiff childhood which drove his ambition and admits he was "terrified" of losing his job in 1995 when Jonathan Aitken, then chief secretary to the Treasury, accused him of "poisoning the democratic well of debate" with his strident interviewing technique.
But his comments about TV newsreaders are likely to generate the most controversy, following concerns that the BBC and other broadcasters have been signing up presenters for their youth and looks rather than their journalistic ability. Seasoned broadcasters have questioned the track records of high-profile presenters such as Emily Maitliss and Natasha Kaplinsky.
Those who have voiced criticisms in recent years include Jon Snow, Kate Adie and George Alagiah. Snow, of Channel 4 News, said that too many news anchors had too little experience of reporting from the field, while Alagiah accused the BBC of window-dressing in its choice of reporters.
The attack by Humphrys is not his first. In 2005 he said of reading the news: "You have very little work to do and you don't need a brain."
He tells Desert Island Discs hostess Kirsty Young that he joined the Nine O'Clock News in 1981 because he was tired as life on the road as a foreign correspondent, but says: "It was boring.
"You talk about the news of the day, you have interminable meetings and when everyone else has gone home and you're fairly knackered, it's nine o'clock at night and you have to perform.
"You are on air for about four minutes by the time they have taken out all the filmed reports and everything else, reading from an autocue. It's not a job for a grown man, I'm afraid, or woman."
He said he had eagerly accepted Today's approach in 1987 and hadn't even asked what the salary would be.
He denies ever being obsessed with his career but says: "I remember going on one trip when my daughter Catherine was a baby, and she was a toddler when I came back. I missed seeing her growing up. The first bits of the walking. That's sad. You shouldn't do that. I wouldn't recommend that."
Today's longest-serving presenter, Humphrys - whose marriage to his late wife Edna failed in the 1980s - also talks about his son, Owen, by his new partner, Valerie Sanderson.
He said: "Having children as I did at the age of 21, 22, 23 was one thing; having a child at 57 is something quite different. Your career doesn't matter any longer, you don't worry about making a living and earning the money and paying the mortgage and all that.
"All your attention is focused on this little chap. I have just found myself utterly, entirely captivated by him. I get so much pleasure and joy from him."
Humphrys admits being terrified only of Margaret Thatcher and the late singer Ella Fitzgerald who, when he was a cub reporter, threw him out of a dressing room for accidentally breaking a mirror.
His musical choices include Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis, Vincent by Don McLean and Fitzgerald's Manhattan.
Chris Hastings, Arts and Media Editor
Last Updated: 11:26pm GMT 05/01/2008
John Humphrys, the presenter of BBC Radio 4's flagship Today programme, has attacked the dumbed-down world of television news where presenters have nothing to do but read off an autocue.
The veteran broadcaster reveals that he was bored rigid reading BBC1's Nine O'Clock News which, he says, isn't a job "for a grown man".
On Desert Island Discs on Radio 4 today, Humphrys, 64, also expresses regret that his hectic career meant he missed seeing his children grow up.
The father of three, an award-winning journalist, talks about the poverty-stricken Cardiff childhood which drove his ambition and admits he was "terrified" of losing his job in 1995 when Jonathan Aitken, then chief secretary to the Treasury, accused him of "poisoning the democratic well of debate" with his strident interviewing technique.
But his comments about TV newsreaders are likely to generate the most controversy, following concerns that the BBC and other broadcasters have been signing up presenters for their youth and looks rather than their journalistic ability. Seasoned broadcasters have questioned the track records of high-profile presenters such as Emily Maitliss and Natasha Kaplinsky.
Those who have voiced criticisms in recent years include Jon Snow, Kate Adie and George Alagiah. Snow, of Channel 4 News, said that too many news anchors had too little experience of reporting from the field, while Alagiah accused the BBC of window-dressing in its choice of reporters.
The attack by Humphrys is not his first. In 2005 he said of reading the news: "You have very little work to do and you don't need a brain."
He tells Desert Island Discs hostess Kirsty Young that he joined the Nine O'Clock News in 1981 because he was tired as life on the road as a foreign correspondent, but says: "It was boring.
"You talk about the news of the day, you have interminable meetings and when everyone else has gone home and you're fairly knackered, it's nine o'clock at night and you have to perform.
"You are on air for about four minutes by the time they have taken out all the filmed reports and everything else, reading from an autocue. It's not a job for a grown man, I'm afraid, or woman."
He said he had eagerly accepted Today's approach in 1987 and hadn't even asked what the salary would be.
He denies ever being obsessed with his career but says: "I remember going on one trip when my daughter Catherine was a baby, and she was a toddler when I came back. I missed seeing her growing up. The first bits of the walking. That's sad. You shouldn't do that. I wouldn't recommend that."
Today's longest-serving presenter, Humphrys - whose marriage to his late wife Edna failed in the 1980s - also talks about his son, Owen, by his new partner, Valerie Sanderson.
He said: "Having children as I did at the age of 21, 22, 23 was one thing; having a child at 57 is something quite different. Your career doesn't matter any longer, you don't worry about making a living and earning the money and paying the mortgage and all that.
"All your attention is focused on this little chap. I have just found myself utterly, entirely captivated by him. I get so much pleasure and joy from him."
Humphrys admits being terrified only of Margaret Thatcher and the late singer Ella Fitzgerald who, when he was a cub reporter, threw him out of a dressing room for accidentally breaking a mirror.
His musical choices include Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis, Vincent by Don McLean and Fitzgerald's Manhattan.