The 'oh no not another thread' thread

[cloughie]

And have you noticed that apart from the egregious Rafferty and the Saturday AMcG, R3 seems to be more or less a male-free zone for huge stretches of the week?

Yes and Suzy is preferable to Sean!

[kernelbogey]

Oh come on, Draco, you men all oppressed us & suppressed us for centuries, I'm sure you can spare us a few hours on a barely-listened-to radio station in 2012...

But Jayne, my dear, there is new research which shows how we men have been oppressed for centuries too.... This second sexism, I'm sorry to say, even seeps into comments on these very boards about CDR and its presenter, objections to the photo of a male presenter on the TTN web pages - and here I am, awake at 2.30, worrying about my fellow men and standing up for their rights. I'm mentally drafting a petition in support of Sean Rafferty - Irish! doubly oppressed!! - even as I write these words.

Aux barricades mes amis!

[ahinton]

Oh come on, Draco, you men all oppressed us & suppressed us for centuries, I'm sure you can spare us a few hours on a barely-listened-to radio station in 2012...

What? ALL men? Jayne, whatever kind of place IS Liverpool? Clearly one where the male population is to be avoided at all costs! (makes mental note to avoid a certain araea in north-west England at all costs)...

To return to the topic, however, I think that you're pretty much on the money in suggesting that KD is something of an exception among female R3 presenters, even though she's by no means the only one to indulge in unnecessary and unenlightening idle chatter from time to time (just as some of the male ones do); however, I don't anticipate any of the others deploying the term "gang" to describe a British symphony orchestra, Russian conductor and Japanese pianist as la dirham did a couple of afternoons back.

I have no idea whether KD is trying hard to talk to just one individual (as long as that individual isn't me), but she all too often shows herself as being hopelessly out of her comfort zone on R3 but at the same time blissfully unaware of this fact.

When all's said and done, however, I have to confess that radiothreepresenterphobia is a disease to which I find it all too easy to succumb; as others here and elsewhere have suggested, there really is no need to elevate the status of presenter to one that is not germane to the thrust of what R3 is all about, but R3 has nevertheless imported presentermania from elsewhere and it seems now to have become endemic. It's becoming ever easier to note the difference between those who know their stuff and don't embrace idle chatter and perceived easy-going listener-friendliness, listener tweets/emails/calls, mispronunciations and other gaffes and the others who don't know their stuff and do some or all of these things. Perhaps one possible solution to this problem would be that someone like Donald Macleod presents a programme à la manière de KD and vice versa, were it not for the fact that DM would probably find that quite difficult and KD would find it well-nigh impossible...

[Panjandrum]

Doversoul, it's good to see that you show as much respect for French Frank as you do for Katie Derham.

Surprised to see that respect is a word in your vocabulary, Word.

A couple of questions for you:

Are you happy to take your car to be serviced by a mechanic who doesn't know a boot from a bonnet?

Are you happy to eat at a restaurant where the chef thinks that Bisque is biscuit spelt wrong?

[Norfolk Born]

Penny Gore, Louise Frye, Fiona Tolkington, Susan Sharp, and Sara MP when she is freed from the play leader role on Breakfast. Similarly, Sarah Walker seems to be wasted on Essential Classics. Ian Skelly and other male presenters who have been mentioned. And of course, Lucie Skeaping and Catherine Bott.

It does look as if KD is an odd one out.

In the interests of harmony, and despite the inherent irony which they embody, I shall refrain from listing the incorrect spellings (there are up to half-a-dozen) of names of presenters listed in this message.

[Firebird]

So to John Shea, Catherine Bott, Susan Sharpe, Donald Macleod, Andrew McGregor and Jonathan Swain - just for starters.

Ditto. And Sara Mohr-Pietsch's pronuniciation of foreign names and titles is also generally very good. But note how many in the list above present principally on TTN: Shea, Sharpe and Swain. It's as though R3 wants to hide away its most competent presenters in the hours of the day when the fewest people are likely to be listening. And while I would never defend KD's pronunciation, it is no worse than Rob Cowan's, whom no one seems to fault.

Re Decantor's comments on mumbling: I, too, find this to be a problem, exacerbated by the fact that R3 announcers do very little repeating of key information. When I lived in the US, the announcers on the classical music stations I listened to in various parts of the country all had the habit of stating the work, composer and key performer, then perhaps saying a little more, then briefly reiterating work/composer/performer. This meant that if you missed the first time, because a truck went by or someone dropped a book just then, you had a second chance to learn what you were going to hear or had just heard. I never found it unduly repetitious and often needed the help: it's in the nature of listening to the radio that you can easily miss a few seconds. R3 announcers never seem to give the listener a second chance, and the problem is exacerbated when they toss off information in a low tone that they may think is obvious but which may not be so obvious to the listener.

[doversoul1]

In the interests of harmony, and despite the inherent irony which they embody, I shall refrain from listing the incorrect spellings (there are up to half-a-dozen) of names of presenters listed in this message.

I am more than happy to be corrected. Spelling is (along with a lot of other) not my strongest point. (Having said that, there are rather a lot… )

[Panjandrum]

She's got you in one there, Panyan - quite remarkable

Funnily enough, I thought of you when I wrote that but decided against it on the grounds that it would have been gratuitously offensive.

[Panjandrum]

Oh come on, Draco, you men all oppressed us & suppressed us for centuries, I'm sure you can spare us a few hours on a barely-listened-to radio station in 2012...

Not sure the original inhabitants of Pontus would agree with that.

[arancie33]

it is no worse than Rob Cowan's, whom no one seems to fault.

I can assure you that there are some of us out here who find Rob Cowan's entire presentational manner unbearable - knowledgeable as he may be.

[Extended Play]

Surely at least some of these presenters are performing as they do against their better judgment -- at the behest of producers who are following orders from higher up the chain of command. I can't believe the presenters all relish the antics that are foisted on them and us. They can't, can they.......?

I wonder if there's ever discussion at programme meetings of the pros and cons of imposing some restraint on these excesses.

[Suffolkcoastal]

I think to add to my post of yesterday, that the other problem is the allocation of presenters to programmes.

SMP and PT seem fine presenting evening concerts, but totally wrong presenting Breakfast, but that is also probably to do with the programme and the endless tinkering that RW and his politburo keep making to it. It doesn't need fixing just axing! RC, well generally being incumbered with ' Breakfast' and then 'Inessential Classics' (which also needs to go under the axe), seems to turned him from a knowledgeable and interesting presenter into one of RW's 'gushers'. I can't make my mind up about SW! Three presenters need to go (KD, CBH and SR). The aim of a good manager/controller should be to use the talents he/she to show the organisation in the best light and if possible also devise programming to suit these abilities I am sure that a competent manager should be able to do this with the rest of the presenting staff with which I have no problems.

Quite clearly RW is a poor manager/conroller, this can be seen: by the continual thrashing around that seems to be endemic at R3 these days, and which hasn't achieved any lasting improvements, merely potential long-term damage to the station, the shoving of presenters in to programmes that do not suit their unique presenting skills and the general 'shoddiness' creeping in, with the continual factual mistakes and the state of the website.

[Panjandrum]

Surely at least some of these presenters are performing as they do against their better judgment -- at the behest of producers who are following orders from higher up the chain of command. I can't believe the presenters all relish the antics that are foisted on them and us. They can't, can they.......?

What you're saying, EP, is that they're basically just a bunch of spineless "yes" men (and women)?

[Extended Play]

What you're saying, EP, is that they're basically just a bunch of spineless "yes" men (and women)?

Some, yes; others, I fear, may be happy to promote the hype and gimmicks.

[Flosshilde]

Funnily enough, I thought of you when I wrote that but decided against it on the grounds that it would have been gratuitously offensive.

Not like you to hold back, panini.


I've noticed a few comments about Sean Rafferty - I think he is very good at his main job, In Tune. Whenever he's away the programme lacks the lightness (in the best sense) & ease he brings to it. He's also been a more than capable concert presenter when I've heard him.


Completely agree with arancie33 - Rob was unbearable in CD Classics (as daft a title, if not dafter, as Essential Classics) & is not really any better in the current programme. He's not too bad when he's doing a slot on CD Review, mainly when he's having a conversation with AMcG. His tics are less obvious then.