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| BBC Breakfast seating bias due to 'misogyny', says ex-Countryfile host | BBC Breakfast seating bias due to 'misogyny', says ex-Countryfile host |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Miriam O’Reilly has blamed “deep-rooted misogyny in newsrooms” for the way male presenters are nearly always seated in the position considered most senior on the left. | Miriam O’Reilly has blamed “deep-rooted misogyny in newsrooms” for the way male presenters are nearly always seated in the position considered most senior on the left. |
| Her comments follow the row over the BBC’s decision to put a younger, less experienced man on the left-hand side of Louise Minchin on the BBC Breakfast sofa. The left-hand slot, previously filled by veteran presenter Bill Turnbull, is typically known as “presenter one” by TV producers and is often filled by the most senior member of a presenting duo. | Her comments follow the row over the BBC’s decision to put a younger, less experienced man on the left-hand side of Louise Minchin on the BBC Breakfast sofa. The left-hand slot, previously filled by veteran presenter Bill Turnbull, is typically known as “presenter one” by TV producers and is often filled by the most senior member of a presenting duo. |
| O’Reilly, who won an ageism case against the BBC after being dropped from Countryfile, said: “It’s just deep-rooted misogyny in newsrooms where editors think a man somehow has more authority ... And of course the people who make these decisions tend to be men themselves.” | O’Reilly, who won an ageism case against the BBC after being dropped from Countryfile, said: “It’s just deep-rooted misogyny in newsrooms where editors think a man somehow has more authority ... And of course the people who make these decisions tend to be men themselves.” |
| Related: Do male breakfast TV presenters always sit on the left? - in pictures | Related: Do male breakfast TV presenters always sit on the left? - in pictures |
| “I’ve worked on enough news and current affairs programmes to know that men are seen by editors as having the ‘gravitas’ to lead a show. Sadly women on breakfast news programmes, particularly, have the role of the bit of fluff by his side. They are there to smile, laugh, giggle or tease – and to show legs and cleavage. | “I’ve worked on enough news and current affairs programmes to know that men are seen by editors as having the ‘gravitas’ to lead a show. Sadly women on breakfast news programmes, particularly, have the role of the bit of fluff by his side. They are there to smile, laugh, giggle or tease – and to show legs and cleavage. |
| “These women are accomplished journalists who could lead the shows on their own with credibility.” | “These women are accomplished journalists who could lead the shows on their own with credibility.” |
| Minchin, who has been on BBC Breakfast for 10 years, is understood to have wanted to sit on the left of her new co-host Dan Walker, on the show’s red sofa after Turnbull left. However, producers decided it did not work visually, partly because of Walker’s height. | Minchin, who has been on BBC Breakfast for 10 years, is understood to have wanted to sit on the left of her new co-host Dan Walker, on the show’s red sofa after Turnbull left. However, producers decided it did not work visually, partly because of Walker’s height. |
| Minchin has not spoken out about the saga but a viewer, Adele Clarke from Cheshire, wrote in accusing the producers of sexism. | Minchin has not spoken out about the saga but a viewer, Adele Clarke from Cheshire, wrote in accusing the producers of sexism. |
| Male presenters tend to be placed on the left-hand side of presenting duos on the BBC, including on the One Show in which Matt Baker tends to sit on the left of Alex Jones. On ITV theformat is used to seat Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on This Morning, and Mark Austin and Julie Etchingham when they used to jointly present the News at Ten. | |
| Good Morning Britain made light of the fact that Morgan, a former tabloid editor far less experienced on television than Reid, tends to sit on the left when it tweeted: | Good Morning Britain made light of the fact that Morgan, a former tabloid editor far less experienced on television than Reid, tends to sit on the left when it tweeted: |
| 👀 Do you prefer @piersmorgan to the left, right, or totally out of sight? @susannareid100 @charlottehawkns #sofagate pic.twitter.com/ajbzgXkUsC | 👀 Do you prefer @piersmorgan to the left, right, or totally out of sight? @susannareid100 @charlottehawkns #sofagate pic.twitter.com/ajbzgXkUsC |
| Even when the ITV breakfast show brought in two children to echo the adult presenters, the little boy was placed on the left of the girl. | Even when the ITV breakfast show brought in two children to echo the adult presenters, the little boy was placed on the left of the girl. |
| @GMB's new recruits... mini-Susanna & mini-Piers! They give @piersmorgan @susannareid100 a run for their money later pic.twitter.com/J0Lj4baMm9 | @GMB's new recruits... mini-Susanna & mini-Piers! They give @piersmorgan @susannareid100 a run for their money later pic.twitter.com/J0Lj4baMm9 |
| The rule is not watertight, however, with Eamonn Holmes occasionally appearing on the right-hand side of Isabel Webster on Sky News’ Sunrise, for example, and the channel’s Jayne Secker and Colin Brazier regularly swapping places. | |
| Interesting to see this today in @DailyMailUK here at @SkyNews @colinbraziersky and I swap sides each day. pic.twitter.com/MVz8a70hQc | Interesting to see this today in @DailyMailUK here at @SkyNews @colinbraziersky and I swap sides each day. pic.twitter.com/MVz8a70hQc |
| One programme maker said there tended to be a perception that the more senior presenter sat on the left. “It’s not about gender but it may be about seniority,” said the source. “The presenter on the left is referred to as number one and the presenter on the right is number two.” | One programme maker said there tended to be a perception that the more senior presenter sat on the left. “It’s not about gender but it may be about seniority,” said the source. “The presenter on the left is referred to as number one and the presenter on the right is number two.” |
| But a number of TV news presenters contacted by MediaGuardian said they were baffled by the row. “I’m a bit mystified,” said one. “It’s never been an issue and it’s almost unconscious where you sit. My sense was when it came to where I sat, it just kind of happened. It has never been anything that has been discussed.” | But a number of TV news presenters contacted by MediaGuardian said they were baffled by the row. “I’m a bit mystified,” said one. “It’s never been an issue and it’s almost unconscious where you sit. My sense was when it came to where I sat, it just kind of happened. It has never been anything that has been discussed.” |
| The former BBC presenter Shelagh Fogarty, who now presents a show on talk station LBC, said: “If anyone told me where to sat on the sofa I’d have said I’ll sit behind it because this is too ridiculous. If you asked me where I would prefer to sit on the BBC Breakfast sofa, I’d actually say on the right because it’s closer to the guest and you might regard that socially as an advantage.” | The former BBC presenter Shelagh Fogarty, who now presents a show on talk station LBC, said: “If anyone told me where to sat on the sofa I’d have said I’ll sit behind it because this is too ridiculous. If you asked me where I would prefer to sit on the BBC Breakfast sofa, I’d actually say on the right because it’s closer to the guest and you might regard that socially as an advantage.” |
| Another industry source, with reference to Walker’s creationist beliefs, said: “This debate has been going on since the dawn of time, which in Dan’s case is 6,000 years old, and it will never be resolved.” | Another industry source, with reference to Walker’s creationist beliefs, said: “This debate has been going on since the dawn of time, which in Dan’s case is 6,000 years old, and it will never be resolved.” |
| Industry experts said Walker’s height might also be a factor. At 6 feet 6 inches tall, it is more appealing to the eye if the taller person sits on the left. The BBC Breakfast studio in Salford is also very cramped, limiting the movement of the cameras around the two presenters and their guests. | Industry experts said Walker’s height might also be a factor. At 6 feet 6 inches tall, it is more appealing to the eye if the taller person sits on the left. The BBC Breakfast studio in Salford is also very cramped, limiting the movement of the cameras around the two presenters and their guests. |
| In a statement, the BBC said: “There is no seniority in terms of who sits where on the BBC Breakfast sofa. It’s all about judging which is the best camera angle for the presenters.” | In a statement, the BBC said: “There is no seniority in terms of who sits where on the BBC Breakfast sofa. It’s all about judging which is the best camera angle for the presenters.” |
| It also pointed out that BBC Breakfast’s main presenters include three women and one man. | It also pointed out that BBC Breakfast’s main presenters include three women and one man. |