The Last Laugh?

 

John Humphrys’ last laugh?

 

 

Humphrys: “Ah… Can you hear me Sopel?”

Sopel: “Humphrys, I can hear you.”

Humphrys: “Good, slight change of subject — first question will be how much of your salary you are prepared to hand over to Carrie Gracie to keep her, and then a few comments about your other colleagues, you know, like our Middle East editor and the other men who are earning too much…”

Sopel: “I mean, obviously if we are talking about the scope for the greatest redistribution I’ll have to come back and say, ‘well yes Mr Humphrys, but…’.”

Humphrys: “And I could save you the trouble, because I could volunteer that I’ve handed over already more than you fucking earn, but I’m still left with more than anybody else and that seems to me to be entirely just – something like that would do it?”

Sopel: “Don’t.”

Humphrys: “Dear God. She’s actually suggested that you should lose money; you know that, don’t you? You’ve read the thing properly, have you?”

Sopel: “Yeah, I have. Yep.”

Humphrys: “And the idea is that I’m not allowed to talk to her about it throughout the whole course of the programme. Not a word.”

Sopel: “I mean…can we have this conversation…I’d love to talk to you about it.”

Humphrys: “Probably not now, yeah right.”

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12 Responses to The Last Laugh?

  1. Amounderness Lad says:

    So the bBBC China Editor whines that she is storming out of her job because she isn’t as fantastically overpaid to the same extent of the bBBC North American Editor and that can only be because she is female.

    Well the bBBC Middle East Editor isn’t as fantastically overpaid to the same extent of the bBBC North American Editor yet the Middle East Editor is a male.

    It doesn’t seem to have crossed the woman’s mind one little bit, and bear in mind she has worked for the bBBC for decades, that some editorial positions involve far more responsibilities and work than those in other areas and it is that which creates the differences in remuneration between the North American Editor’s position and that of other areas?

    Of course pretending you are leaving your job as some kind of Martyr to some cause or other is far more self aggrandising than just leaving because you are fed up and want a change and far better than admitting you are leaving because you can’t have everything all you own way or have a better job offer waiting in the background.

    Only time will tell what the reality of the situation the outcome will certainly be interesting to see.

       27 likes

  2. Amounderness Lad says:

    So the bBBC China Editor whines that she is storming out of her job because she isn’t as fantastically overpaid to the same extent of the bBBC North American Editor and that can only be because she is female.

    Well the bBBC Middle East Editor isn’t as fantastically overpaid to the same extent of the bBBC North American Editor yet the Middle East Editor is a male.

    It doesn’t seem to have crossed the woman’s mind one little bit, and bear in mind she has worked for the bBBC for decades, that some editorial positions involve far more responsibilities and work than those in other areas and it is that which creates the differences in remuneration between the North American Editor’s position and that of other areas?

    Of course pretending you are leaving your job as some kind of Martyr to some cause or other is far more self aggrandising than just leaving because you are fed up and want a change and far better than admitting you are leaving because you can’t have everything all you own way or have a better job offer waiting in the background.

    Only time will tell what the reality of the situation the outcome will certainly be interesting to see.

       5 likes

  3. Amounderness Lad says:

    So the bBBC China Editor whines that she is storming out of her job because she isn’t as fantastically overpaid to the same extent of the bBBC North American Editor and that can only be because she is female.

    Well the bBBC Middle East Editor isn’t as fantastically overpaid to the same extent of the bBBC North American Editor yet the Middle East Editor is a male.

    It doesn’t seem to have crossed the woman’s mind one little bit, and bear in mind she has worked for the bBBC for decades, that some editorial positions involve far more responsibilities and work than those in other areas and it is that which creates the differences in remuneration between the North American Editor’s position and that of other areas?

    Of course pretending you are leaving your job as some kind of Martyr to some cause or other is far more self aggrandising than just leaving because you are fed up and want a change and far better than admitting you are leaving because you can’t have everything all you own way or have a better job offer waiting in the background.

    Only time will tell what the reality of the situation the outcome will certainly be interesting to see.

       4 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Amounderness,

      There is a fairly objective and unemotional piece on al Beeb pay generally in the The Guardian today by the excellent Robin Lustig – on old school BBC employee. Basically – male or female – they are all over paid and the ‘market rate’ excuse / justification albeeb uses is a smoke screen for wasted tax payers’ money.

      What I really like is that humphs’ Age is being mentioned more and more – he is 74 apparently . Ordinarily I’m not Agest as I might be considered to be on the wrong side of the hill but with our enemy – Humph – I ll make an exception .

      We are in a war of beliefs over our Blighty and I for one won’t miss him when he , and his £650 000 plus, is gone.

         13 likes

      • NCBBC says:

        £650,000? £650,000?

        For what ? For his opinions?

        I’m astonished that the government allows this sort of piracy of the public purse. And it is the public purse.

           10 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          NC
          The government will say that al Beeb is Independent so pays what it wishes .
          Al beeb will say that it pays the “market rate”which I suppose is what sky or itv would pay. This of course is a nonsense because Albeeb has a guaranteed income through the tax it demands with menaces for tax paying victims ( not me) .

          I’m a believer in no taxation without representation and it sure don’t represent fedup2.

          Albeeb will squirt poison on Matt Hancock and accuse him of political interference for commenting on al Beeb pay. Betcha

             9 likes

  4. Jagman84 says:

    If it’s BBC employees being ‘un-PC’, then that’s fine. Nothing to see. A pity that the rest of us are not given the same leniency by the BBC for any non-approved banter.

       14 likes

  5. Guest Who says:

    A piece from MP in complement:

    http://www.melaniephillips.com/idiocy-intimidation-britains-culture-war/

    Actually got me to thinking back to when I was working for people, as were my mates.

    I recall in particular one in retail, who had been assigned to manage a store elsewhere in the country, and had dutifully gone off to get the family settled before being sent somewhere else.

    Not too reasonable. But typically the pendulum has swung, and at the bbc to a unique degree.

    Who picks where they go and where they don’t and still keep their job. For a Westerner to speak Mandarin is good, but hardly world shattering. However that does rather make China a good place to be.

    And it’s not like there is a dearth of Trumpophobic Beeboids of any gender, hue or linguistic convolution to fill the shoes of Jon Sopel in their current anatomical location.

       3 likes

  6. DongleDong says:

    Does someone being paid £650,000 work any harder or have any qualities better than someone being paid £200,000, in fact is anyone being paid £200,000 better than someone being paid £50,000? I doubt it and how the BBC can justify paying out these ridiculous amounts of money beats me especially when you factor in the likes of Chris Evans £2.25 million, Gary Lineker £1.75 million, Jeremy Vine £750,000 and they are just a few of the parasites living off of us. Taking the piss on a grand scale, its about time someone took this corrupt organisation to task once and for all.

       10 likes

  7. s.trubble says:

    Its not only the ridiculous salaries these thieves are taking ….its the political correct garbage we are getting from the auto cue readers.

    The relentless anti-Brexit propaganda…………the complete failure to shine a harsh light on this momentum mob. Failing to get this weasel Sadiq Khan brought to book for his mayoral failure.

    Time to cull the lot of them

       5 likes

  8. NCBBC says:

    If the BBC paid no more then £50k to its senior positions, they would lose most of their staff. Good riddance. They would then be inundated with applications from genuinely intelligent and hard working, rather then the over paid and lazy opinionated that presently inhabit the cloistered world of the BBC.

       1 likes

  9. NCBBC says:

    Humphrys: “And I could save you the trouble, because I could volunteer that I’ve handed over already more than you fucking earn,

    Fucking? This is the most overpaid journo in the BBC using foul language. If Pres Trump had said “Fucking”, this same journo would never have let Pres Trump get away with he was making a joke. No way, just as the media never let Pres Trump get away with his explanation that it was only locker room banter. Which it was.

    Hypocrisy. And they are stupid enough not to realize what hypocrites they are.

       1 likes