Friday 8 February 2013

Piers Morgan - Pissing off the Natives

Me and Piers Morgan have quite a bit in common. We're both English and live in the USA, we could both drop a few pounds, and we both feel very strongly that this country's access to guns is completely out of hand. Although I voice my opinion vehemently on Huffington Post, I don't have quite the same platform that Piers has.

Now, I don't know Piers personally and I don't even know anyone who knows him, so I won't pass too much judgement. He took over the Larry King talk show about a year ago, and I've enjoyed some of the interviews he's done, once I learned to ignore the smarm and brown-nosing. Recently though, he's gone 180 degrees in the other direction as far as his guests are concerned.

Did I mention he feels very strongly about the gun situation in the USA? He's on a mission at the moment, with most of his nightly shows taken up with the issue. You only have to search to see how active he is. The people who disagree with him are a fairly, er, highly strung bunch and really, really don't like him. They even got a petition together to have Piers deported; it was dismissed by the White House, but things were looking dodgy for a while when Brits in the UK petitioned not to allow him back in. (That bit was made up.)

So, as someone who's been in the States for 22 years, I say "Piers mate, put a sock in it. You're doing more harm than good." Not that I've changed my mind about guns and things,  but he's ruining the cause by acting like a complete newbie -

So here's my advice for Piers -

You may be British but we're not in control any more, nor are all Americans descended from us. You're not even a citizen for crying out loud. This is akin to someone from France or Russia settling in England and then going on the rampage about the binge-drinking. Yes, its an important discussion to have, but if they insulted half the nation in the process, you'd probably be first in line to tell them to P**s off back to their own country.

You have to appreciate that people are allowed to have guns in the USA. They have had them for a couple of hundred years and they're not giving them up any time soon. Coming out with both barrels loaded (pardon the pun) will only make them dig their heels in. You need to have some respect for the history of this country and stop talking about the UK and its own crime rates.

You know how the radical element of the pro-gunners like Ted Nugent  (yes, that Ted Nugent) look all shouty and unhinged when they get going? You're beginning to sound a little temperamental yourself. You can't bring guests on, whatever their views, and then say "You're an unbelievably stupid man, aren't you"?
(Oh yes, he did.) 



You need to watch a few clips of Jeremy Paxman being tough on guests. By all means "lambast" them (always a good thing) but "Show, don't Tell". Calling people "stupid" doesn't actually convince your audience that that's the case.

Watch, listen and learn.

And another thing about Americans - they don't like the word "stupid". It's much more offensive here than it is in the UK, although I'm sure you were going for maximum rudeness in the above clip. However, such unprofessional journalism and sloppy interviewing technique might make some people just switch off.

You're welcome.



23 comments:

  1. You're right about the word "stupid", and stupid Piers Morgan for not knowing that.

    Mind you, the idea of arming teachers to defend kids against "these monsters" is just so cretinous, I can't believe it. Larry Pratt said that this would mean they could defend themselves "instead of just sitting there and waiting to be killed". I just don't understand that kind of language and mentality.

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  2. I'm watching the clip, but I don't think I'm going to be able to stand 12 minutes of it. He's really very irritating, isn't he? Oh, I've just get to the bit "You're an unbelievably stupid man, aren't you?" Aaaarggh...

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  3. "I know all about role models and you're not one of them"... Oh Piers. (I did listen to the end after all.)

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  4. Iota did better than me, I could only manage 53 seconds of the video before turning it off. Piers Morgan sets my teeth on edge, he is so supremely pompous and full of sh*te. Sorry, I rarely swear, but he brings it out in me.

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  5. I like Brits, so I like Piers, but he does tend to "drool" all over some of his guests.

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  6. Nice that he wants to help out, but...well, I'm jut glad you have him now. Are you planning on keeping him?

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  7. Oh, let him bang on. It's as amusing as the folks he's hammering.

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  9. I'm a big fan of Piers but I agree with your comment: "Put a sock in it!" He has taken it one step to far and it is not his battle to fight.

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  10. I sort of admire him for harping on about it, as I agree entirely, but he's probably preaching to the wrong crowd....

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  11. Yeah, no. I agree with him 100% but he's definitely not being the best messenger about it.

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  12. Wow. I have never seen you so passionate in a post! Your eyes are practically throwing off sparks. Good thing for Piers you don't own a gun, eh? :)

    Write more about guns. Write more about Piers. Tell us more about this HuffPost thing.

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  14. Oh good night! I've never seen this show - and after seeing the majority of this clip, I'm glad I haven't. No, he is not doing the gun control crowd any favors. He comes across as pompous and rude.

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  15. Love this post. Persinally, i find him intensely irritating.

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  17. I'm not a fan of Piers or the gun laws. But when I saw this interview I couldn't believe that he let himself descend into such idiotic name calling. Who is going to give a toss about his argument when he argues like that?

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  18. Hello, just hopped over from Blow your own Bloghorn on Mummy's Little Monkey and read your post with great interest.
    I thought I hadn't seen anything in the press about Piers recently. So that's where he's gone. I do, so hope that you will keep him!

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  19. it is a bit like someone critisizng your parents or children or friends...its ok if we say something they are our parents and our kids..but hell forbid anyone else saying it....

    my experience over there was similar, freedom to criticise themselves is ok-ish (very conservative in the main, liberals were freaks)..Piers stating his opinion once, ok...twice be careful...and making it his beef in the states, about the states on an iconic american tv show..well he has balls, but they are about to be cut off!!

    xx

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  20. I'm with you, it's a bit like being an away footie fan. Yeah your team may be outplaying the home team but you need to pay attention to their rules, even if you are winning, singing loudly probably doesn't mean you're going to walk out of the ground without a beer being poured on your head.

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  21. I've always found Piers Morgan annoying, going back to when he was editor at The Mirror. He sounds posh and sophisticated, but he has a very sleazy background.

    I don't think that being contentious will harm his media career in the US. It is one of the ways of making money and progressing here. It is hard to see someone like Christopher Hitchens (RIP) making a career out of pushing an anti-religious agenda in the UK, but in the US, where his views were considered offensive by many, he made a successful career.

    The truth is that whereas you get cold-shouldered/ignored for being contentious in the UK, you can improve your profile and earnings in the US, if you do it right.

    Like most Brits, I would agree with Morgan's attitude to guns. Does he help the gun control cause? Probably not. But whatever stance you take on guns, or just about anything political or cultural in the US, you are going to p*ss off a large section of the US public.

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  22. I understand what you are saying about Morgan appearing like a newbie. But to me, Americans have become used to all the gun violence, rather like the Brits did with the daily murders and terrorism in Northern Ireland. A lot of Brits resented American involvement in Northern Ireland, saying that Americans didn't understand the history and politics, but I personally always welcomed a fresh perspective.

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  23. Yes, I'd sign a petition to keep Piers in the USA - he's lovely, in small doses.

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