Latest news with #TheNewsAgents
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BBC ‘cowardice' drove me out, says Jon Sopel
Jon Sopel has said that the BBC's 'both sides-ism' is part of the reason he quit. The former chief political correspondent joined the broadcaster at the age of 24. He resigned along with Emily Maitlis in 2022, and they launched a podcast, The News Agents, with Lewis Goodall that same year. Sopel, 66, briefly spoke about his reasons for leaving the company during an appearance at the Hay Festival, which has partnered with The Independent for a second year. In a panel moderated by The Independent's Helen Coffey, Sopel appeared alongside philosopher and author AC Grayling and Jennifer Nadel, a journalist, barrister and author. The subject of Sopel's departure arose during a wider debate on the media coverage of Nigel Farage and his party Reform UK, which saw significant gains in the local elections this month. The party gained outright control of 10 councils and won more than 600 seats. Reform also won two mayoral races and secured a fifth MP, Sarah Pochin, who won the seat in Runcorn and Helsby. 'I don't think the media is enabling Farage,' Sopel told his fellow panellists. 'We have to report the surge in support for Reform. 'Maybe you could say a few years ago, too much attention was given to him – and indeed, the 'both sides-ism' I found at the BBC was one of the things that drove me out after many, many years.' 'Both sides-ism' refers to the media giving credence to the opposing side of a cause, action, or idea in an effort to seem fair, or only for the sake of argument. Sopel continued: 'I thought that in our Brexit coverage, we just got it very, very wrong, to say, 'On the one hand...', 'On the other...', 'Only time will tell... Jon Sopel, BBC News, Westminster.' 'I didn't think that was journalism; I thought it was cowardice.' Sopel went on to say that he believes the media has a 'responsibility to report' what Mr Farage says and to 'hold him accountable'. 'It's not a question of platforming,' he said. 'The BBC doesn't platform Farage, they question him, and increasingly the scrutiny has to be there, firmly.' In 2022, the year that he left the BBC, Sopel also spoke out against the broadcaster's decision in 2017 to publish presenters' salaries. 'To have everybody suddenly know what you earn feels like a violation of your privacy,' he said at the time. Following his departure from the broadcaster, Sopel has found huge success co-hosting his podcast with Maitlis and Goodall. Since its launch, The News Agents has established itself as one of the UK's most popular daily news podcasts, celebrating 100 million downloads last July. Speaking at Hay, Sopel gave some insight into what listeners are interested in. At the bottom of that list is climate change. 'If we put 'climate change' in the title of a podcast, the numbers dive,' he said. 'It's not that we don't cover it, but you've got to accept that as a topic itself, people go, 'Urgh, I know it's terrible, but I can't face listening to it. 'There are various topics where you get exhaustion [or] exasperation. People don't know what to do; they feel powerless, and therefore they don't want to listen to it.' Sopel continued: 'If we do 'Famine in the Sahel', the numbers fall off a cliff. Whereas if we do 'Trump latest madness: what a clown show' – fabulous.' 'Trump is fantastic for business if you're a journalist. Terrible for the world, but fantastic for business. Climate change is really bad for business,' he concluded.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Prisoner accused of breaching Emily Maitlis order
A prisoner breached a restraining order by writing to television presenter Emily Maitlis from a jail, a court has heard. Edward Vines is on trial at Nottingham Crown Court, accused of breaching an order barring him from contacting the former BBC presenter, imposed by the same court, in 2022. Prosecutors said letters sent by Mr Vines, 54, included claims Ms Maitlis had been "scornful" to him during their friendship at university. Jurors were told that in a letter written to Ms Maitlis, who co-hosts The News Agents podcast, the defendant claimed he "regularly" suffers depression because their friendship ended, and has done for 30 years. The court heard Mr Vines is charged with three counts of breaching a restraining order and one count of attempting to breach a restraining order. The jury heard that the defendant sent envelopes addressed to the broadcaster and her parents, which were intercepted by prison staff at HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire, where he was serving a sentence. Prosecutor Fergus Malone read letters to the court, posted by Mr Vines through the prison mailing system, which included Mr Vines saying he was "distraught" about the friendship ending, three months after he told Ms Maitlis he loved her, during their time at university in Cambridge. The jury was told, in a letter dated in July 2023, addressed to Ms Maitlis, Mr Vines wrote: "I took the audacity of writing to you despite the restraining order because I'm still distraught about what took place between us in 1990. "I regularly suffer depression over it and have for 30 years. I admit I'm not sure why I suffer so, but suffer I do." In a letter addressed to her mother, Mr Vines had described Ms Maitlis as "offish and scornful", the court heard. Opening the prosecution's case on Wednesday, Mr Malone told the jury: "The restraining order prohibited him [Mr Vines] from contacting Emily Maitlis, Marion Maitlis and Peter Maitlis. Emily Maitlis, you may have heard of, is a well-known broadcaster. "The Crown's case is that the defendant wrote, addressed and posted letters whilst in prison to all three of those people between May 2023 and February 2024. "Mr Vines was a serving prisoner at the time. "In this case, all the addressed and posted letters were intercepted by prison staff at Her Majesty's Prison Lowdham Grange. "The likely issue in this case is whether the defendant, Mr Vines, had a reasonable excuse in law to breach the restraining order and that is a matter for him to present to you in due course." The prosecution also alleges that Mr Vines telephoned his brother in July 2023 and asked him to contact Marion Maitlis. The trial continues. Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. HM Courts and Tribunals Service
BreakingNews.ie
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker says he was asked to write for Doctor Who
Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker has revealed he was once asked to write for BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who. The 54-year-old also said he would consider writing for a Star Trek project while speaking on The News Agents podcast. Advertisement Asked about the possibility of working on something related to Star Trek, Brooker said: 'That would be an interesting one wouldn't it? I've never seen the Next Generation, I've only seen the original series when I was a kid. Brooker also said he would be interested in working on a Star Trek project (Ian West/PA) 'I was sort of asked about Doctor Who once, I wasn't asked to run it, I was asked to write for it, and it felt a bit like the Home Office asking you to do something, like it was my national duty, but I just didn't have time because I was busy. 'So, if a big behemoth like Star Trek asked me to write for them, you'd at least take that call, wouldn't you, you'd consider it. 'But with doing Black Mirror, you've got control and when you wander into somebody else's show you're trying to please them.' Advertisement It comes after Brooker's dystopian Black Mirror series returned to Netflix for its seventh season earlier this month, which features episodes about 'mind expanding' technology, violent video games and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as a follow-up to the show's popular USS Callister episode. During his interview with The News Agents presenters Emily Maitlis and Lewis Goodall, the writer went on to say he wished to continue making new episodes of the show. He added: 'I'd love to continue doing it, so it slightly depends on whether people want to keep watching it, that is probably what it boils down to. 'You don't find any of these things out (if a new series has been commissioned) until the dust settles. Advertisement 'There is one idea I've wanted to do for a couple of years and now I'm worried it will look old-fashioned.' Black Mirror began on Channel 4 in 2011, where it remained for two series, before being picked up by Netflix in 2016, where it has remained. Previous series have seen starring roles from Mad Men actor Jon Hamm, Jurassic World actress Bryce Dallas Howard, pop star Miley Cyrus and Black Panther star Letitia Wright. Brooker's full interview can be heard on The News Agents podcast on Global Player. Advertisement
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker says he was asked to write for Doctor Who
Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker has revealed he was once asked to write for BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who. The 54-year-old also said he would consider writing for a Star Trek project while speaking on The News Agents podcast. Asked about the possibility of working on something related to Star Trek, Brooker said: 'That would be an interesting one wouldn't it? I've never seen the Next Generation, I've only seen the original series when I was a kid. 'I was sort of asked about Doctor Who once, I wasn't asked to run it, I was asked to write for it, and it felt a bit like the Home Office asking you to do something, like it was my national duty, but I just didn't have time because I was busy. 'So, if a big behemoth like Star Trek asked me to write for them, you'd at least take that call, wouldn't you, you'd consider it. 'But with doing Black Mirror, you've got control and when you wander into somebody else's show you're trying to please them.' It comes after Brooker's dystopian Black Mirror series returned to Netflix for its seventh season earlier this month, which features episodes about 'mind expanding' technology, violent video games and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as a follow-up to the show's popular USS Callister episode. During his interview with The News Agents presenters Emily Maitlis and Lewis Goodall, the writer went on to say he wished to continue making new episodes of the show. He added: 'I'd love to continue doing it, so it slightly depends on whether people want to keep watching it, that is probably what it boils down to. 'You don't find any of these things out (if a new series has been commissioned) until the dust settles. 'There is one idea I've wanted to do for a couple of years and now I'm worried it will look old-fashioned.' Black Mirror began on Channel 4 in 2011, where it remained for two series, before being picked up by Netflix in 2016, where it has remained. Previous series have seen starring roles from Mad Men actor Jon Hamm, Jurassic World actress Bryce Dallas Howard, pop star Miley Cyrus and Black Panther star Letitia Wright. Brooker's full interview can be heard on The News Agents podcast on Global Player.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix's "Adolescence" co-creator denies show ‘race-swapped' murder suspect
One of the creators of the popular Netflix crime drama "Adolescence" denied accusations his show "race-swapped" a character accused of murder in order to promote "anti-White propaganda." "Nothing's further from the truth," "Adolescence" co-creator Jack Thorne said on the March 25 episode of "The News Agents" podcast, referring to his new show with Stephen Graham. The limited streaming series, which premiered March 13, tells the story of a 13-year-old boy in the UK accused of fatally stabbing his female classmate and how his social media interactions may have played a role. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show came under fire after right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong claimed the show was based on "real life cases such as the Southport murderer." Southport Stabbing Spree Suspect Named After Attack That Killed 3 Children "So guess what. They race swapped the actual killer from a Black man/migrant to a White boy and the story has it so he was radicalized online by the red pill movement. Just the absolute state of anti-White propaganda," Cheong posted on X earlier this month. Read On The Fox News App Cheong's post went viral after Elon Musk responded, "Wow," the report said. However, Thorne denied the series was based on true events, saying that "not one single part" was based on a real-life murder. He also shot down criticism that the show was falsely portraying knife crime in the UK as being driven by White suspects. "It is absurd to say that knife crime is only committed by Black boys… It's not true," he said. 'Captain America' Actor Insists 'American Masculinity' Is Exceptional, Despite Being Under Attack Thorne argued that the show wasn't about race, but was actually about how "masculine" content online can radicalize young boys. "We're not making a point about race with this. We're making a point about masculinity. We're trying to get inside a problem… this is about boys," Thorne said. The popular show, which amassed 66.3 million views in its first two weeks, will now also be shown in high schools in the UK, due to a new initiative backed by the UK government. Parents and teachers will also be given guides to help them navigate conversations raised about the show's themes of "knife crime, toxic masculinity and the danger of online content on children," Variety reported article source: Netflix's "Adolescence" co-creator denies show 'race-swapped' murder suspect
