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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Can only men do serious news?!

26 replies

Lazierdays · 09/04/2021 13:34

Shelia Fogarty does the daily LBC show at 1pm. She is a great royalist and has a lot of knowledge on the royal family. Yet Nick Ferrari, who has already done his show from 7-10 this morning, has been summoned back to do this afternoons show on Prince Phillip, while Sheila is to sit there quietly and just gets to make the occasional comment Confused.
I know it’s not a huge deal but AIBU that this feels pretty unfair on Shelia?

OP posts:
OhWhyNot · 09/04/2021 13:35

I guess they have picked the presenter who gets the highest ratings

emilyfrost · 09/04/2021 13:37

YABU. It won’t have been a snap decision. These things are planned months and years in advance; he will have known he would be making the announcement when it happened a long time ago.

It’s not as easy as “just read the news” Hmm

Original poster
Lazierdays · 09/04/2021 13:40

@emilyfrost

YABU. It won’t have been a snap decision. These things are planned months and years in advance; he will have known he would be making the announcement when it happened a long time ago.

It’s not as easy as “just read the news” Hmm

I didn’t say it was as easy as ‘just read the news’ Sheila has been a presenter forever, having previously worked on the BBC, and has covered events such as Hillsborough. I just feel she would have been perfectly capable without Nick swooping in. I’m poissibly being unreasonably but as LBC only have one female daytime presenter they hardly are equally representative.
OP posts:
eddiemairswife · 09/04/2021 13:40

All men have to do is put on a black tie, and I bet one is always kept handy in the studio since Peter Sissons got a lot of stick because he wore a maroon tie when Diana died

emilyfrost · 09/04/2021 13:41

It’s irrelevant how long she’s been a presenter.

Knowing this was coming at some point a presenter (Nick) will have been chosen well in advance to lead it; it will have been practiced over and over and over so it would be perfect.

rainbowthoughts · 09/04/2021 13:43

It's an allocated 'job' not a feminist issue

QueenOfTheDoubleWide · 09/04/2021 13:46

You are also just talking about LBC. ITV has had female presenters making the announcement and presenting this afternoon

Sexnotgender · 09/04/2021 13:47

They will have various protocols in place for events like this. For whatever reason he is the one doing this. I can’t get worked up about this one.

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 09/04/2021 13:48

It’s probably just that a particular presenter is chosen in advance and rehearsed for major events like this. They’re not done Ad Hoc. For instance Evan Davies is doing the BBC Radio two program - usually Jeremy Vine at this time of day who I’d have thought would have been perfectly capable of presenting.

Abraxan · 09/04/2021 13:56

@QueenOfTheDoubleWide

You are also just talking about LBC. ITV has had female presenters making the announcement and presenting this afternoon
BBC also had a woman making the announcement.

I assumed it was a job allocated to key newsreaders, probably more than one in case of illness, absence, etc.and practised/rehearsed by them every so often.

So one of the allocated people will be called in based in a number of factors such as if already in building, if closest to get there if not in etc.

littlewhitestar · 09/04/2021 14:12

@rainbowthoughts

It's an allocated 'job' not a feminist issue
This.

Broadcasters have a plan and regularly rehearse obituaries for senior Royals and politicians. The role of presenting in the event of Prince Phillip passing will have been decided a long time ago. Nick Ferrari would have taken over whoever should have been normally on air.

moochingtothepub · 09/04/2021 14:21

ITV has a female newsreader on currently, bbc has a man (not sure why they are simulcasting on 3 channels though???) I'm switching to Netflix now

StealthPolarBear · 09/04/2021 14:25

It's far from perfect though. The first few announcements contained a lot of um ers and forgetting how to refer to him, Prince... Um the Duke of Edinburgh
I was really surprised

LadyCatStark · 09/04/2021 14:33

There’s 2 women presenters on ITV right now.

LadyCatStark · 09/04/2021 14:35

And there was a woman presenter outside of Buckingham Palace too. In fact, there more women than men involved on ITV.

RockNRollNerd · 09/04/2021 14:40

Giles Coren said on Twitter earlier that his show has been pulled so Cathy Freeman can do the coverage as part of prearranged plans at Times Radio so different stations pick different presenters irrespective of sex.

Postdatedpandemic · 09/04/2021 14:42

Presumably Shelia is down to do the Queen and David Attenborough.

Crankley · 09/04/2021 14:44

Not unless it's Kate Burley when a chimpanzee of either sex could do better.

peak2021 · 09/04/2021 14:44

I don't think it is down to sex either. Not that I would choose Nick Ferrari for such a tribute programme myself.

Mochudubh · 09/04/2021 15:39

@StealthPolarBear

It's far from perfect though. The first few announcements contained a lot of um ers and forgetting how to refer to him, Prince... Um the Duke of Edinburgh I was really surprised
I noticed this, the main media outlets must have had his obit written years ago and kept up to date so why do the ones I've heard sound so waffly? Boris was (unsuprisingly) awful but even the professional broadcasters are coming out with lots of "uhm" and "ehr".
jaiii · 09/04/2021 15:42

BBC had a woman on and she looked like she was on the verge of tears

Nith · 09/04/2021 16:37

YANBU. I can't stand Nick Ferrari at the best of times, I just switched off when he turned up.

ZaZathecat · 09/04/2021 16:43

YANBU because Nick Ferrari is a bit of a knobhead, and Sheila Fogarty is pretty good. She should trump him every time.

Isitsixoclockalready · 09/04/2021 16:50

@ZaZathecat

YANBU because Nick Ferrari is a bit of a knobhead, and Sheila Fogarty is pretty good. She should trump him every time.
Yes, Sheila is pretty good.
Judashascomeintosomemoney · 09/04/2021 17:33

@ZaZathecat

YANBU because Nick Ferrari is a bit of a knobhead, and Sheila Fogarty is pretty good. She should trump him every time.
See OP, if you’d worded it like this, no one would have argued Grin