YP Comment: Radio's Inquisitor
It’s little wonder that Margaret Thatcher was interviewed 14 times by Sir Jimmy who died on Monday. As her press secretary Sir Bernard Ingham noted: “He was courteous and not obviously out to trap – rather a somewhat deceptively assiduous person seeking the facts of the case. He was a pro with a polite touch.”
But there was another reason why his lunchtime show on Radio 2 – he referred to it as “JY Prog” – became an institution. He regarded his audience – his listeners – as friends and used his platform to ask probing questions on their behalf while becoming a great consumer champion. Today’s presenters could learn from his example.