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Newsreaders have the easiest job, says Wogan

By Oliver Luft

Broadcasting veteran Sir Terry Wogan may have incurred the wrath of newsreaders across the globe after describing what they do as “the easiest job in the media”.

The BBC Radio 2 breakfast show host laid into huffy “self important” presenters whose job is “a piece of cake”.

Sir Terry, who has an audience of nearly eight million for his radio show, blasted the profession in his forthcoming book Where Was I?! The World According To Terry Wogan.

In the book, to be published on September 9, the 71-year-old star referred to an incident in which a journalist stormed out of a studio because he did not want to be in the same newsroom as his co-presenter.

Wogan said that the journalist had a fit of pique because his co-host was associated with makeover shows rather than hard news.

He said: “Why your man left in such a huff is a mystery. News reading is not something to get self-important or petulant about; it’s a piece of cake, the easiest job in the media.

“Get your good suit and tie on, a quick dab in make-up (in Fiona Bruce’s case, the lippy is going to take a tad longer), make yourself comfy and here comes the six o’clock news, all written nicely and clearly before your very eyes.”

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He continued: “Read it clearly and distinctly, ask the reporter the questions you have written down in front of you and there…

“And before you start with the ‘fair play old boy, there’s more to it than that!’ I was a radio and TV newsreader and there isn’t.”

The presenter is renowned for his forthright views. Shortly before stepping down from his long-standing role as the BBC’s Eurovision Song Contest host, he lamented that the event had become “predictable” and “no longer a music contest”.

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