MANDY GETS THE SOFT SOPEL TREATMENT

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Well, Jon Sopel's two big political interviews on today's The Politics Show could not have been more different.
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We had a strange, strange interview with Peter Mandelson, in which Mandy mounted his high and hypocritical horse and charged repeatedly at David Cameron and George Osborne over their 'unpatriotic' behaviour at Davos. He was helped by Jon Sopel, who offered his Lordship a string of questions asking about the Conservatives - Tory policy on homeowners' rights, Tory dealings with the Unionist parties, David Cameron's personality - which were nothing more than invitations to attack them even more (which Mandelson did with relish). Sopel was oddly passive throughout. The interruption coefficient was 0.5 (so 'high' primarily due to two last minute interruptions).
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Sopel's encounter with David Cameron was a world away from this in character. The interviewer was back to his old hyper-animated self and was, if anything, even more excitable than usual. There were no questions here that invited Mr C. to attack Gordon Brown! The resultant interruption coefficient was 1.2, which doesn't quite do justice to the interview's tone and content, with criticisms lacing most of the questions.
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Clear bias.
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