Reeta Chakrabarti hits out at Jeremy Paxman claim that ‘any fool’ can read news

BBC news reader Reeta Chakrabarti dismissed the former Newsnight presenter’s comment, saying it is a ‘skilled job’
The former Newsnight presenter said newsreading is ‘an occupation for an articulated suit’
Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images

Jeremy Paxman’s claim that “any fool” could read the news has prompted a backlash from the BBC presenter Reeta Chakrabarti.

Paxman, who previously hosted Newsnight on the BBC, has criticised the organisation, most recently claiming “newsreading is an occupation for an articulated suit”, reports The Guardian.

He said earlier this year: “I can’t see any point in reading the news at all. Reading aloud, do you remember reading aloud at school? That’s what it is.

“I don’t think it has any grandeur or skill or anything to it. Any fool can do it.”

However, Chakrabarti told the Radio Times that news reading is a skilled job.

She said: “It’s his opinion, but I wonder why he says it when he spent quite a few years himself reading an Autocue.

“If I’m presenting the One O’Clock News, I’ve written a lot of what I’m reading out. Those aren’t someone else’s words.”

“I’m a journalist, I know what the stories are, I discuss them with the editor and the correspondent, and I pride myself on being able to write with simplicity and clarity.

“Maybe ‘any fool’ can do this, but I think it’s a skill.”

She also told the Radio Times about how stressful it can be to of fill airtime while presenting on news bulletins, such as when the government delayed a press conference by three hours in October.

She said: “It was a good job I didn’t know the delay was going to happen when I walked through the newsroom doors on that particular day, as I’d have been more jittery.

“With live news, you just have to cope and manage. Luckily, I had the inestimable Chris Mason, who can talk for England about anything, but especially politics.

“I could have done with a stiff gin, but I still had the Ten O’Clock News to present, so I had to wind down with a Diet Coke.”

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