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John's interviews on Today have occasionally attracted criticism from politicians, among them Jonathan Aitken, who in March 1995 accused him of "poisoning the well of democratic debate". The criticism triggered an outbreak of pro-Humphrys comment among listeners and the media, including the Daily Mail, which described him as "one of the most brilliant journalists in the country".
From the BBC website
The bloke is well past his sell-by date and needs carting away.
His scathing style and constant sneering negativity and badgering is a pointless waste of airtime.
Every guest is subjected to this nonsense to the point of losing any meaningful content
I detest him
anyone agree?
it comes to us all. don't hate someone for getting old.
I don't listen (too early for me), but a 'serious' news program does need a certain degree of sceptical pressurising of guests in order to cut through the pre-scripted drivel they try to get away with. See also Paxman.
Whether he's taken it too far... I don't listen, so couldn't say.
All in all, very helpful post 🙂
it can get a bit tiresome, who to replace him though?
who in March 1995
not holding a grudge much...
agree he has had his day
Sometimes its not even a question its just a statement and he seems so intent on stating an opposing view he forgets the job is to find out what they think
I sometimes struggle to listen when he is on the show and often switch his interviews off
Eddie Maer is where it is at these days
Nice style on the show but can do the proper interview when its required and has more than one method of interviewing
I always remember when he[ humphries] had an interview over the syria children/refugees/asylum and the interviewee was arguing we take more
He asked what do you mean by more and hoe many
they explained the three methods of calculations and he just kept saying how many what number where to etc and did not discuss the issue as they could not give an exact figure on how many more we should let it so no debate took place as he just badgered this point to death.
I always imagine your partner going hey we should go out more and you go
" where to"
What days"
Who with
Cinema, pub, walks WHAT "
etc
Well if you cannot answer all of that we cannot discuss it
Its just shit for actually getting an understanding of the others view and unnecessarily antagonistic
his age is irrelevant but he has had his time in the sun
Years and years of talking to dishonest,evasive,corrupt, self serving lying bastards could make anyone a little sceptical, even sneering.
oh come on not all of us are like that on here 😉
I agree, I can't stand JH's interviews, they're generally argumentative for the sake of argument.
I like Nick Robinson, Eddie Maier even more so, and I liked Evan Davis when he did Today (not seen him on Newsnight, its past my bedtime).
He's better than Naughtie - who's questions were often longer than the answers he received.
I prefer Mishal Husain though.
In these times, we need journalists to hold our politics to account.
The more aggressive the line of questioning, the better IMHO. We've a load of old shit in parliament right now.
A bit like "Motty" in the football commentary world they both need to walk away from the microphone and step aside.
Both were once good but now need to call it a day.
Eddie Mair needs to take the reins for JH.
he forgets the job is to find out what they think
Really? We should just have politicians come on, let the interviewer fawn all over them while they shove their party line down our uncritical throats?
Maybe you are content with that but I am not.
It's Eddie "MAIR" 🙄 and he rocks*!
And yes I agree JH sneering interviews and general snorts of derision are very annoying at times. He does'nt just do it to Politicians though, there was one interview recently with a 6yo girl who had saved her younger brothers life and was getting a medal for it and his derisory astonishment at her skills was evident. I think he just hadn't "switched mode"
*I am getting old.
He's an annoying old man, soured by his own grimace.
I don't listen to R4 news because of him.
Yep, if he is on the radio I have to turn to another channel.
[quote=oldnpastit ] We should just have politicians come on, let the interviewer fawn all over them while they shove their party line down our uncritical throats?
Maybe you are content with that but I am not.
I am not content with that straw man either but there are better methods than his to do what you want
The issue is whether he is effective not whether they are given a proper interview.
[i]I have to switch over to another channel?
[/i]
there's the problem.
when in the car on the work commute with just an FM/AM radio what's the alternative?
Nicky Campbell?
the fact that a man in his 50's still calls himself Nicky says it all for me.
I'll (reluctantly) stick with JH.
I used to listen to him on R4 long wave along with Valerie Singleton and found him dry but witty. That was over a quarter of a century ago, and he seemed old and fuddy then.
He's annoying, but he's like that with everyone.
And he gets stuck in, unlike Justin.
geoffj - Member
I prefer Mishal Husain though.
Me too.
🙂
Nicky Campbell makes my skin crawl.
I completely agree about Humphrys. Old man yells at cloud. I don't need it at that time of day.
Hussein and Webb do a good job
I like Naughtie. I don't like Sarah Montague.
Eddie Mair is fantastic though
I've no idea who he is but if the Daily Mail rate him then he's probably a weapons grade bellend.
🙂it comes to us all. don't hate someone for getting old.
Yep, he's tiresome now but it's not just him. There is so much media training now that few interviews actually enlighten any more. Eddie Mair is where it is at
My morning commute is from six till seven.
Radio Three during the week, the alternatives simply aren't worth contemplating.
Farming Today is probably the highlight.
Brian Matthews is * great, but his voice sends me back to sleep, so not a wise choice.
* Edit, was.
Cheers Brian.
Looks like it's Nove on the sly from now on.
😐
There is so much media training now that few interviews actually enlighten any more.
I can think of a couple of notable recent exceptions where there was a lack of media training......
😆
probably why Boris is locked in the cupboard back at tory central office
I like some aspects of Humphreys and dislike others. Indeed, I tend to agree that he often badgers politicians as opposed to truly interviewing them.
That said, I [b]LOVED[/b] the interview he did with Paxman. It was like the proverbial irresistible force versus the immovable object.
it can get a bit tiresome, who to replace him though?
Gotta be Tim Westwood.
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It's Eddie "MAIR" and he rocks*!
This. Plus lots. His interview with Boris was classic.
Humphrys is nothing but a UKIP fanboi.
Weird, only just the other day I was thinking along the lines of "what annoys you most about R4" and this topped the list, yes we need badgering of politicians but not just for the effing sake of it and then some interview replies pop up later as headline news like they were well thought out party policy rather than a response beaten out of a submissive interviewee - give me strength 🙄
This.avdave2 - Member
Years and years of talking to dishonest,evasive,corrupt, self serving lying bastards could make anyone a little sceptical, even sneering.
Age does tend to bring with it more intolerance, but there does seem to be a pervasive attitude amongst the wannabe Paxman modern day journos, of borderline rudeness just for the sake of it.
I've stopped listening to R4 Today program because of Humphries.
As someone who works in science, his anti-science bias* started to really grate.
* In all science interviews JH basically said "you're making it all up, aren't you". I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be a climate sceptic.
This thread is just typical of the ageism and sexism seen on this forum. Good going!
Years and years of talking to dishonest,evasive,corrupt, self serving lying bastards could make anyone a little sceptical, even sneering.
I was going to say something very similar.
He does go too far sometimes, a bit tabloid with his questioning, but I genuinely reckon some of that is pressure to dumb down from management.
This morning he was talking (I think) to the shadow Defence Minister. It all got a bit OTT on both parts.
This thread is just typical of the ageism and sexism seen on this forum. Good going!
your mum is typical of the ageism and sexism seen on this forum
On the commute it's R4 7:50, R2 for 20 mins then back to R4 once I know I'm safe from Thought for the day.
I've warmed to Eddie Mair over the past couple of months - he's clearly head and shoulders above many in the meeja
Anybody Jonathon Aitken doesn't approve of is alright with me.
Eddie Maire is gradually steering PM away from being yet another hard news programme on radio 4, which I approve of, given that immediately afterwards there is another bloody news programme.
He's becoming the story, and he's waaaay to impressed by his own reputation. Plus he's so clearly an out-of-touch misanthrope it's beyond a joke. He was trying to interview a couple of graffiti/street artists a while back, and it was embarrassingly obvious that he had no idea about what they did.
time to pension him off.
.
Meh - he can be a grating sometimes and I do sometimes find myself saying "For God's sake let them answer the question"
But someone needs to cut through all the bollocks and I'd much rather listen to a bit of badgering than one of those snivelling soft-softly interviews with carefully agreed questions.
I don't hate him as much as some of you lot seem to, but he's definitely showing signs of being from a different era - I remember a few years ago when that whole Pussy Riot shenanigan was occurring in Russia he was interviewing a gay woman from Moscow and asked her how "normal people" reacted when she held hands with her partner.
Incredibly the interviewee (to be fair, being interviewed in a foreign language) let that one go rather than the rather obvious "it depends if they are gay or not, or do you mean that gay people aren't normal?" that I would have preferred to hear.
Once you become aware of it, you then start hearing it in many of his interviews - never explicitly homophobic, sexist, racist etc. but it's definitely there in the language he uses.
This morning he asked if the ukip manifesto was a suicide mission. Sensitive, eh?
Slightly OT but just listened to Eddy Mair destroy a UKIP candidate on PM. Worth listening to on catchup - about 17.25
I agree with OP.
Argumentative twunt
He's old fashioned, but thankfully deferential would not be a term to describe him. I rather enjoy his interviews, personally.
If he's unpopular with those he interviews, he's probably doing something right.
Wow, guess I am alone in liking the Humph! I have listened to him on Today R4 for 20 years and his style compliments the more "conciliatory" interviewers well. They do need another interviewer on the morning though that can go for the hard question. Eddie Mair is brilliant generally but occasionally can labour a tiny irrelevant point just to score a small win over the interviewee.
DrJ - that was the Nutter in chief he destroyed I think, was it not?
DrJ - Member - Block User - Quote
This morning he asked if the ukip manifesto was a suicide mission. Sensitive, eh?
I heard that too. Cringed a bit.
Absolutely can't stand him. I find myself turning it over when he's doing interviews.
Sometimes the confrontation style can be justified, but it's just so abrasive and gets no where.
This thread requires a picture of Jon Luc Picard
MrsSalmon used to listen to him in the mornings a few years ago and I'd often be shouting "What is this supposed to be?!" at the radio. Unedifying and often not at all enlightening. (JH, not me shouting!)
DrJ - that was the Nutter in chief he destroyed I think, was it not?
Apparently it was deputy nutter Peter Whittle
Humphrys and Montague are by far the worst Today pairing.
I'd rather listen to him than that biased ***** Nick Robinson
I think they should make Stephen Sackur a Today presenter. He is very good on 'HARDTalk'
Agreed (which is unusual), Nick Robinson can be a little bit too overtly right of centre for my tastes.
Agreed
He sounds like an after delivering bad lines from a script.
100% agree re the Eddie Mair comments. He is superb. Very dry wit that has me laughing a lot. "You can post you comments online at bcc.co.uk......or don't bother, to be honest we don't actually read them".
Nick Robinson can be a little bit too overtly [s]right of centre[/s] like Kuenessberg, a mouthpiece for the Tories for my tastes
fixed it for you etc etc....
Do you think the use of 'senile' in such a derogatory and pejorative way is appropriate? For example, would using the word ‘retarded’ or ‘mental’ in a similar way be acceptable? It’s a word indelibly associated with age and the impact that aging has on cognitive function. And while cantankerous and opinionated (he winds me up as well sometimes), John Humphreys is clearly not senile or suffering from any form of dementia, so let’s not use that as the basis for a derisory comment eh.
I like him, he's deliberately confrontational but it works, 30s in and it exposes those that have the "strong and stable" script infront of them but aren't prepared to actually talk as idiots.
[img]your mum is typical of the ageism and sexism seen on this forum
[/img]
My issue with John Humphreys isn't the confrontation, in fact the opposite. It's the fact that any piece about science or the environment is treated as an amusing side show novelty as if it's a nice article on kittens.
I don't think he's doing it deliberately really, just treated with a jocular brevity that completely undermines it.
Do you think the use of 'senile' in such a derogatory and pejorative way is appropriate?
Agree. I don't like Humphrys but don't think it's appropriate to be labelling him with a pernicious medical condition.
I've forwarded this link to R4, in a world of open Social Media that the BBC support (cough) it ought to be at least ignored at best.
I don't think he's senile or a twit...have you ever tried to conduct an interview live on the radio? Asking questions, recalling facts, reading bits of paper shoved under your nose, engaging with the interviewee, all while a producer shouts in your ear? I doubt somebody senile and 'a twit' could manage that.
I'll admit he can be a bit irritating in his questioning at times, but he should stay, mainly because I would miss Eddie Mair at 5pm if he left PM and went to Today.
It's ok going on about Humphry's and other mail colleagues but who was that women yesterday asking the nurse from Stepping Hill hospital what it was like caring for the injured from Monday's bomb blast. Did we really need to hear her ask what shrapnel actually does to the human body? R4 is fast becoming the Sun/Mirror/Mail (& others) gutter press.
Eddie Mair is great but he has a proper radio face, as ugly as Philippe Gilbert.
* In all science interviews JH basically said "you're making it all up, aren't you". I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be a climate sceptic.
I thought most scientific publication was made up? It always seems to fit with what the sponsor wants to prove.