Woman's hour - I can't listen to it

[frostymornings]

Agh is it just me? I used to love a bit of woman's hour on the radio as I worked from home, I can't listen to it now.
The topics are still really relevant but I just find the new presenter Emma Barnett is so hard to listen to! Her interviewing style is so confrontational and she interrupts a lot. I was just listening to her interviewing someone about the importance of work place managers being in a good position to spot signs of domestic abuse, and how they could offer support. She kept interrupting and demanding exactly how this would happen rather then letting the guy speak.
To be fair I turned it off at that point so maybe the rest of the interview was Ok, but I do miss Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey, they had such a wonderful easy natural way about them.

It’s just going to become a shouting match with angry opinions dominating and trying to politically point score. Desperate to make what happened on the 10pm news , like five live has become which used to be full of interesting discussion. I guess this is the show they want to attract younger social media types but I’ll give it a miss.

@AgnesNaismith

I hope everyone missing Jane Garvey is listening to her podcast - Fortunately with Fi and Jane

It is brilliant

Yes, love the podcast.

Jane Garvey interviewed me for WH a while back re my miscarriages, she was wonderful.

No one can replace her so I've moved on elsewhere. Not listened to EB and after this thread, shan't!

I used to like EB on R5, but I knew what I was getting - tough and political. I’m not sure if that’s the right tone for WH - I liked JG’s warmth and subtlety. JG is a legend - I love Fortunately. Listening to Fi and Jane has helped me get through a few tough moments.

I hope Jane Garvey is offered her own show by another broadcasting outlet. I think Woman's Hour did need updating to keep it relevant for younger women but there are very few radio shows which are specifically relevant to women in her age group. And there are lots of us listening!

I don't listen to WH but I listen to Radio 5 live in the car and would have to switch off if EB was interviewing a politician because I'd get so wound up with her. Never lets anyone finish a sentence, talks over them, is rude, aggressive. Soneone could be explaining a complicated issue with many different points and she picks one then starts asking the same stupid question over and over, demanding the answer to a very minor point.

There is being challenging (Rachel Burden does some great interviews) without being an out and out dick.

I'm going to listen properly today. But I agree every interviewer now just interrupts all the time thinking it makes them sound clever. It's just makes time sound rude and aggressive. I'm not listening to hear presenters views they are there to enable an interview that will help me form my own opinion.

Those links are shocking.

Just looked at some of those links
Well that's an eye opener!
Maybe Radio 4 will find this thread and give us an alternative

Another vote for Fortunately here. I listen to it when out exercising- it’s fabulous. Have fingers crossed that their move to radio doesn’t change the tone.

I heard that interview too, op, and like you I found it unnecessarily confrontational. It would have been better as a discussion, instead of something that as sounded like it was out of News night. I guess she is still finding her feet.... I like Anita Rani though.

"Police found emails between Mr Barnett and his daughter Emma, talking about his `whores'."

WTH?

@AbsintheFriends

I also think the content has changed, and not for the better.

WH used to be a really interesting range. You might get (for entirely made up example) a female poet living in the Hebrides writing about women's lives there in the past, or a woman operating an inner city food bank, or young women talking about body image in the age of social media or whatever. It was a really broad church, at times cosy and gentle, at times an insight into different and unusual lifestyles, at times highlighting women forging a path in their fields, at times tackling political or social issues - so a bit of art, culture, fashion, science, lifestyle and politics.

At times (especially latterly) it felt awkward and there was the sense of wearily plodding around the elephant in the room (what is a woman?) I was looking forward to a new voice and a bit of fresh energy, but I entirely agree with pp. It feels like someone picking a fight every day and I really don't want to listen to what sounds like the radio equivalent of those Rogue Traders-type TV programmes, where aggressive presenters doorstep plumbers that rip off old ladies.

I totally agree with your paragraph on the range of WH. I really liked that varied, magazine style aspect of the programme. Introduced you to totally new topics & lives. I worry that this will be lost with EB’s ‘more men, more politics’ line.

I think @thereplycamefromanchorage has hit the nail on the head. What made WH different from all of the news orientated political programmes was that it had an atmosphere of a curated discussion forum .

Very rarely were the hosts attempting to ‘make a point’ ir ‘get a scoop’ it felt much more about informing and highlighting areas which might get less attention elsewhere .

Rachel Burden would be amazing on WH - she has a great interviewing style - empathy, warmth, but she’s also v. mentally acute & politically aware IMO.

The demise of WH is just another example of how the BBC consistently get the mood wrong and carried away with what they think they know about us all.

They always think they know best, despite what is fed back from their audiences to the contrary.

And increasingly the BBC seem to value any presenter that can be hard hitting, ruthless and controversial - overlooking perhaps the gentle, thoughtful and considered journalism that many of us favour.

Emma has forgotten perhaps that she is there to 'present' and 'discuss' the views of others, not to use the role as soapbox for her endless views on everything, she never misses her chance to ram her opinions down our throats.

I am really missing thoughtful discussion, and a gentle exchange of views that started from a point of total respect and authenticity. Civility and respect seem to be bygone qualities at the BBC these days.

Radio 4 was the one last havens of civility left, and this is why it is such a travesty, it is not as if we are awash with choices and the ones we do have are receding fast.

They always think they know best, despite what is fed back from their audiences to the contrary.

hamstersarse I don't know how much this applies to the BBC but I always assume that production companies are populated by lots of blokes under thirty - and not many older women - and I think it shows.

I was by chance listening to Fearne Cotton being interviewed on a podcast the other day and she was quite interesting on the subject of how young female presenters are cajoled in to behaving on screen and how TV and radio is still very much a man's world.

You can see that by the way they are dressed shameful skin tight dresses with heels and blow drys still very much in play, particularly news readers and weather forecasts etc despite the fact most women do not, and have not dressed like that in decades bar the odd wedding and night out.

I long to see a more relaxed and confident look that is more keeping with real women today.

Sorry, I should’ve linked to the article about her parents (thank you to those who did).

I definitely wouldn’t hold her to blame for the (literal) sins of the father, and I think her style is well-suited to 5 Live, it’s just the Woman’s Hour bit that gets me.

God that's awful but children cannot be held responsible for the sins of their parents guardian article a little more balanced. But yes I'm a bit shocked. I have never heard of her previously

@RedTitsMcGinty

(I also think it’s somewhat tasteless to put a presenter in Woman’s Hour who knew her parents were running a brothel — a brothel where there was human trafficking taking place.)

Wait! What!?!

Emma Barnett is way too aggressive and confrontational and she drowns out the debate with her own views constantly. She has no idea what neutrality and impartiality means either, and every chance she gets she is politically point scoring. She is literally unbearable to listen to.

This. I don't have it on much now. At first, I thought she might turn out to be a change for the better but I now think she must wish she was working on a cutting edge news/political programme and has been sorely disappointed. She is extremely rude to her interviewees. Lucky for her they are mostly too well mannered to comment on it.

She’s dreadful. Completely wrong for WH. Whereas Anita Rani is an absolute delight. Hopefully Barnett, who’s an awesome political journalist, will realise it’s not for her and hand the reins to someone more suitable.

Also, I'm happy to be accused of tinfoilhattery here, but if listening figures fall, could the BBC be happy to axe the programme completely citing a lack of need for it?

Kaye Adams on Radio Scotland is my favourite radio presenter, she always voices the questions that pop up in my head and she is very warm and empathetic with interviewees without being patronising or letting them ramble on. Quite funny too but can switch from light to serious. Moving back to Scottish broadcasting always puts you into a career cul de sac though.