Not being in any way at risk of being interviewed on Newsnight, I have the privilege of being able to say that in my view, Jeremy Paxman is well past his sell-by.
Last night he had three reps from the LibLabCon axis sitting there, talking about something that I cannot remember because they were all talking at the same time as each other, creating an impression of total confusion. Even more confusion that actually exists. Paxman was awful, putting questions that required thoughtful answers, but interrupting a few seconds into the response. It is impossible to take in a thought if it is truncated before finished.
Paxman's sneering and contemptuous tone sounds like a prefect interrogating a wayward fag* as a preliminary to beating his buttocks with a cricket bat.
The job of the BBC is to educate, inform and entertain. Paxman's interviews fail on all three counts.
Interviewing of politicians should be tough in the sense of intellectually challenging, and they should elucidate what the politician is saying, and should explore the unintended consequences, but Paxman has lost it. He is monotonous, in the sense that the only tone he has is total destructiveness.
Last time I was on telly, I said to the interviewer, "If you interrupt me, I will interrupt you". And I did. So no more telly for me. I don't mind, because telly is so last century.
*for American readers, this is a term for a child slave in British public** schools.
**for American readers, this is a British term for a private school.
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3 comments:
He more than informs, educates and entertains me.
He's seen all these charlatans a hundred times over and both he and they know it. His withering disdain communicates the precise truth of the position. I don't want to see these lying, professional politician careerists towing the party line on my TV every night. When they're bullshitting, I want my interviewers to be interrupting and in effect saying "yes, but that's bullshit" and he does it with aplomb. And I get a small laugh from it every time. I mean how many interviewers look at the politician and you can tell they're thinking "you slimy lying XXXX"
Go Jezza!
Ok Anon, you like the way he insults people. Me, I want to understand the policies and arguments of different politicians, so that I can form my own opinion of their worth or not as the case may be. Paxman does not assist in this endeavour. Each to his own. I don't need Newsnight; I can get the information I need from the web.
Thanks for patronising me. You've missed the main points I made and concentrated on the fact that I find him mildly amusing with it.
I know the 'arguments' and long ago developed a philosophy of life and politics that I think is rational, fair and logical. I don't have anyone to vote for though - anymore. I'm close to Green but there's the animal stuff and your homeopathy wing etc
Paxo cuts through all that shallowness of the superficial arguments, uncosted promises and pie-in-the-sky ideas.
There's more wrong info on the web than correct info, so be careful out there. For example, some websites inform that the Greens are against mature and embryonic stem cell research. I gather they aren't now?
What really bugs me, and what Paxo is good at, is giving the party lackeys who were yesterday against it, but today for it, an embarrassing time. Good. I hate bullshit and hypocrisy. See stem cells above.
To end on a note of cordiality - we both hope the Tories get stuffed!
enjoy your weekend.
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