Presenters/News readers

[ahinton]

David Cornett regularly presented radio 3 programmes a few years ago until so called 'Personality Presenters' arrived.

Yes - almost all "personality" (and what an euphemism that is in the circumstances!) and no "presentation"al substance (or even much care for such) for the most part.

[MickyD]

Have you ever read his book 'Conducted Tour' where he brags about a year of visiting various music festivals? It manages to be both interesting and nauseating at the same time! (IMHO!)

Yes, I must confess, that though I didn't like him on TV, I did enjoy that book a great deal, it's still on my shelves...must read it again sometime.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Yes - almost all "personality" (and what an euphemism that is in the circumstances!) and no "presentation"al substance (or even much care for such) for the most part.

I think the BBC has two choices:
Either it selects presenters who are chosen for their familiarity/personality, in which case their scripts should be written by knowledgeable people, rather than those with the brain capacity of a continuity announcer;
Or they choose knowledgeable people in the first place, and train them to present to a high standard.

Either way, they should keep their more presumptuous opinions to themselves.

[french frank]

Either it selects presenters who are chosen for their familiarity/personality, in which case their scripts should be written by knowledgeable people, rather than those with the brain capacity of a continuity announcer;

And the baffling point is that Radio 3 has 'continuity announcers' who either have presented, or would be capable of presenting, programmes AND writing their own scripts and who have been relegated to the ranks.

Or they choose knowledgeable people in the first place, and train them to present to a high standard.

It's hard to work out exactly how much some presenters know - but the problem arises when they see themselves as 'personalities', important for who they are and thinking that listeners tune in because they're presenting

Consulting Wikipedia to check facts (dates, opus nos, titles) is fine if you know what can be trusted. But anyone who reads out chunks of Wikipedia may be presumed to either know very little or be lazy. Show them the yellow card and if they don't improve …

[antongould]

Did the other 0.7 Breakfast listeners hear Tree Lawn this morning, I think, praising KD and her performance on Strictly? IIHC he suggested she had not received the recognition she deserved and had brought high art to popular TV ..... !!!!!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Did the other 0.7 Breakfast listeners hear Tree Lawn this morning, I think, praising KD and her performance on Strictly? IIHC he suggested she had not received the recognition she deserved and had brought high art to popular TV ..... !!!!!

Is this just another example of the presenters looking after their own little clique? It certainly has nothing whatsoever to do with the substance of Radio 3.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Did the other 0.7 Breakfast listeners hear Tree Lawn this morning, I think, praising KD and her performance on Strictly? IIHC he suggested she had not received the recognition she deserved and had brought high art to popular TV ..... !!!!!

!!! - Was there a sort-of "muffled" quality to the sound of his voice, anton? - As if, perhaps, his tongue were firmly in his cheek as he spoke?

A John McEnroe moment, if ever there was one!

[mercia]

I think there was some reference to her choice of music (something by Piazzolla) .... all by way of introduction to the Squire (as I call him) also playing some Piazzolla. I've no idea where that composer fits into the whole classical music labelling system.

[ahinton]

And the baffling point is that Radio 3 has 'continuity announcers' who either have presented, or would be capable of presenting, programmes AND writing their own scripts and who have been relegated to the ranks.

It's hard to work out exactly how much some presenters know - but the problem arises when they see themselves as 'personalities', important for who they are and thinking that listeners tune in because they're presenting

Consulting Wikipedia to check facts (dates, opus nos, titles) is fine if you know what can be trusted. But anyone who reads out chunks of Wikipedia may be presumed to either know very little or be lazy. Show them the yellow card and if they don't improve …

All agreed, especially the reference to "personalities", which in the present context is in any case a mere euphemism for the over-exposed and underwhelming.

It remains the case, though, that it is unclear how much of any given presenter's script is written by him/her and how much by his/her producer and, whilst I would not be surprised to find that this varies considerably from case to case, the fact is that whoever writes the script ought to have done his/her research beforehand; that said, one would also hope that each presenter would be equipped with sufficient interest in and knowledge of what it is that they're presenting to be able to keep gaffes to the barest minimum whoever's written the script - imagine the inconceivable situation of Sir David Attenborough littering his commentaries with inaccuracies and misleading statements!

However, it's not all about accuracies and otherwise; it is, as you say, the "personality" factor that rears itself every time one of them draws attention to him/herself and his/her participation in a certain television programme (that's just an example), for the notion that "listeners tune in because they're presenting" is plain self-seeking arrogance and, as such, both inappropriate and at times nauseating, although I have little doubt that some presenters actually believe that this is the case.

[Serial_Apologist]

I think there was some reference to her choice of music (something by Piazzolla) .... all by way of introduction to the Squire (as I call him) also playing some Piazzolla. I've no idea where that composer fits into the whole classical music labelling system.

He would come under "Tangy", I guess.

[DracoM]

Verity Sharpe every time for any kind of radio presentation. .

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Verity Sharpe every time for any kind of radio presentation. .

- a vast range of knowledge (about all sorts of Music) with a very "listenable" presentation style. (Could also appear on the Panel of a Gardeners' Question Time, too. Come to think of it, it wouldn't surprise me if she did a damn sight better job on Question Time than a lot of the clueless mouthpieces that frequently opine on that programme.)

[french frank]

Is this just another example of the presenters looking after their own little clique? It certainly has nothing whatsoever to do with the substance of Radio 3.

Happy to accept that they enjoy sitting and chatting with each other in the BBC canteen, and they are good friends. But it seems unprofessional to me to be bringing those friendships into one's work.

We aren't ALL fascinated by the fact that Katie Derham is a celebrity on Strictly Come Dancing (though better there than some other places, no doubt), and it doesn't do to give us the impression that we're therefore excluded from the Radio 3 club.

By the way, did anyone else read that KD trod on her own foot and caused herself a certain amount of damage?

[ahinton]

We aren't ALL fascinated by the fact that Katie Derham is a celebrity on Strictly Come Dancing (though better there than some other places, no doubt), and it doesn't do to give us the impression that we're therefore excluded from the Radio 3 club.

No, indeed we're not but, as you implied earlier, she appears to think that we are, hence the plethora of reference to it tht she has made in a programme where they were entirely superfluous.

By the way, did anyone else read that KD trod on her own foot and caused herself a certain amount of damage?

Well, I hadn't, but I suppose that it does at least demonstrate a certain consistency, bearing in mind her habit of putting her foot in it when presenting on Radio 3. That said, I'm sorry that she injured herself and hope that the self-inflicted (albeint also accidental) damage will not prove to be unduly serious, although it's pretty much par for the course when you do the kind of stuff in which she's gotten herself involved.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

By the way, did anyone else read that KD trod on her own foot and caused herself a certain amount of damage?

Afternoon on 3, September 2011, wasn't it?