As I was driving to work yesterday I heard Jon Sopel telling the Today boys (Justin and John) about his big moment with Donald Trump. The lads were all agog. Then on came Peter Oborne and complained about BBC bias and how smug Mr. Sopel had sounded just then, and the Today boys sniggered and fell about laughing at every one of his accusations. Justin then gave himself the last word (defending the BBC against Mr. Oborne). Such larks!
And talking about giving yourself the last word, Jon repeated his own 'last word' from yesterday's News at Ten in a BBC website article, which closes:
And talking about giving yourself the last word, Jon repeated his own 'last word' from yesterday's News at Ten in a BBC website article, which closes:
Miaow!
Plus here, incidentally, is a reminder of what Jon Sopel told Roger Bolton on last October on Radio 4's Feedback:
Plus here, incidentally, is a reminder of what Jon Sopel told Roger Bolton on last October on Radio 4's Feedback:
On the matter of Sopel Trump etc., the BBC have a major problem. With this simple phrase 'Here's another beauty' Trump can ridicule and ignore any journalist on any subject that the BBC might attempt to run with. Although Trump may have said it first off the cuff, it has stuck, and it has become a valuable weapon for him.
ReplyDeleteThe Sopal tactic of trying to make out that his reputation is somehow enhanced by the encounter is utter rubbish. It may wash with his BBC colleagues, but not with the rest of us. It was the BBC en masse that Trump was addressing - first Laura K and now Sopel. If this is the best the BBC PR department can do, Laura should be claiming ownership of the phrase. What's the betting that Sopel will be brought back here to the bosom of the BBC with a nice little bonus and promotion?
The MSM made the mistake of thinking Trump was stupid. So far he's been running rings around them. The average listener hearing BBC people grooming each other and panting in delight like a band of chimps will sense some sort of confirmation of what Trump is saying.
DeleteSopel is coming across more and more like a schoolboy bragging to his friends after he has thrown a stone at a window. If BBC journalists did their job properly and asked constructive questions rather than deliberately trying to provoke an antagonistic response we might actually learn something about Trump. That is, something other than the opinion of the interviewer. Sopel and his colleagues may well feel that they can earn some kind of kudos within the closed world of the BBC from this kind of encounter, but the license paying public gains absolutely nothing.
ReplyDeleteHow about limiting each press conference question to 140 characters? That would suit The President!
DeleteI've been thinking the same thing - now whenever Trump wants to change the discussion he'll just go down the MSM is biased route and they'll start attacking him for daring to question their moral high ground, and completely forget the actual "story".
ReplyDeleteI'm just not sure if it's planned and stage managed or that Trump genuinely believes.