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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.
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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
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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.