Emma Barnett to leave BBC R4 Woman's Hour

[BoreOfWhabylon]

Good news for Today programme (Justin will appreciate the company!).

I wonder if India W will apply for the WH position?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2024/emma-barnett-to-join-today-programme-presenting-team/

I'm rather sad as wh has been better for someone who is extremely good at grilling someone! But today is a good spot for her.

any news on her replacement? IW perhaps? (gets coat)

Ahh, I’m glad that she’s not been hounded out for not being sufficiently kind and it’ll be good for the Today programme*. But sad for WH as it was refreshing to have someone not hamstrung in feeling the need for constant female niceness in presenting on it.

*it’s not how I pictured her looking though I’m not sure how I thought she looked!

My OH knows how annoyed I felt at EBs constant haranguing of the police and her daily obsession with the subject of misogyny.
The tragic murder of Sarah Everard by a psychopath was bought up constantly and it began to look as if Emma had personal issues with the police which was why I started thinking and researching her background about how she progressed to being a BBC presenter.
I was wondering why Lucy Letby another example of someone in a position of power and a psychopath was hardly mentioned on the programme compared to Wayne Cousins.
When I discovered that her parents ran these brothels of trafficked women in Manchester and were eventually put in prison it was clear nobody could not be influenced by growing up in such an unusual situation.
My OH feels that she should not be hiding this clear influence on her views. When it was all in the news some years ago, it was said that nobody should suffer from the sins of their parents which is true but it must create a bias.
There were question marks over her knowledge of where the family wealth came from due to emails referring to these women as whores.
I am personally very glad that EB is no longer espousing her views on some issues in WH and I hope that Today will prove a better environment where less of what I perceive as her lack of impartiality regarding women's matters will be as so empowered.
In her final programme speaking of her success of a recent IVF pregnancy was the ultimate in lack of compassion for all those women listening who cannot afford several privately funded IVF attempts to have another baby as she could.

Well someone doesn’t like EB, that’s for sure.
I’m sure I’ve read a similar rant on another thread.

Why a rant?
I am just making my views.
EB being praised for not being kind is kind of annoying.

My OH knows how annoyed I felt at EBs constant haranguing of the police and her daily obsession with the subject of misogyny.... My OH feels that she should not be hiding this clear influence on her views.

So glad your OH was around to reinforce your feelings about misogyny in such a beautifully appropriate manner.

As I posted on the other thread about Emma Barnett, I'd want to know a lot more about the context of those comments (ie what her parents did) before assuming anything. Some people have assumed that Emma Barnett was somehow involved in running brothels. It might be that she, as a young woman, was raging when she found out what her father was doing.

Thanks for the valuable insight into your OH's thoughts Nonowt.

The fact that your OH knows all about Emma Barnett's family history suggests that she's not hiding it. It's been raised on these boards many times over the years. Maybe having close understanding of how vulnerable women were abused by her father almost in plain sight is exactly why she feels compelled to use her very articulate voice to speak up for women's rights? Perhaps you could put that to your OH.

Lucy Letby was a vanishingly rare case of a woman abusing her position in the most abhorrent way. You call her a psychopath, which may or may not be clinically accurate, but she's an extreme outlier. On a popluation level if only men raped and murdered women at the same rate that female nurses kill babies in cold blood we'd all feel a lot safer. I'd suggest the fact that infanticide isn't endemic in society or its law enforcers could be why it wasn't discussed on Woman's Hour in the same depth as violent misogyny within the police force.

Im glad she's moving on up in her career. Have to say her voice really grated. I really like women's hour most of the time (so glad they dropped the drama at the end), but as it's radio I find the actual voice really important. I loved Jenny Murray's voice.

I don't think any of us would want to or deserve to be thought less of because of what our parents did. You're being very unfair @Nonowt and you've spelled 'no' wrongly in your username, too.

What a bizarre rant. Like most women, I am concerned about misogyny and it absolutely should be a prominent issue on WH. And as for Wayne Couzens - did you not see the outpouring of concern after it came to light? And the hundreds of officers since then who it turns out have been raping and abusing women and only came to light because of the case? Again, clearly something which needs prominent discussion on WOMEN’S hour.

How lovely for you that your, presumably male, OH agrees with you that male violence against women and girls should not be discussed as much on a show aimed at women though…

How is she hiding something if it is literally written on her Wikipedia page?

She's allowed to have any career she wants and express any opinion she likes within the law.

I wasn't sure about EB's appointment as the lead presenter to start with. I just wasn't sure whether she was right for the programme, not because she wasn't a very competent broadcaster. She took a little while to hit her stride in the role, but she's head and shoulders above the other WH presenters now. I'm worried that I may not want to listen any more now she's left. I hope fluffy Fridays doesn't spread to the rest of the week.

Hulla ballu gald you are glad my OH happens to be around when WH is on. Do you know him them? He is a very nice person even though male!

Nauticant. Maybe you are right but why refer to women as whores in emails with your father?

Wintertrees Does she stand up for womens' rights though? Some perhaps but many topics are class ridden in my opinion.

Miltobe what a childish comment. It is a username for heaven's sake!
Also I was not thinking less of her for how her parents made their huge wealth just the clear influence it has on some of her views.

LM Muffet
Misogyny is discussed on WH? Not in a very helpful way in my view but then I nor my male OH as it happens are not entitled to a view it seems. Where exactly did I say it was a subject that should not be discussed?

MissScarlet inThe ballroom She is entitled to say what she chooses,unlike me apparently but I am personally glad that some of the complaints to the BBC have filtered through and she is moving to Today may be for the reasons I gave.
How many people (I say people because it's not all women listening to WH) bother looking on Wikipedia? The power a radio presenter has is huge at that time of the day and has been seen by the constant programme assassination of our police force. We unfortunately have hidden psychopaths in most roles involving power and vulnerable people. I can remember in my first class when training to be a psychiatric nurse the lecturer stated one of you in this room could have that personality which is not classified a mental illness and we would have no idea.

Sadly also the murder of young men is far far more frequent than young women so us with sons as well as daughters will have an equal fear of either being a victim, especially during those fraught adolescent years.
Since when is debate defined a rant?

I quite liked EB, until a couple of years ago, when I heard her interview Zara Mohammed - who had just been appointed the General Secretary of the Muslin Council of Britain. The first women to hold this role. EB was so hostile - rather than celebrating a woman succeeding - it was quite the opposite. I was surprised by EB wanting to pull a woman down. I have had no time for her since then.

Today, colloquially known as the Today programme, is BBC Radio 4's long-running morning news and current-affairs radio programme. Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 06:00 to 09:00 (starting on Saturday at 07:00), it is produced by BBC News and is the highest-rated programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks. In- depth political interviews and reports are interspersed with regular news bulletins, as well as Thought for the Day. It has been voted the most influential news programme in Britain in setting the political agenda, with an average weekly listening audience around 6 million. Wikipedia

You are free, of course, to have your opinion on Emma Barnett @Nonowt , but her move to Today is not some sort of sideways shuffle due to complaints. It's a huge accomplishment and an acknowledgement of her broadcasting talent.

@Nonowt Men murder other men in generally very different circumstances than they murder women.
Young men in gang warfare, pub brawls or other fights, drug deals gone wrong, men in often criminal businesses killing their associates over money or double dealing.... the list goes on.
We all know the statistic here -- two to three women a week are killed in England and Wales by their husbands/partners or former partners.
The two situations are not comparable, however if we tackled the problem of male violence in society as a whole then it seems that both women and men would benefit. But the overwhelming problem is male violence.

LOL @Nonowt, moving to the Today Programme is not being demoted!

On the contrary, it's likely that she will be in a position to influence even more listeners.

Do you think so?
She will be on with others and rather more diluted than just about women's issues. It will be more general news.
BoreofBabylon seems to think Thought for the Day is political.It always seems to be a comment concerning religious views and the least interesting part of the programme.

Of course it is a promotion. EB is an excellent journalist and not just a presenter for women’s issues.

I can’t listen to WH these days. I had to switch off because a very, very dull interview with a female cricketer that went on far too long. If the guest is boring just switch up the interview or terminate it early. Far too much of this going on lately. Not from Emma I hasten to say.

I like her and I'm very glad she's being so successful in her career. I'll miss her on WH.

I don't find Thought for the Day dull, I think it's one of those moments which makes you re-evaluate yourself and your opinions in a helpful way. Self-reflection is important and should be regularly practised.

No, that was the full opening paragraph from the Wikipedia entry for the programme.

You clearly didn't notice that I'd attributed it as such. You also didn't notice my correct username.

Wintertrees comment was bizarre in my opinion.

One person Lucy Letby was responsible for 7 babies deaths but in reality, many more so this comparison with Wayne Couzens is not only crass but horribly illogical.
A nurse colleague is still convinced she didn't murder these incredibly vulnerable tiny babies including twins.That is how clever psychopaths are unfortunately.
Siobhan Sharpe. If either of my sons had been murdered it would be less harrowing than if my daughter had been murdered?

BTW one man a week is a victim of domestic murder according to figures. A lot less than women murdered I agree but the figures can be swayed by honour killings.
I recall a job my OH was on many moons ago, yes him again! It was a renovation grant being awarded to a man who was actually in prison for stabbing his wife and throwing her sister out of a window!

You didn't notice my correct user name.Yes? So what?