Talk:Grace Wyndham Goldie

In The News
I have removed the following from the article:
 * The 1950 election programme was a big success. It led immediately to the first regular scheduled political discussion show. In March 1950 Wyndham Goldie began a programme called In the News. The programme was a pioneering format for the time; four iconoclastic commentators discussing current controversies among themselves. In the News was a hit with the viewers who relished the empassioned arguments. By 1952, In the News was watched by 48% of people with TV sets.

This passage is completely contradicted by John Grist's biograhy of Grace Wyndham Goldie, First Lady of Television (2006). Grist writes of Grace Wyndham Goldie: "Her reputation for handling politicians was assisted by her not being involved in the troubles created for the BBC by the programme In The News." (p.78) Grist describes the programme as a discussion format with four regular speakers, Michael Foot MP, Bob Boothby MP, W.J. Brown former indpendent MP, and A.J.P. Taylor, and chaired by Edgar Lustgarten. Grist describes the problem for the BBC was that the Conservative and Labour parliamentary parties did not like their parties to be represented by maverick MPs, and were always trying to substitute their own choice via the parliamentary whips. Eventually the regular team was diluted with other choices, and, Grist writes, "the programme lost its speed, fire and died a whimpering death." So I've removed the inaccurate passage above. Mick gold (talk) 16:08, 6 August 2011 (UTC)