BBC News: Presenters & Rotas

Out of his mystery???

Hmmm. I'm not sure Nicholas is the one who's bumbling!

Rather rude post, Moz.

It also skips over the positive/negative opinions should be constructive rule.

I'm sorry Moz but that is Totally uncalled for.

If there's a rule which says you can't give your opinion then I don't want to take part in such a ridiculously censored forum.

I was constructive anyway. I said he should be put out of his misery and that he should retire.

He's too nice to be a newsreader. He made a beheading sound like an "oh dear" moment.

Bye bye then

Oh and by the way, saying somebody should be put out of their misery does not count as constructive.

Moz, there was clearly nothing in your post that was constructive, and your seemingly backhanded compliment of him being too nice just comes across as patronising. Try a more thoughtful post in future.

So if a channel launched a very poor graphics package, we wouldn't be able to say "I just don't like it!" - we'd have to be more constructive? Surely this is the same thing. In my opinion he's a terrible presenter, and should be removed. Full stop. I'm frankly very surprised that nobody else sees it.

My comment about him being too nice wasn't meant to be complimentary. Being nice is not a quality required in newsreaders.

There's a difference between commenting on a thing and commenting on a person.

Try Digital Spy Moz.

Actually being "nice" is absolutely a requirement for a journalist. Being able to use the right tone for each interview and the circumstances in which the interview is taking place is a definite requirement.

Many on here have criticised Reeta Chakrobarti for using the same style to do both hard and fluffy stories. Certain regional presenters attract criticism for trying to "do a Paxman" in every interview when it is often simply not appropriate.

I suspect interviewees will tend to be more open with somebody who comes across as a nice bloke giving them an opportunity to put their side of the story (whilst still challenging any answers where necessary) than they would be with somebody doing a combative Paxo approach.

One can be authoritative whilst still being friendly and warm, as the likes of Simon McCoy demonstrate regularly.

Nicholas Owen is an excellent newsreader with unquestionable journalism credentials and experience as a former ITN correspondent. He's actually underrated if anything - you almost don't notice how good he is. The BBC could have (arguably have) done far worse than using him more extensively to cover for George A's absence. (If only so BBC Midlands can do a "with Nicholas Owen and Nick Owen" anno at 6 )

I've always rated Nicholas. His reaction as he learns of Diana's death as Royal Correspondent live on ITN (or is now allowed to react to what all journos had probably known for a little while by the point at which PA had broken the embargo and all outlets could then run with it) is one of the things that stand out for me during that surreal night/early morning. V. professional but warm and relaxed too.

I think Nicholas Owen is an excellent presenter. He is authoritative and comes across as very relatable. I don't think theres any need for him to retire or leave the BBC. I mean, look at him dealing with the breaking news tonight on BBC News, he was such a pro.