Laura Kuenssberg to take over Marr Slot

[House]

Not sure his style is right to be honest. Great at what he does, but he’s quite intellectual / nerdy (that’s not a bad thing!) and I think they need someone a bit more relatable to a wider audience. Sophy Ridge still gets my vote.

Not sure about that. I think he’s got quite an individual style which makes him stand out in the same way as Andrew Marr and Nick Robinson did in the role, and Peston does at ITV. I also think someone who’s a bit less heavily styled and looks less like a conventional rugged reporter makes him a lot more relatable. And there are a lot of geeks out there. :lol:

Not entirely sure you can say someone has an individual style, before comparing him with 2 of the previous 3 holders of the post and the current ITV political editor…

No I think what Spencer’s saying makes sense. Compared to many political correspondents Chris Mason has his own style that separates him. Chris comes across as a very down-to-Earth, everyday kind of chap, while nerdy and intellectual. Chris always describes issues like an excited university lecturer would - an outsider who’s fascinated by politics, and wants you to be too.

In contrast Laura Kuenssberg often comes across a bit more like a football pundit maybe, or a market trader on CNBC. In other words, someone who sees it all as a sport that she’s a part of, even if she isn’t aligned with any particular party or winner. Nick Robinson, while seeming nerdier like Chris, similarly reported like he was on the inside rather than outside looking in. He still does in his political interviews on Today.

The comparison isn’t so much that Chris is like Nick, Andrew or Robert, but rather that they each have a distinctive style and personality that makes them stand out in their reporting. A bit like comparing Paxman to Gavin Esler, or John Humphreys to Martha Kearney.

Political Editor is expected to have a style, or a personality, to their reporting. I think Chris would be great. Interested, though, that they’ve had an open and transparent recruitment process internally and externally, and then appear to be considering someone else right at the last minute. Makes you wonder if they just didn’t like the applicants they got, or if the ones they did have withdrawn.