To be surprised to learn Adrian Chiles is married to the editor of the Guardian?

[AnnunciataZ]

Not sure why I'm surprised that he's married to Kath Viner but at least that may explain why he's got a weekly column. And there I was wondering why they were paying him to write such drivel!

I don't care very much as I don't read The Guardian and confidently expect it to go bust soon if it doesn't introduce a paywall

2022 has been their strongest year, financially speaking, since 2008.

Being good at one thing on the media doesn't mean you're going to be brilliant at another.

Does anyone know what the one thing is in his case?

Why would somebody famous for being a good TV presenter be likely to do better?

I don't know but what does that have to do with Adrian Chiles?

They're not married. I like Adrian Chiles.

I really liked those business and economics programmes he used to do in the 90s / noughties. He made it all really interesting and accessible and was a great presenter, but sadly no channels seem to broadcast stuff like that anymore.

It says here they are. I quite like him too. www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/23031751.adrian-chiles-brings-book-good-drinker-ilkley-literature-festival/

OK, I'm surprised. They tell me I'm one of their top readers worldwide and I don't give them a penny. I use their site with my adblocker on. No other major newspaper in the UK allows me to read their content without at a minimum giving them my email address. Are they getting a lot of advertising revenue? They certainly seem to be pushing very hard the idea that they're a global newspaper. Lots of stories linked on Twitter that turn out to be about Australia or the US, not the UK.

*top readers for occasionally following a link. I don't buy the print paper and I don't routinely look at the online version.

I wonder where you are getting that from?

pressgazette.co.uk/most-popular-newspapers-uk-abc-monthly-circulation-figures/

According to this several newspapers including the Guardian don't disclose their circulation numbers anymore. From the article:

The above figures do not include the Sun, Times and Telegraph titles which have all chosen to keep their ABC circulations private since the start of 2020. The Guardian and Observer joined them in September 2021.

The last ABC figures we have for these titles are as follows:

The Sun: 1,210,915 (March 2020)
The Sun on Sunday: 1,013,777 (March 2020)
The Sunday Times: 647,622 (March 2020)
The Times: 365,880 (March 2020)
Daily Telegraph: 317,817 (December 2019)
Sunday Telegraph: 248,288 (December 2019)
The Observer: 136,656 (July 2021)
The Guardian: 105,134 (July 2021)

Unless you mean subscriptions including the US where they have indeed grown their share. But in the UK, I believe they don't rank that highly in terms of circulation.

This is the sort of unpleasantness I meant. I've enjoyed him in the past on TV and I think his programme on Radio 5 on Fridays shows that he's a perfectly decent radio presenter.

Why is it unpleasant to say his articles are boring?

I saw an advert with Adrien Childs complaining how no body had told him driving six pints of larger every day was unhealthy, why hadn’t anyone told him?! What an absolute idiot. I knew when I was twelve drinking alcohol was unhealthy! He’s like an overgrown baby.

I didn't say that was unpleasant. It's unpleasant to suggest that he has no professional competence and only gets work because of his wife.

Newspaper sales is a tiny part of their finances these days. Barely contributes at all to the overall financial health. Ad sales in the paper a bit more so. Online revenue is more important.

*drinking six pints !!

This is the sort of unpleasantness I meant.

He's genuinely most famous for being pretty bad at TV presenting. Just search Adrian Chiles Gaffes to see some of his many, many screw ups. Working lunch's main appeal was waiting to see how much he'd fuck up.

It's ridiculous to say thinking a celebrity isn't good at their job is unpleasant.

He says he had the column for three months before he first met Kath Viner, so he didn't get the column through nepotism, but as soon as he embarked on a relationship with the boss, it must surely have become very difficult for anybody at The Guardian to have the usual conversations about whether to go on with his column or not.

I'm not sure why this is a surprise to anyone. Nepotism has always been absolutely rampant in newspapers and the Guardian is probably the worst of the bunch.

I think people quoting this sort of thing are missing the subtle irony that is a facet of a lot of his writing and broadcasting - he knows full well that six pints a day isn't healthy and always has. Similarly, his "coppers all look 12" etc is homage to a lot of people who do talk this drivel rather than an earnest expression of it.

I don't get the hate for him - then again I love Jane Garvey too and she often seems to get a bad rap.

🤣

Sigh.
Sad times indeed...

I don't get the hate for him - then again I love Jane Garvey too and she often seems to get a bad rap.

I can take or leave AC.
Jenny Murray ditto.
But I miss Jane Garvey.

Oh that makes a lot of sense. I read one recently where he talked about drinking more water. It was pointless and seemed to stop abruptly, making no point other than he needed to pee more. It seemed like he’d accidentally submitted it half finished

I’m amazed he’s managed to get two supposedly intelligent women to marry him. He must have some secret allure as it certainly isn’t his looks or wit that have attracted them.

He was a customer where I work, a couple of years back… came across as rude. Lord knows what anyone sees in him!

You called it an unpleasant little thread when most of the posts on the thread are talking about how boring and pointless his articles are..

I like Adrian Chiles, but each to their own. He is a bright articulate man. I am not sure why you are surprised he is married to someone bright and intelligent.