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Everything you need

Comments

1. At 11:07 AM on 23 Feb 2007, wrote:

   Mmmm, Radio -- the poor cousin!

   I'm so happy Martha is presenting The world at one. We are around the same age and I used to work with her at LBC in Fleet St. (many years ago)

   I used to drive and engineer the Radio van, and along with the other journo's we'd wait for hours parked up here or there with polystyrene cups of of disgusting coffee and soggy sandwiches, waiting to file pieces of audio back.

   She has a great sense of humour and a really lovely lady.

   Here is a story from Martha:-

   Eddie, if you get the chance ask Martha to describe to you what the Editor (Mary) looked like :-)

   I was working at LBC in Gough Square in London which at the time was a fairly rowdy place to work. I was a phone operator on the evening phone-in programme. Earlier in the day, in the control room, somebody had put up a poster of John Lennon, at the piano, probably from the Imagine album, and someone from the newsroom had drawn targets around his head. It was very dark newsroom humour. There was woman editor who was quite a rock chick and who'd been rumoured to have had a fling with David Bowie. She came in to edit the bulletins, saw the poster and ran out in tears during the news.

   I was sad actually. Sad and shocked. Lennon had always been my favourite Beatle even though I wasn't too keen on Yoko Ono in that phase of his life. I didn't go into hysterics when I saw the poster but was certainly sad. There was definitely a hush in the newsroom before the dark humour kicked in.

   
   

2. At 11:08 AM on 23 Feb 2007, Big Sister wrote:

   Did Paxo write the article? Or Kirsty?

   I, for one, welcome Martha to Nick's old seat. As I've said before, she's one of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s jewels and it's good that, like Sequin, she now has a 'place of her own'.

   Hope we keep hearing her on Woman's Hour and elsewhere, though. Maybe chairing Any Questions???

3. At 11:30 AM on 23 Feb 2007, Gareth wrote:

   500 people Eddie, has it been a good week then?

4. At 11:43 AM on 23 Feb 2007, wrote:

   I take it you will be promoting to her the value of Blogging and putting forward the suggestion that she starts one for WatO.

5. At 11:56 AM on 23 Feb 2007, wrote:

   Newsnight? Pah! It's just a case of sour grapes from the TV bods that the cream of the talent in News, current affairs, and (most importantly) blogging is to be found here on Radio 4:-)

6. At 11:59 AM on 23 Feb 2007, Valery P wrote:

   Gonzo, let her settle in before she has to start tearing her hair out over blogs....

   So Eddie, another Scot in exile eh? Where would England be without you all?

   Discuss.

7. At 12:01 PM on 23 Feb 2007, Belinda wrote:

   Oh yes, Eddie, WatO! would be a great sister blog for PM. If the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ can afford to start another blog after redesigning all their systems to account for WOYW. WatO can also do its own WOYW at 1pm! The possibilites are endless.

8. At 12:21 PM on 23 Feb 2007, Big Sister wrote:

   I think the Paxo/Kearney issue comes across on this link:

9. At 12:27 PM on 23 Feb 2007, wrote:

   Eddie,

   Perhaps the explanation as to why PM failed to win any awards at the Royal Television Society is on the tin.

   What would a WatO blog be like. Serious throughout? Or be colonised by the Froggers as soon as it appeared?

10. At 12:35 PM on 23 Feb 2007, Big Sister wrote:

    And froggers might also like this - a clip of Martha and Jeremy the Cosmic Turtle:

    Martha provides a bit of background here:

    /blogs/newsnight/2006/10/deconstructing_the_twoway_1.html

    It's easy to see why she will be missed on Newsnight.

    Editor Peter Barron said "Martha has had a truly brilliant run as politics correspondent, political editor and presenter on Newsnight over the last 14 years.

    "The only person in the office to erect her own shelves (or at least get someone to do it for her), Martha will continue to present Newsnight Review on Fridays.

    Kirsty Wark also paid tribute to her "brilliant colleague and dear friend" saying, "we will miss her terribly but she on the other hand, as well as moving to a terrific job, will reclaim her nights, for fine dining, wine tasting, reading, knitting, bee keeping etc!"

    Head Of Television News and former Newsnight Editor Peter Horrocks noted, "Newsnight's viewers and I will miss her her enormously - especially the memorable jousting with Jeremy."
    ... we'll be compiling a fitting tribute of her finest moments ahead of her move.

    Brilliant political editor, presenter, friend and bee keeper, Martha also regularly gets the teas in for the web team and will be much missed.

    Well, Martha, Newsnight's loss is most definitely WatO's gain!
    

11. At 01:18 PM on 23 Feb 2007, Stewart M wrote:

    "Martha Kearney Leaves Newsnight". Negative news is always more sensational which is why news can be depressing.

    Mondays Headlines for the Oscars if Dame Helen does not get wont be ...... wins now will it :-)

12. At 02:05 PM on 23 Feb 2007, Belinda wrote:

    Outside of our own dear Eddie of course, who I hope will be on WatO regularly to pimp PM, Martha is the perfect choice for the new host.
    As long as Radio 4 continues with the calibre of these brilliant presenters, then it will always do better than Newsnight's measily 1 million audience.

13. At 02:08 PM on 23 Feb 2007, Joe Palooka wrote:

    Warning to Eddie,

    There is a dangerous virus being passed electronically, orally and by hand.

    This virus is called Worry-Overload-Recreation-Killer (WORK).

    If you receive WORK from any of your colleagues, your boss or anyone else via any means DO NOT TOUCH IT.

    This virus will wipe out your private life completely.

    If you should come into contact with WORK put your jacket on and take two good friends to the nearest pub.

    Purchase the antidote known as Work-Isolator-Neutralizer-Extractor (WINE) or Bothersome-Employer-Eliminator-Rebooter (BEER).

    Take the antidote repeatedly until WORK has been completely eliminated from your system.

    You should forward this warning to 5 friends. If you do not have 5 friends, you have already been infected and WORK is controlling your life. Good luck at purging your system of this terrible virus.
    

14. At 02:23 PM on 23 Feb 2007, wrote:

    Great Blog.

15. At 02:39 PM on 23 Feb 2007, wrote:

    Ooooh, Eddie, were you listening to Feedback just now? Did you hear all those lovely things Roger Bolton said about you?

    Mind you, he was a bit naughty teasing you about making your salary public. Probably just jealous. I mean, we all know that once you become ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Chairman on that pathetically small emolument, (by comparison to now ) you'll have to take in washing or do dogwalking just to make ends meet. I suppose the limo would be some small compensation though?

16. At 02:59 PM on 23 Feb 2007, Aperitif wrote:

    I like Martha Kearney. Do I win a prize?

17. At 03:53 PM on 23 Feb 2007, Gillian wrote:

    Joe P (13) Love it....good timing, too, on a Friday afternoon.

18. At 06:09 PM on 23 Feb 2007, Big Sister wrote:

    Appy: Do try the first of the links I posted above. A good woman keeping a scatty man in order, but without losing her nerve. Paxo stuffing?

19. At 06:24 PM on 23 Feb 2007, wrote:

    Sis (18),

    Yes, indeed, and thank you for that. It's brilliant.

    !
    xx
    ed

20. At 12:28 PM on 25 Feb 2007, Aperitif wrote:

    Hi Big Sis (18), I've seen it before: Yes, good woman that!

21. At 08:01 PM on 26 Feb 2007, Frances O wrote:

    Obviously not 'Ariel'. Is it the intranet system?

    If you're allowed (!) to say?

    Either way not what I'd have expected when I were a lass.

22. At 10:13 PM on 26 Feb 2007, Bod wrote:

    What, are we allowed to say "emolument"?

    Anyway, the funniest story is Rory Bremner - but how slow is Margaret Beckett? All she needed to do was claim that he was actually speaking unawares to a Margaret Beckett impressionist and that he was the one taken in. You see?

23. At 10:30 PM on 26 Feb 2007, Bod wrote:

    Ariel is the house magazine. It really used to be a little shiny magazine. I expect these days it's an electroblog.

    It's nice this blogging, isn't it, I like it.

24. At 09:07 AM on 27 Feb 2007, Gillian wrote:

    Welcome, Bod. This is a great blog but it's been a bit unstable lately. Glad you appreciate it.

25. At 01:34 PM on 27 Feb 2007, Aperitif wrote:

    Frances O and Bod (21&22), What on Earth are you on about?