Marina Hyde

It’s all a personal thing though isn’t it? Humour. Having read both articles of hers, linked to in this thread, I can’t say either of them left me feeling the need to read any more of her stuff. Not funny. Not especially clever and has that whiff of someone trying just that little bit too hard. Feels a bit like the “right-on” comedy of Ben Elton from his early days – only he was quite funny.

Don’t really get the mild comparison above between her and Kuenssberg and Peston. Completely different styles and purposes. Maybe I’m missing something – wouldn’t be the first time 🙂

I note Hyde isn’t mentioned in that article you link, Copa.

Why do I like Marina? Here’s an example, what’s not to like, haters?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/12/what-happened-women-uk-harassed-street

Don’t really get the mild comparison above between her and Kuenssberg and Peston.

The comparison is that like Peston and Kuenssberg, she’s doing nothing more than indulging in court gossip rather than exposing or challenging politicians in any fundamental way. She’s as dependent on the westminster gravy train as they are.

Nonsense. Her job is not reliant on “sources” and working relationships with those in positions of power at all. She’s no more supportive of the politicians she writes about than Steve Bell is.

It’s true she doesn’t do investigative journalism, Dazh. That would require a research team, a network of informers beyond what you cal the “court” and a lower profile with a different persona. You’re reproaching her for not being something she clearly doesn’t try to be.

Most everything I’ve ever read by her is a personal take on stuff that’s already in the public domain. If I want news that’s news I’ll go to Mediapart, France Bleu, Euronews, Eins Extra. If I read the Guardian it’s for a mix of second-hand news from the other side of the channel that doesn’t get me closing the tab after a few lines.

You’re reproaching her for not being something she clearly doesn’t try to be.

While I may be putting words into his mouth; Dazh ‘s complaint is that, like a lot of satire, it’s really just pointing and laughing. which is at best, funny and distracting, at worst, it’s funny and distracting…

So, we shouldn’t have satire, because of a lack of serious questioning investigative journalism?

I’m not at all sure why people get so exercised by her – whether they are defending or criticising. To me, she’s a predictable and repetitive columnist with very little to say, but that doesn’t bother me at all as I stopped reading her articles a long time ago.

Most everything I’ve ever read by her is a personal take on stuff that’s already in the public domain.

I don’t think the problem is specifically her, more the way that the media works.
The people who comment on politics are generally from a similar background and live similar lives.
Not that this devalues their opinions but their views are filtered through the same kind of lens.
They will disagree. Hold a range of opinions. Some you will like and others you won’t.
But the general tone is the same – a jovial, waspish ribbing, a focus on personalities and parties.
Rarely ever delving into deeper stuff – like the role of the media.

So, we shouldn’t have satire

No, just be aware that like Swift and Punch and Private Eye, it’s still just posh kids mewling at other posh kids

Thanks for explaining… we never realised that.

🤷🏻

Right, I’ll leave you to the class warfare and continue to enjoy reading good work by people of any background.

Daz doesn’t like toffs, but he’s happy defending people who vote for far right policies out of far right sympathies. Funny old world, eh?

Ms Hyde is fairly funny, but also a bit repetitive (but how can she not be given the constant stream of bullshit eminating from ‘our’ government). She often strays into ‘6th former about to leave trying to do the most offensive joke at the Leavers do’ territory. But she is fine by me.

John Crace is better – he seems to have more worldliness to draw on to provide a relief from how embarrassing ‘our’ government are – before skewering them more cleverly.

Monbiot is a ****ing loon. If he stuck to environmental issues he is thought provoking, but he is a utopian dreamer and utterly unrealistic. His very presence gives the powers that be the ‘get out of jail free’ card of dismissing more serious writers (Jenkins, Behr, D’Ancona etc.) as being ‘associated with a newspaper that employs lunatics like George Monbiot’.

George and his ilk need to stop wishing we could all just start again with a pristine planet and engage in the practical here and now.

just posh kids mewling at other posh kids

agreed, and I’ve also a bit of an allergy to this. But it’s possible that Marina Hyde is right at the top of her game right now for precisely this reason: it takes one to know one and she sees a chancer one joke columnist ‘running’ the country whose credentials relate to straight bananas. What you take from that’s up to you, quite a bit of entertainment and possibly faux in group nodding recognition in my case that times have changed and this really isn’t right.