BROADCASTING GROUSE

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This morning's Broadcasting House on Radio 4 (9.00am) began by discussing the forthcoming apologies from Gordon Brown and Kevin Rudd for the Child Migrants' Programme that saw many UK children sent to Australia between 1930 and 1970, and which led to a lot of suffering. The issue was, as you'd expect with the BBC, discussed with the director of the campaign group responsible for bringing the matter to the notice of politicians, Margaret Humphries of the Child Migrants' Trust. Presenter Paddy O'Connell conducted an entirely sympathetic interview with her, and didn't just confine himself to asking questions. He also supported her position, as when he commented "This is the State lying".
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Obama's dithering/prudent pondering over General McChrystal's request for more troops for Afghanistan was discussed, and placed in a historical context, with Sir Malcolm Rifkind and John Hutton, not uninterestingly. Intriguingly Mr Hutton was harder on Obama than Sir Malcolm. Paddy O'Connell's views on the matter were easy to guess. When Sir Malcolm said "I don't think he's dithering at all. Not only is it a crucially important decision...", Paddy interjected a "yeah" of agreement and the only interruption came when John Hutton gently criticized Obama for not fully explaining the delay. Paddy barged into his answer with this defence: "Well, we heard him earlier say he wants to get it right, it's money, it's lives, and it's about the safety of the U.S. at home." I think Paddy likes President Obama, and ain't too keen to hear criticism of him!
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Talking of left-liberal Americans, a report from Kevin Connolly (a left-liberal Brit) looked at 'what makes us happy', considering the Grant Study, set up at Harvard in 1941 to follow a sample of people throughout their lives and find out the key to happiness. Which volunteer did Connolly talk too? Ben Bradley, "the Washington Post editor whose questions brought down the Nixon Administration over Watergate". The Study's director Professor George Valliant had a dig at Nixon too. Who's likely to be the happiest person, according to him? "Someone who has devoted themselves to other people." He says you'll feel better if you give some money to OXFAM. "Being rich doesn't make you happy," said Connolly. "Being nice does." So there you go.
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When it came to the paper review, Paddy gave us a short run-down of the headlines, beginning with the left-of-centre Independent on Sunday, followed by the left-of-centre Observer, then the left-of-centre Sunday Mirror then, finally, the right-of-centre Mail on Sunday. And that was it!
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His first guest on the paper review was British business reporter Richard Quest of CNN (who Wikipedia tells us worked with Paddy O'Connell on BBC News 24). Then there was Virginia Ironside of, inevitably, The Independent. Finally, there was Camilla Batmangheldjh of the charity Kids Company, who started the review with a childcare report from The Observer.
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Paddy prodded Mr Quest to go after the bankers while discussing Equitable Life: "Richard, what I think you're getting at is, people who saved are being punished by not being compensated from the Equitable Life fiasco, whereas people who borrowed, and bankers who've misled. are effectively having the tab picked up" and went on to say "Do keep with your selections Richard. You've gone to the Sunday Telegraph on bankers as well."
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