Conversations worth a second look today include those around Toby Young’s departure, Blue Peter topping a poll of children’s TV shows and nominations for the 2018 Bafta awards. You’ve also been discussing college sport in America and how athletes should be supported financially.
To join in you can click on the links in the comments below to expand and add your thoughts. We’ll continue to highlight more comments worth reading as the day goes on.
Among the stories leading our politics live blog this morning was Toby Young’s resignation from the office for students. Here are a couple of thoughts from readers:
‘Perhaps the most damning act in the past couple of days’
The Toby Young resignation is perhaps the most damning act in the past couple of days. [Theresa May was] too weak to give him the boot, too politically blind to see it was inevitable.
It just adds to the stench of lassitude and drift.
TTauriStellarbody
‘May looks like an idiot for defending someone before they were forced to resign’
A PM with any political savvy would have picked up on all the anger about Toby Young, investigated the issues (or got someone to do this and present the summary to her), and got him to resign before Boris and Jo Johnson defend him, and has to defend him herself on Sunday. Now she looks an idiot defending someone two days before they are forced to resign.
astrobub
Blue Peter named best children’s TV show in poll of experts
A poll of industry insiders including several former Blue Peter presenters has led to Blue Peter being named the top UK children’s show of all time. Much cross generational discussion followed our story, and the show appeared divisive among readers.
‘Blue Peter offered an open view of the world and life’s possibilities’
I agree wholeheartedly. Blue Peter offered entertainment, education, and to the kid I was an open view of the world and life’s possibilities.
There were many other great kids programs that offered entertainment, but none that came close to BP’s full offering. The star for me was John Noakes, and what a star he was.
TaxedtoDeath
‘Like coming home from school to find more school’
An expert panel of mainly adults, was it?
I once remember hearing Blue Peter described as coming home from school and switching on the TV to find more school, which is exactly reason I never watched it. Because of how the channel is funded and managed the excellent children’s programmes that used to be on ITV were seldom ever going to enjoy the same longevity as a licence-fee supported show on the BBC that your grandparents want you to watch, and so here we are, celebrating one of the most boring children’s programmes ever as if it’s the pinnacle of broadcasting – mainly because it’s still going and most people, young and old, but mainly old, have heard of it.
jrowen81
Bafta nominations 2018: Shape of Water leads the way
News this morning came of Baftra’s nominations for the year, with fantasy drama Shape of Water leading the way in garnering a dozen. This reader had a comment on the way awards season works:
‘Are awards surreptitiously becoming adverts for upcoming releases?’
The Shape of Water may be an excellent film, but I don’t know – it hasn’t been released yet. Aren’t the awards supposed to be celebrating the past year? The same also applied to All The Money in The World. Or are the awards surreptitiously becoming adverts for upcoming releases?!
2017 may not of been a stellar year for movies, but if 2018’s best movies win all the awards what will win next year?
carllalala
It’s time to pay the tab for America’s college athletes
Retired basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has written about the need “for college athletes to be paid the wages that they deserve”. This reader suggests a different model that could work:
‘For each year a player plays they could be offered a year’s full scholarship to university’
One alternative I’ve seen suggested for the US is for teams, at least in the top sports, to go professional but retain their links to the universities. Players would be full time during their playing career, but for each year they played they would get a year’s full scholarship to the university. This could be redeemed at any time, so when a player’s football career ends he could get the qualifications needed for a new career without the distractions of training and competing at what is already essentially a professional level.
Alphagamma
Comments have been edited for length. This article will be updated throughout the day with some of the most interesting ways readers have been participating across the site.
