Friday, June 22, 2007
Let’s Talk…
Joining Mark Carruthers on Let’s Talk last night: Ian Paisley Jr of the DUP and junior minister in the OFMDFM, the minister for social development the SDLP’s Margaret Ritchie, journalist and political activist Eamonn MCann and David Burrows, a member of the Parades Commission and a former leading Orangeman.
Mick Fealty @ 08:06 PM
I’ve just watched him allow a panel to meander round rhetorical corners for 10mins at a time, then take forever to ask the audience for their views. Then his producer doesnt seem to know WHEN to move on to the next question.
17 mins on the east belfast floods!
Then we came to the Ian Jr homphobia comments. Carruthers was a complete pushover, he had no idea how to deal with the topic. The issue is NOT whether paisley is entitled to say what he said as a politician, or whether he regrets what he said. Its whether an equality minister can possibly stay in office having given this interview. This would not be possible in any other western democracy.
When an uninformed american in the audience went off on on about hurricane katrina, carruthers allowed the panel to get into that discussion too, thereby further letting paisley off the hook.
Can we please raise up some decent interviewers and journalists in this country? Put david dimbleby in the chair and he would have demolished paisley’s ridiculous replies with two questions. Insteaad, this programme has a presenter who lets him off the hook again and again and again.
Please Let’s Talk producers:
1. Limit Mark’s willingness to allow a discussion to exhaust the audience’s attention and interest.
2. Make this programme pacier. Let’s train guests to do what they do on BBC Question Time: answer the question in 50 seconds, allowing more time for rejoinders etc.
3. Don’t go to the audience quite as often. If you do, then don’t let mark turn it into an interview with a random member of the audience. Get their view, Mark, and move on. I don’t need you to examine a punter’s view with three additional questions.
4. I know you want to put mark behind a podium with his pen in the air to avoid looking like u’r doing Q and A or Question Time. Well listen, word to the wise: You Are. So put him behind the table, get him to take part a LOT less, quicken up the topics, pace and discussion.
In other words, give Mark 10 years of BBC Question Time and get him to learn from Dimbleby and predecessors. Or even the Radio 4 any questions programme. In all those questions, theres a lot LESS of the presenter. Short, sharp interventions; not long rambling attempts to form a question in the air while waving a pen around like a schoolteacher taking a roll.
Also, when Mark encounters a panellist who is flailing around without an answer to a question, for god’s sake just move on to someone else, don’t make us listen to that for two more follow-up questions.
If i sound like im losing my patience with this programme, it’s because i am.
I honestly now think the BBC should replace Mark in his programme if he isnt able to lift this programme from the doldrums its now in.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 08:25 PMthanks for the post Mick. glad to join in this one, i read sams thing in the earlier post and i think hes on the money here. LT is a disaster and needs fixed asap.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 08:28 PMUnless you have satellite you would have missed a classic Question Time in this slot.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/organgrinder/2007/06/boris_steals_question_times_hi.html
Still there is always youtube.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 08:31 PMThe set is a part of the problem. looks untidy
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 08:33 PMIan Jr is a fool but he is entitled to his comments - get over it!
We are truly living in aday of homofascism!
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 08:39 PMLast’s nights QT was indeed classic and contrasted dreadfully with Lets Talk.
Eamonn McCann is always a good turn. He’s funny and intelligent and a great rhetorician. Had he been on QT, Dimbleby would have tigthened him up and made him better still for it.
Ian Jr on any national show would have embarrassed himself and the presnter would have pressed him. Carruthers didn’t. Shamefully. He looked nervous, as if he’s afraid to take Ian Og on. Why would he be afraid? Ian’s not exactly George Galloway. When Ian accidentally gave the game away and said it wouldnt be acceptable for a policitian to say something racist, Mark Carruthers STILL let him away with it. He got bogged down on some notion of racist “crime”. He should have asked paisley if a non-criminal statement of racism would be ok. He didn’t and Paisley walked off with the ball. Embarrassing.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 08:47 PMSam Hanna:
No debate there. Ian Jr is a fool and is entitled to his views. Not the issue here though. The issue is what’s wrong with this shite programme. I think sam spud’s onto it.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 08:49 PMAgree. Piece of crap tv. Dumbed down. Presenter afriad to push politicians. Carruthers seems to want to grin and make a joke out of every issue like a buffoon. He doesnt have it. They need a heavyweight on that show, someone with gravitas, style AND intelligence. When dimbleby is witty you notice it, he doesnt have to grin like a balloon all through the programme.
Why don’t we redevise the show for them.
NEW SET
NEW PRESENTER
HOW MANY QUESTIONS PER PROGRAMME (60MINS)
HOW MANY IN AUDIENCE
HOW TO AVOID THE LAME LAST QUESTION SO THAT PEOPLE WITH NO COMIC SKILLS ARENT EMBARRASSED ON LIVE TV
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 08:56 PMits a bigger problem than lets talk. we lack decent hard hitting journos in ni. why dont they try a woman presenter in this slot? why is it always a male chairing? mark is a nice guy, way too nice to be any use on this. he comes across like a middle class nice boy who spends more time on his hair than he does on the questions. That’s cruel I know, but it’s how it comes across.
My suggestion is that the show should be shorter. The panel get 45-60 seconds first answer on each question. a couple of short comments from the audience. I agree: STOP interviewing random audience members at length Mark. then allow about 2 mins for a quite tussle between the panel. keep it brief. move on. 16 mins on this programme for floods? what the hell wa actually said? Dimblebly could deal with the Iraq war, blair’s legacy AND the price of milk in estonia in that slice of time. we got repetitive dull tv instead.
Audience members: i realise we can’t get the two hitchens and boris every week, but actually getting Ian Jr was an exclusive for this show and Mark blew it. I’d do what QT did and get a comedian/actor/tv celeb on each panel along with a columnist/pundit and three politicians. The DUP and SF need to be on every show in some capacity, the third politico chair could go to UUP, SDLP or ALLIANCE. Simple.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 09:07 PMWatching it now.
Soft questioning. Dull, dull, dull.
Why didn’t the Beeb just give the DUP a party political broadcast last night. At least it would’ve been no more than five minutes long, and then we could’ve watched something more interesting afterwards. Like repeats of the test card or something.
Thank God for McCann, although he’d probably have a go at me for suggesting his existence was due to some deity.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 09:24 PMShite interviewer maybe but it could be worse, have you listened to Talkback lately, what a complete load of SHITE..... the most dumbed down programme in Northern Ireland.
I have no idea who produces the programme but they should not have their contract renewed, they have made the job of the Nolan show researchers so easy it’s untrue.
The golden rule of Talkback seems to be if it’s a Hard subject IGNORE IT FAST, CENSOR IT IN A HURRY, STUFF IT AT THE END OF THE SHOW.
If it’s a dozey harmless easy subject pump it to the max or until the last listener has fallen asleep.WAKEY WAKEY TALKBACK.... WE WANT OUR OLD SHOW BACK
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 09:28 PMI suspect that good investigative journalism would not be popular - the establishment doesn’t want the boat rocked. And as for the public I imagine it would end up with screams of outrage and accusations of partiality - Each side would be all for probing journalism but only when it’s aimed at the other side.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 09:57 PMThey should let Eamon McCann present it! That’d be great.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 10:05 PMBrilliant idea Liam. Anyone would be better than that grinning stuffed shirt currently presenting it. Eamonn McCann: I disagree with just about everything he stands for but I couldn’t turn off any programme he was presenting.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 10:46 PMEamonn McCann used to have a slot on TalkBack - not any more.
It was hard and cutting-edge when Barry Cowan presented it, but then we were in a different climate, too.
No, so much on the radio is either shallow shock-jock or just shallow, and you get the impression that, for example, Nolan tries to wear some of Talkback’s clothes, but he just talks over people and doesn’t listen to what is being said, while Talkback responds by doing some of the Nolan stuff, to be more populist, but doesn’t quite cut it.
I don’t suppose Noel Thompson can present everything.
At least none of it is as bad as TalkSport.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 10:51 PMTalkback is definitely losing the plot. I’ve a lot of respect for Dunseith and I bet he’s not happy with where the programme has been going. Lame nonsense with Gerry and whatshisname popping up all the time like those two old guys in the muppets. Ridiculously pointless discussions. Hoking it to try to avoid controversy while being interesting. I don’t get who is running the show and why they are setting Dunseith up with such nonsense. Then they put Wendy Austin on when he’s on holiday????? What the f***. I mean, no harm to Wendy, I listen to her every morning, but she’s not going to work in that programme as a stand-in. At least she’s not as bad as Kevin the Ireland correspondent, who sounds like he’s digging a pin into his thumb every time he talks to a real member of the public.
Back to LEt’s Talk though:
I think this programme could be great. It could be the forum for the development of national debate. Just like Question Time. The fact is: it does not do this. So the producers need to ask why its not doing that and what they’re doing wrong. I agree with others here about hoe to fix this problem. I would def change the presenter but that’s not going to be enough to fix this one. Marksy is fine at reading the news, and doing 3 min interviews on evening extra where he always asks the same questions (who, what, where ... ) but he’s lost it on this show. Out of his depth for sure.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 10:54 PMWhy does William Crawley not stand in for Dunseith on Talkback and Nolan anymore when they’re off on holiday (or on Five Live in Nolan’s case)?
He hasn’t been on in ages and he was infinitely better than both. Agree with the point about Wendy and Kevin Connolly - and what the hell was Dennis Murray thinking as a stand-in for Nolan?
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 11:21 PMlets not hold up the nolan show as the one to emulate here, for gods sake. it’s a disgrace that the beeb even hired the guy.
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 11:34 PMSam is right about the programme and Mark Carruthers inability to keep to the topic and get straight answers to questions.
As for Ian Paisley Jnr I’ll bet he would be the first to call for a ministers resignation if he didn’t like what they said and they could be seen as totally at ods with the job they are doing.
For example would Ian Jnr be OK with Gerry Kelly taking on the Ministers role for Law and Order some time in the near future and then maybe standing up at an IRA mans funeral and expressing his views of how heroic the man was if the same man was convicted of killing 10 RUC men?
Would Ian defend Gerry’s right to state his opinion and stay in the office of Minister for Law and Order? would he hell!
Posted by on Jun 22, 2007 @ 11:42 PM“Why does William Crawley not stand in for Dunseith on Talkback and Nolan anymore when they’re off on holiday (or on Five Live in Nolan’s case)?
He hasn’t been on in ages and he was infinitely better than both.”
I think you may have found the answer in your own question ....
Posted by on Jun 23, 2007 @ 08:23 AMHaving watched the programme I thought that Ian Paisley (I don’t support him but) managed to turn this to his favour, emphasising that hypocrisy was not for him.
I also thought that Margaret Ritchie was good. I have not seen much of her before on TV debate shows, but I think the is a good prospect for the SDLP.
McCann is of course very good.
Burrows is likeable although perhaps not very controversial.
Posted by on Jun 23, 2007 @ 09:13 AMI watched the first bit of Let’s Talk, and actually though it wasn’t as bad as usual. The audince seemed a bit for balanced in terms of age, usually when from Belfast its about 75% politics students.
Despite this week’s offering being a slight improvement compared to what was on offer this week with Question Time it was banal and amateurish. The Hitchens brothers and Boris Johnston were the obvious stars, but the whole episode was great entertainment and provocative. In Tony McNulty they even managed to find a human, persuasive Government minister!
Posted by on Jun 23, 2007 @ 05:31 PMThe problem with Let’s Talk is primarily the studio audience. There just shouldn’t be one, it contributes nothing except a bad atmosphere. But the BBC is heading for *more* audience participation, not less, which is why everything is dumbing down to a lowest common denominator of anodyne stupidity.
The BBC should be serving the audience at home, not the totally unrepresentative sample of party hacks, bigots and wierdos who phone, text and come along to television studios. It’s attempt to be more ‘representative’ is just turning normal people off. I find Let’s Talk completely unwatchable.Posted by on Jun 23, 2007 @ 05:36 PMLet’s Talk mophed out of ‘On Air’, which was a fairly short-lived studio based current affairs, presented by Barry Cowan, with no audience but guests / contributors on different topics. There was no audience and, in a pre-digital age, the odd phone call (treated fairly serious as opposed to sound-bytes) but no texts or e-mails.
Cowan was replaced by David Dunseith, then we got the audience, and then we got Mark Carruthers.
I would agree with Shore Road Resident, what’s the point when there’s Nolan Live for the chavs anyway.
;-)
Posted by on Jun 23, 2007 @ 05:40 PMHave to agree Talk-back is 100% pure DROSS.
Sack Dunseith now and his sad producer responsible for the God-damn mess they serve up to the fee paying public as incisive politics, it’s the only hope of getting a decent show back.
Posted by on Jun 24, 2007 @ 01:24 PM
