Jeremy Paxman on the Dissappearing Television Audience

Jeremy Paxman talks about contemporary television and new emerging media in our time.

Jeremy Paxman is a modern broadcasting legend (although he would snort at the description). Presenter of BBC TWO's Newsnight since 1989, he is best-known for his sometimes fearsome interrogation of politicians. In this year's MacTaggart Lecture he will tackle the subject of Power, Politics and the Media. He will examine the role and responsibility of television in combatting public cynicism about politics and will explore the way forward for an industry undergoing a crisis of trust.
dannym3141says...

I wouldn't classify him as a legend at all. Perhaps you come from the same town as him? Because afaik the opinion on him is that he's often too interested in trying to be scathing to actually concentrate on the stuff that's being said.

edit:
"don't listen to this" - great one there son, you really tore my comment up.

This guy is FAR too interested in his persona as a "scathing interviewer". As has been said - repeating the same thing over and over till he gets an answer is concentrating on what's being said and it's scathing too.

However, the number of times i've seen Paxman try his best to be scathing and end up looking like more of a fool himself, i'm surprised he hasn't had MORE successes. The law of averages surely is on his side.

Posting videos and/or quoting times when he's had a good moment is a statistical anomoly, who the fuck is going to remember and/or quote from all the times he's actually just been a gigantic dick? Highlight reels are awesome. You're gonna tell me "Big Brother" adequately depicts people without an agenda too, aren't you?

I was and am a regular watcher of Paxman. And i still say he's too motivated by his own persona, whether you say "don't listen to this" or not. Instead say "Go and watch a good cross-section of his entire work, and make your own mind up." Then i'll give your comment the plaudits it deserves.

Irishmansays...

^
Don't listen to this. Paxman is considered a legend by everyone in media and politics in the UK, and has a great deal of respect from politicians not just in the UK but around the world.

His style is more like something you would see on the net rather than on the BBC, BBC Newsnight headed up by Paxman is one of the last bastions of journalism left in the UK.

MINKsays...

he's right that "people simply have better things to do"

but i think the real problem for TV is it only seemed good when it had no competition.

TV vs Blank Wall : TV wins
TV vs Clips Of Just About Anything You Want : TV loses

however it's not the end of the journey, VS shows that collective sifting is kinda possible, but i think we have a lot of refining to do before i can reliably just turn on VS, sit back, and watch a stream of stuff without having to scroll around and click. and maybe that's just impossible.

also it would be interesting to turn off ALL the tv show clips on here for a week and see what it feels like if we really watch the internet instead of just "watching tv on the internet".

so it's a shame that we lost our virginity and now we can't go back to a world of TV, i think we are temporarily worse off in a way, because the choice is overwhelming right now, but web 3.0 might be superduper, who knows.

anyway there's no need for bravado about killing TV while the top 15 is full of TV shows.

HoRnOsays...

'They don't operate by conventional journalist rules about checking facts and their unencumbered by any thought there might be more than one side of the story. The blogosphere is a place where everyone can scream and no one needs to listen'

All hail the journalist rules! We all know thanks to papers like the Daily Mail here in the UK or Fox News in america that we'll always see both sides of a story. They'll never push the own adgenda or show an obvious bias

honkeytonk73says...

The problem also is.. the general public seems to be more partisan rather than self-thinking, not well read, and with the attention span of a gnat. Mostly thanks to the media environment to begin with.

Give them flashy graphics, tempting headlines, and zero content...and you have their attention. Give them solid investigative reporting with the meat and potatoes facts. They'll get beer and chips during the broadcast, and return to watch the commercials.

lertadsays...

TV will die as soon as money can be made by producing shows on the net.

But the general refusal for ads for online video will so far hinder the progress of internet video content.

Passion can only take you so far when you don't have the money-backing powers of media giants.

bamdrewsays...

"We've gotten too interested in the way we deliver content and not what we deliver."

I understand he's just pointing out perceived psuedo-journalism of blogs, but I disagree with this point. I've got an ipod BECAUSE it delivers content in a better way, not because I'm particularly interested in the 'copper wire' underneath. People read blogs BECAUSE they present info quickly and with interactability in individualized ways, and sacrifice some of the checks and balances of traditional journalism mostly because they feel they are capable of relying on their own continually adjusted 'bullshit' meter.

TV channels are like rides at a theme park, while the internet is a like having a car with nearly limitless fuel... you can go and do what you want when you want to, but you sacrifice having a team checking and maintaining the safety and reliability of your ride.

Mixing the metaphor up a bit, you can find sources of info online that utilize 'theme park' teams to check and maintain best practices, like newspaper blogs, which this old-timer may not have had pointed out to him yet.

So anyhow, long story short, I disagree with his analysis, and would like to note that he is literally about 10 years behind the curve in his "predictions".

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