Eddie Mair

[DracoM]

Total disaster for BBC. And me as a PM listener.
Acerbic, funny, acute interviewer, essential breath of fresh air of informed scepticism in BBC's kowtowing submisison to corporatist anonymity.

[gradus]

What a pity that he's leaving the Beeb, presumably someone made an unrefusable offer.

[Bryn]

What a pity that he's leaving the Beeb, presumably someone made an unrefusable offer.

More a case of his refusing to take a pay cut in line with he Beeb's new equal pay culture.

[ardcarp]

Total disaster for BBC. And me as a PM listener.
Acerbic, funny, acute interviewer, essential breath of fresh air of informed scepticism in BBC's kowtowing submisison to corporatist anonymity.

I agree up to a point, though I find his 'funny' side a tad irritating at times. It's probably a production thing rather than a specifically Mair thing, but I find the chunks of PM devoted to heart-on-sleeve issues rather than news somewhat out of place in a current affairs programme.

Any thoughts on who might step into his shoes?

[zola]

Any thoughts on who might step into his shoes?

Katie Derham.

[Pianorak]

... I find the chunks of PM devoted to heart-on-sleeve issues rather than news somewhat out of place in a current affairs programme. ..

The main reason why I no longer stay the course, once the headline news has been dealt with. But he will be missed.

[DracoM]

Katie Derham.

OMG................please, please tell me this is a joke?
The upside is R3 loses her. Hmm. Tricky.

[Richard Tarleton]

It's probably a production thing rather than a specifically Mair thing, but I find the chunks of PM devoted to heart-on-sleeve issues rather than news somewhat out of place in a current affairs programme.

I think this began with the Steve Hewlett interviews, which were moving and served a purpose, though others since weren't, and don't. I like his acerbic wit, the feud with Peston was wearing and contrived, and he writes an odd little column in Radio Times which I look at chiefly for the Robert Thompson cartoon

[LMcD]

I agree up to a point, though I find his 'funny' side a tad irritating at times. It's probably a production thing rather than a specifically Mair thing, but I find the chunks of PM devoted to heart-on-sleeve issues rather than news somewhat out of place in a current affairs programme.

Any thoughts on who might step into his shoes?

Paddy O'Connell?

Will we also be deprived of his column in the Radio Times, I wonder?

[Serial_Apologist]

No mention of where he's going, but the fact that the likes of myself mourn Mair's going, because he was one of the very few interviewers who seemed able to retain answers already given in the course of an interview and not interrupt midway through the second sentance of a reply, or otherwise jostle his subjects, is certainly indicative of how far things have sunk at the more supposedly intelligence-demanding end of the BBC. People say - and I heard Humphrys say this on a programme where Tony Benn interviewed interviewers representing several TV channels - that politicians and experts often dodge questions; but to me it seems important that we get to witness such evasiveness in action, rather than pre-empted by an interviewer who effectively lets people off the hook.

[greenilex]

I find the interviews on Channel Four news a good deal more revealing than anything the Beeb manages.

[VodkaDilc]

I find the interviews on Channel Four news a good deal more revealing than anything the Beeb manages.

An opinion I have shared for some years, but, due to the pro-BBC bias here, have been reluctant to voice. It's not just Jon Snow either; Matt Frei is one of the best in the business (and ITN/Channel 4 seem to encourage him to interview Europeans in their own language, without too much spoon-feeding for the viewer. When did the BBC last treat us as adults in that respect?)

I wonder if an opening for EM might be found at Channel 4?

[gradus]

More a case of his refusing to take a pay cut in line with he Beeb's new equal pay culture.

Unrefusable - more or less.

[vinteuil]

I find the interviews on Channel Four news a good deal more revealing than anything the Beeb manages.

.

An opinion I have shared for some years, but, due to the pro-BBC bias here, have been reluctant to voice. It's not just Jon Snow either; Matt Frei is one of the best in the business (and ITN/Channel 4 seem to encourage him to interview Europeans in their own language, without too much spoon-feeding for the viewer. When did the BBC last treat us as adults in that respect?)

... channel 4 news is our go-to place here : not so much for the predictably over-earnest Snow - but for the rest of the team : Cathy Newman, Matt Frei, Kylie Morris, Helia Ibrahimi, Jackie Long, Alex Thomson, Gary Gibbon, Lindsey Hilsum, Siobhan Kennedy, Michael Crick, Jonathan Miller, Jonathan Rugman, Victoria Macdonald, Andy Davies, Paraic O'Brien, Ciaran Jenkins, and all the rest - no other channel can match this team...


.

[jean]

Unrefusable - more or less.

He could hardly be expected to survive on less than £350,000 a year, could he?