Paxo: Homosexual Communist From The BBC

Paxman is scathing about his father’s social pretensions and evolving accent as he leaves the navy and tries, falteringly, to rise in the world. Keith resents his wife’s family wealth, which pays for Jeremy, his two brothers and little sister to attend private schools. He becomes a typewriter salesman then ascends to manage factories across the Midlands. The family home grows to a country house and Keith adopts brass-buttoned blazers, a monocle and plus fours. Paxman sees him as a try-hard and a phoney who once introduced his son to his golf-club friends as “one of those homosexual communists from the BBC”...

Times.

As a homosexual communist formerly at the BBC, I heartily endorse this compliment/comment.

Evan Davis: Can You Imagine!!?

Then there are the inevitable comparisons with his predecessor. If Paxman was an attack dog, then Davis is more of a wolf in sheep’s clothing – or, as some tabloids point out, the kind of clothing that you might find down your local bar on a Saturday night (the subtext being that Davis is – shock horror! – gay). He has been photographed in low-slung jeans and skin-tight T-shirts that show a flash of tattoo and hint at rumoured intimate piercings.

But while this is all great fun – can you imagine John Humphrys wearing trousers so low they showed off his boxer shorts? – I am not quite sure what it’s got to do with his ability to grill a politician. It’s not as if he’s going to front his first show in a pair of leather chaps with a riding crop. Today, Davis is wearing a cardigan and jeans – he looks like a cool, metrosexual geography teacher, if such a thing exists.

“I’m just not Jeremy Paxman,” he says, “and it would be worse if I was trying to be Jeremy Paxman. I’m so not Jeremy Paxman.”

Telegraph.

Question Of The Week: Evan Davis

The arrival of Evan Davis on BBC2’s Newsnight on September 29 is anxiously awaited. Why the anxiety? Because Newsnight, once a BBC powerhouse of political influence, is in a state of worrying decline. It has a small nightly audience, around 600,000. That wouldn’t matter if the audience were special and the guests the best. But top politicians and serious experts often scorn Newsnight now. Will the arrival of Davis be the start of a relaunch?

Ian Katz, Newsnight’s latest editor, arrived from the Guardian last year. Jeremy Paxman, roost ruler for 25 years, soon announced he would be leaving the programme, was persuaded to stay until this June. In August the BBC announced the new “lead anchor” would be Evan Davis, team member of Radio 4’s Today for the past six years...

Daily Telegraph.

I do hope so - anything will be better than bloody Paxman.

Tinsel Tits makes her Newsnight debut on Monday.

PS Fagburn sees 'Paxo' will be hosting Channel 4's general election coverage, Sadly, I appear to be washing my hair that night.

Newsnight: Here We Go!

Might get myself a tellybox.

Oh hang on, that might mean our Eddie stops doing PM!

Worst idea EVER!!!

PS Our Eddie on FILTH!

Newsnight: Just Like Eddie

Checking my blog stats at the close of play yesterday, I noticed a small yet intriguing surge towards this old post about Radio 4's Eddie Mair.
But for why?
Eddie - one of Fagburn's most favourite people - had presented Newsnight for the first time last night.
My hunch is that many people having discovered him for the first time, as you would, Googled three little words; "Eddie Mair Gay?"
Like anyone needs to ask.
His relaxed, affable, non-shouty style went down very well, even the usually anti-gaylord Guido Fawkes approved.
Guido reckons Eddie could be being lined up to take over from Paxman permanently.
Let us hope so.
If you want to see why, Eddie Mair is presenting Newsnight again tonight.
Hurrah!