tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6112651969466158066.post5382819812618581024..comments2023-11-02T04:40:21.698-07:00Comments on Dr. Eric Edmond's Blog: BBC pro EU bias obvious with Sarah Montague on TodayEric Edmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661176160109187800noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6112651969466158066.post-52232418743737267092016-01-07T07:01:54.442-08:002016-01-07T07:01:54.442-08:00I've never liked Montague. I first became awar...I've never liked Montague. I first became aware of her rather less than pretty features when she presented Newsnight a few years back, and it was immediately apparent that she was one of the many wannabe-Paxmans that were proliferating at the time, all of whom thought that all you had to do to emulate Paxo was to constantly interrupt the interviewee in aggressive and bombastic fashion, before they had the chance to blurt out more than four of five words. In fact, none of them ever showed the slightest understanding of Paxman's technique at all. Yes, the man himself would interject brusquely, but only after giving the interviewee the chance to give a coherent answer and only after it had become apparent that the interviewee had chosen not to grasp that chance but instead to be evasive. Indeed, unlike all his third-rate mimics, Paxman understood the value of silence as well as of interruption. He understood the old saying "give 'em enough rope and they'll hang themselves", and if interviewees were making fools of themselves, he could judge quite brilliantly when just to sit back and raise that famous eyebrow. Incomptent blowhards like Montague have no such judgment at all. Another such clown (although one who predates Paxman) is the dreadful John Humphreys. I remember he once had Peter Lilley absolutely on the ropes with a question, and Lilley was floundering completely trying to think of what to say. That's the precise moment where Paxman would have just given the eyebrow, but "I-Love-The-Sound-Of-My-Own-Voice" Humphreys simply couldn't resist interjecting, and hey presto, Lilley was let off the hook and had time to recover his composure and think of an answer. Funny how all these blowhards like Montague and Humphreys end up on Today. To be fair, I suppose eyebrow-raising doesn't work on radio, a bit like ventriloquism, although you'll get more sense out of Archie Andrews than Montague.The Double Eventnoreply@blogger.com