Watching Have I Got News For You last night, it was difficult not to feel sorry for Kevin Maguire, who managed to go through the whole programme without uttering more than three sentences. Difficult, but not impossible.
The other highlight was seeing Ian Hislop looking very pleased with himself at being told he was 67 in GQ's list of the Top 100 Most Influential Men in Britain. He looked especially pleased to be one position higher than Foreign Secretary David Miliband. Somehow HIGNFY omitted to mention that the two people just ahead of him in the list were Britain's two leading bloggers, who, for reasons best known to the judges, were considered more influential than the editor of Private Eye and the Foreign Secretary. And no, I don't know how they worked that out, either! But I'm not complaining. My Mum was impressed even if my readers weren't. And that's what counts!
He seemed to think he was a member of the audience.
ReplyDeleteGuests are a mixed bunch and there are some from time to time that contribute little. I wonder whether he was nervous of a flank attack from Hislop if he tried to be clever...
I think the early put-down by Hislop floored him.
ReplyDelete"The other highlight was seeing Ian Hislop looking very pleased with himself..."
ReplyDeleteI didn't see that episode, but er, that was a highlight? Surely that's his default expression.
Not that I dislike him, but he's hardly immune to the charge of smugness.
Who chooses the GQ list? How?
ReplyDeleteI don't know what Maguire was paid for his minuscule utterance on HIGNFY, but the basis of the cost per word to the licence fee payer it must be lots more that even Jonathan Ross.
ReplyDeleteI guess his intellectual limitations prevented him from joining in and that silence was the best option. He was so right...
You bothered to count?!??? I didn't and could not remember any contribution to the show... whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteI'd noticed poor Kev not getting a word in either.
ReplyDeleteBut the others contributed plenty so he didn't seem to mind.
He's still a legend
Bloggers are bloggers for a reason. They have a role. To spread unsubstanciated rumour for political parties, without any chance of legal reprisal.
ReplyDeleteIt's not hard. It's not vailant. It's just the fact that it's the only place in the media that you can get political work. And it's why you don't get any money for it.
You know, you may well think that you are politicall important. I'd suggest the obvious fact that you've been shunted to the sidelines, in blogosphere, probably counters that pretty effectively.
Bloggers are the political parties lapdogs
ReplyDeletePeople prepared to take the legal risks to say, what people on political payrolls probably aren't.
You take the risk, for a pat on the head from Cameron, and a reassurance that you're really important to the party.
Yes, but Iain the big question is when are you going to appear on HIGNFY?
ReplyDelete