Another presenter leaves the BBC

[senua]

Nigel Rees, who has presented the same programme on Radio 4 for 46 years, is leaving because he is fed up with current "wokery". AOL and Metro

In the meantime, there was a protest outside the BBC on Saturday by TRAs.

twitter.com/TransActivismUK/status/1480847756650594304?s=20

Wouldn't be a bit surprised if Nigel Rees was tacitly "let go" because he's been around for 4 million years and isn't exactly a much loved national figure. And he's then saying he's been a big brave boy and left as a statement. Pure speculation but the BBC doesn't often tell everyone when they don't renew contracts etc.

Any Questions on Friday seemed to have quite a few hecklers in the audience, which I haven't heard before. I'm not sure if they were protesting against Nigel Farage (who was one of the guest speakers) or in favour of the Colston Four (discussed on the programme).

I have a friend who works for the BBC. She says it’s a very specific, fairly small group of social justice/woke types in the driving seat. Everyone else just keeps their head down and sits with frozen faces in any meetings trying to avoid having to say anything. Sounds like a complete nightmare.

he's been around for 4 million year
Which means that he's managed to weather an awful lot of changes of management up until now. which is no mean feat.
He could have accepted his golden watch and sloped off quietly but instead he spoke out.

"We had prescriptions to have diverse groups and disabled guests. I didn’t agree with it at all but I went along with it because I had to. It came from upstairs and it seemed to be a general priority," he told The Sunday Times.

If people like this represent your agenda, then you have a problem.

Substantial material for Series X of W1A

He's 77 and the articles say it a mix of pandemic recording restrictions and much more interfence with guest lists and censoring of quotes last few years.

There a thread in AIBU of people much younger and further away from retirement fed up with work since pandemic hit so it's proabbly not that surprising.

With one foot out the door you can easily talk about stuff that's pissed you off - I image after 46 years in role suddenly having more restictions on your work will grate.

I do think there are problems at the BBC - and yes he didn't have to say anything but I'm not sure it's a great example of the issues there.

It's been widely publicised that one of the major "quotas" imposed on BBC programmes has been 50% women contributors. As a feminist I totally support that! Used to get so cheesed off hearing man after man after man. Whatever the BBC's flaws, I have to back this one.

Hmmmm personally if he’s moaning about including more women (actual women) and ppl with disabilities then he should probably go

Knowing that biological men are not women however they present is not being “non women”, it’s using your fucking brain

I think his show is one which may simply have run it's course - it depends on having sufficient shared cultural references. I used to enjoy it - but I think the problem with quotes from Noel Coward aren't so much about 'wokery' (isn't Mad Dogs mocking colonial types?') as that they're outdated, and not really 'classic' enough to expect younger people to know.

Non woke!!!!

Nigel Rees accuses BBC of 'wokery' and an 'agenda to include people of colour and people with disabilities'

Is inclusion of non-white people and people with disabilities something you have a problem with, OP?

@BlueberryCheezecake

Nigel Rees accuses BBC of 'wokery' and an 'agenda to include people of colour and people with disabilities'

Is inclusion of non-white people and people with disabilities something you have a problem with, OP?

Of course not . I think that Nigel was complaining about including people just because of their colour / disability. It's a very old argument.

@Theeyeballsinthesky

Hmmmm personally if he’s moaning about including more women (actual women) and ppl with disabilities then he should probably go

Knowing that biological men are not women however they present is not being “non women”, it’s using your fucking brain

I'd be interested to know the context of that comment. Yes absolutely those groups get marginalised in out put- the number of times for example we've listened, raging, to a group of male people discussing amongst themselves what female people's feelings and needs should be - but equally the BBC are falling into a bit of a 'go and grab one of them to prove we've ticked that box' thing rather than actually engaging with the people and the issues.

Rather like Call The Midwife, where you begin to think someone's running around Nonatus house with an equality checklist going 'Have we covered one of these this week?'

I'm amazed to discover Quote Unquote is still on the radio. It was tired and stale decades ago, so no great loss, tbh.

I've got to say, I don't really understand the point of this thread or why it's here. This man has left the BBC because he objects to having to feature women and minorities on his show. Despite this being a feminist board, we're apparently supposed to sympathise with him? He's not said anything about trans people, or anything else that would be relevant to the board (though I'd guess it'd be a fair bet he's not a fan of trans people either, given he seems to have issues with minorities in general). So what's the point here?

@BlueberryCheezecake

I've got to say, I don't really understand the point of this thread or why it's here. This man has left the BBC because he objects to having to feature women and minorities on his show. Despite this being a feminist board, we're apparently supposed to sympathise with him? He's not said anything about trans people, or anything else that would be relevant to the board (though I'd guess it'd be a fair bet he's not a fan of trans people either, given he seems to have issues with minorities in general). So what's the point here?

Tbh I don't think you're the only person wondering that.

but equally the BBC are falling into a bit of a 'go and grab one of them to prove we've ticked that box' thing

I agree with this, it often is box-ticking and for that reason they will often make a decision on only that basis, feel like they've ticked the box, and still not really address the issue.

The comedian Rosie Jones was actually on R4 the other day and joked about how she's disables AND gay so "the BBC LOVE me!" - hit the nail in the head.

I work in a publishing-related field and it's very similar. When something becomes an "in" or zeitgeisty thing like Black Lives Matter or trans ideology, people will actually say things like "we have to get a trans/indigenous/autistic/whatever author like what XYZ rival publisher have" and the will sign up whoever they can, even if it's not that good, which can be counterproductive obviously.

I have no sympathy for Rees if he's saying he doesn't want to involve any women or minorities at all though. I'd be surprised if he does mean that but he hasn't put it very well.

So what's the point here?
Of course. You are right. There is absolutely no problem whatsoever with woke people at the BBC.

I tend to agree. It is like CTM, or that season of Vera where suddenly lots of the former regulars were missing without explanation, and a bunch of "diverse" people were hired all at once.

It's good to have all kinds of people invited on shows, but please because they are people, and worth talking to about an issue. As a woman I find it kind of shit when there is a woman who seems to be included for tokenistic reasons. I'm aware that sometimes when trying to redress a habitual unbalance it can be tricky to avoid appearing tokenistic or to even be so at times.

But when it gets to where the people up the pipeline are pushing certain guests, or what's often more serious, nixing certain guests, because they are not ticking a diversity box, even if they would be worthwhile guests otherwise, that's a problem.

@senua

So what's the point here? Of course. You are right. There is absolutely no problem whatsoever with woke people at the BBC.

Just to clarify, by 'woke' here, you mean inclusive of women and minorities? And you think this is a bad thing?

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

I'm amazed to discover Quote Unquote is still on the radio. It was tired and stale decades ago, so no great loss, tbh.

Agree!! I actually thought it had been running repeats for years. It’s like listening to a posh but intensely boring dinner party.

Not RTFT just the OP.

Be careful with things like this.

'wokery' is the new word for PC gorn mad.

It's a huge error to assume what they mean.

It could be anything to do with any pc gorn mad things.

It's usually the sort that get irate about stuff like-

Not being able to 'speak their mind'.
Some types of people getting 'special treatment'.
Don't mind gay people but not right to 'shove it in people's faces'

All that shit.

I'll read thread now.

Clicked metro link and it's right there what he's most narked about.

His did you miss that OP?

'The presenter went on to say the tipping point had come last summer when he had been given a list of potential guests ‘mostly made up of people either from an ethnic minority or from some sort of vocal minority – pressure groups and people like that'

Why post on feminism?! Why not chat for eg?

And what's your opinion on this man leaving?

And I've never heard of him tbh. And I would feel pretty confident in saying based on what i read that he's not a huge fan of women either.