Apples and oranges

Liz Bates, 'Yorkshire Post'

Oh dear. I think Our Rob (Rob Burley) won't be overly happy with senior ex-Huff Post now City A.M. journalist (and Michael Gove biographer) Owen Bennett being very unhelpful over the Piers Morgan ladies v gentlemen on the Andrew Marr Show sofa question. 

As we left it earlier, munching our disgusting popcorn, Rob - the BBC's editor of live political programmes - had told Piers Morgan, "Breaking: there are other people apart from newspaper reviewers on the Andrew Marr Show, if you want to count up numbers of men and women on the show best to include all the guests in your total otherwise it looks like you’re twisting statistics".

Owen butted in and replied, "I totally get this but isn’t this mixing apples and oranges? Journalists/commentators v politicians?". 

Wonder what Rob will say to that?

Meanwhile, from the other direction, help has ridden in courtesy of Allison Pearson. That splendid lady tweeted, "Often the female paper reviewer(s) are the only women on the show. It’s a way of getting women into a v[ery] male arena."

(Not that I massively care. I'm far more interested in the balance of views on BBC programmes. Today's balance was fine, and today's ladies were - except for over-exposed, one-track, 'literally a communist' Ash Sarkar - splendid).