Stynes loses second job in a month

Like a few of the Channel V ex-hosts they have little substance.

Wow, not even a mention in the press release? Not even a token “We wish her all the best” ? Not even a mention of her name in this?

What an excellent result.

First press release I’ve seen in many years where no mention of the departing host is named, and no farewell good luck or best wishes offered. Is Yumi Stynes now ‘persona non grata’ in the media industry?

Looks like I got off scott free though.

Phew!

Regardless of her bad press and it seems now very bad luck, I think we will see Yumi Stynes pop back up on TV or Radio at some point hopefully quite soon. Personally, I think she is one of the most natural and talented ‘Live’ TV broadcasters on Aussie telly right now. She’s taken to radio just as well, even if the show sounded more voice-tracked than anywhere close to being live.

Before reading this news, I was watching Big Brother on Nine for the first time last night (There’s not much I like on nine, including BB)! But I couldn’t help but think that that Stynes would make a much better host than Kruger on a show like that. Yumi Stynes reminds me of the first time I saw Davina Mccall in the UK… You just knew she was bound for bigger things. She needs the right programe and format to blossom into a presenter that I can see as a primetime talent, given the right vehicle. Hopefully, her next gig will be the right fit for her personality and not something lame that flops due to the format being shit. It’s hard to find many locally produced shows here that would work for her, but if she went to the UK I think there would be many more program formats that could turn her into a big name, very fast. Ten is a sinking ship right now, Mix I guess are just looking at rolling out something that is working for them already and utilising their talent cost-effectively. That sucks for Stynes, I wish her all the best and hope her next move isn’t a dud, and a smartly calculated one!

I also agree with the post above, that a press statement from ARN only focusing on the ‘positive’ and not giving even a credit to Stynes for her work, is nothing but toothless and shameful. I’ve worked in this industry for a decade or more, not only here, but internationally… Sometimes I hate the toothless way companies like this operate and place their image over courtesy.

@ James Macleod

[quote] “Sometimes I hate the toothless way companies like this operate and place their image over courtesy.” [unquote]

Is this some kind of reflected opinion? Is it conditional? Why is it so unattached?
“Sometimes I hate”… “companies like this”….”image over courtesy”

Courtesy requires a sense of self, a sense of where one belongs and what one owes to one’s audience. Mr Negus was careless and foolish in my opinion to mention “in the sack” in the first place, but old men tend to make fools of themselves when they get alongside attractive young women, and there is no fool like an old fool.

The foolish opener should have been defused by the host, but instead it was built upon by the very non courteous “Dud Root ” comment, thus directly drawing attention to its supposed appropriateness.

In my opinion, announcers, presenters and hosts have been allowed to become inflated and self important in too many cases. As a presenter, one is a link between the broadcaster and the public upon whom they rely, it is of paramount importance that the presenter be more deeply concerned with the public’s feelings and the programme’s image than with the possibilities of their own celebrity

For some insane reason, we now have news readers, weather forecast presenters and other media utility workers, who behave as if they were Opera singers, Rock singers or Movie stars.

The days of Sir Eric are over, but there is still an expectation of common courtesy, and there is still an obligation that goes along with being welcomed into the living rooms of the nation.

Richard, if you look at the footage above, you’ll see that it’s pretty obvious that Stynes’ “dud root” phrase was an incredulous question, “Are you, George Negus, intimating he is a dud root?” and not a comment. The incredulity was probably shared by all watching. It was never an attempt at sensationalism or infamy. Nevertheless, the soundbite was so catchy, and Stynes makes such a good villain, that the tabloids went to town, essentially inventing a whole scenario that has Stynes calling a war hero less than a man. It is actually quite disrespectful to Roberts-Smith and irresponsible- inciting anger among servicemen on a false premise.

Negus’ comments were baffling, but if you ever get a chance to see the full footage, he was actually reluctant to engage in the whole segment, calling it “reverse sexism”. The full footage also includes Gorgi Coghlan’s praising of the soldier, describing him as “the perfect embodiment of masculinity”. This context, and the unedited footage, also backs up his explanation that he was referring to buff blokes in general, and not Roberts-Smith specifically, with his “in the sack” comment- i.e. buff blokes might concentrate on their own body to the detriment of their partners. Clarity can get easily get lost on live television. Given the context and the person, his explanation makes infinitely more sense than the tabloid accusation that Negus was muck-raking (since when has he ever done that and why would he need to?).

Stynes has been unfairly maligned and the real story is how the tabloids can manufacture a villian and run a witch hunt, using a goodly dose of racism and misogyny (why was Stynes put on the Herald-Sun front-page and not Negus?).

She has also responded to the unwarranted hate campaign against her with grace, dignity and professionalism.

““The journalists for the cheap press are uneasily aware that nobody cares much about what they say. Hence their sad conviction that they can say things any way they like, even if it means staging a man’s funeral for him just because he makes a few down-in-the-mouth remarks. Talk about getting the hearse before the horse.””
Clive James (in response to exaggerated reports of his death)

I get your point Richard, but I wasn’t talking about the Stynes / Negus situation. I made a point not to. It was a stupid error of judgement made in a live broadcast… Anyone that has cranked up enough hours of live TV or Radio is likely at some point to say something unintended, badly articulated or in bad judgement. This was one of those moments.

If the guy she was talking about was a Athlete or a Politician, nobody would care. The problem was that he is classed as a War Hero (and he should be). I’ve read up on him and he deserves the kudos awarded to him. People feel the need to defend soldiers more than other people. Again, I understand this, but I also understand that some other people may also see that a soldier it probably better than others to be able to roll with the punches and take a joke on the chin (which he seemed to have done when he responded in his own statement). It was a Joke, it wasn’t a great joke, it wasn’t that funny, but it also wasn’t worth the outcry it attracted.

On this very same website their are threads talking about the countless times Kyle Sandilands has said stupid and offensive things about people. He’s done this time and time and time again and seldom apologised without delay.I don’t judge people by their mistakes, but how they deal with them afterwards. If they keep making them, if they show remorse. She did, he doesn’t. She gets screwed over one mistake, he continues.

There does seem to be a double standard here.

@ Bonobo – I find your comments strangely ironic.

The video above does not show the full footage of the incident on the TV. Yumi started insulting Roberts-Smith as soon as a picture appeared of him on screen, from the footage the previous night on 7 where he and his wife discussed their trials with IVF, and she said ‘he’s going to dive down into the bottom of the pool and see if his brain is there’. She further sensationalised her comments by replying to Negus ‘he could be a dud root’. Did the media make that up?

The deluge of public outrage, which I think is completely justifiable given the context of the footage of Roberts-Smith, caused her to make a very insincere apology on the show as a sidenote to her announcing her engagement. So pathetic it was, she then had to go on the 7 PM Project to apologise again… Did the media make that up?

No, the Australian public judged her for her comments and the way she handled herself afterwards with her insincerity.

@ Josh

My point was that even the edited footage above makes it clear that Negus made the comment about sexuality and Stynes just questioned it in disbelief. Her question, though coarse, was a quite reasonable and straightforward attempt at seeking clarification for something that sounded outrageous- “are you, George Negus, intimating he may be a dud root?”. As recently as this weekend, newspapers stated that Stynes cast apersions on Roberts-Smith’s sexuality. She never did. The media made that up, attributing Negus’ words to her.

If all that had been said was “brain at the bottom of the pool”, I very much doubt there would have been a story. It was the apparent questioning of his masculinity (by Negus, not Stynes), in the context of his IVF, that is understandably offensive. And this is how the media tagged it on to Stynes.

Stynes makes brain joke + Negus questions “in the sack”= Circle “attacks” war hero= Stynes says war hero is a dud root because he used IVF. The tabloids know most people are way too busy to pick through the dodgy logic or look at the original footage, especially if they are already fired up by lies and out-of-context reporting.
The tabloids gave the impression that the whole segment was that Stynes and Negus had taken a peeping-tom photo of a war hero in order to bag him.

What the tabloids (and you, apparently) ignore in order to make that equation was
1) Gorgi Coghlan introduced the photo with an extended spiel of praise- “On the weekend, I saw the most incredible man and I can’t get him out of my head. He is the perfect embodiment of masculinity.” (And I think there’s no reason to assume that Stynes or Negus would watch Channel 7 on Sunday night)

2)Negus initially avoiding taking part, saying it was “reverse sexism” .
So, “The Circle” as a single entity was not attacking or “hounding” Roberts-Smith, as the headlines screamed. It was meant as a chat about a bloke Gorgi fancied.

3) Given 1), Stynes and Negus was responding to the sort of man that Coghlan apparently liked when she finally showed the photo. Negus even specifically said, “nothing about Ben, but that sort of bloke” to indicate he was speaking in general terms, not about Roberts-Smith (who he happens to know personally). Despite him speaking in general terms, it was the media that made the interpretation regarding IVF.

Their apologies seemed insincere because they genuinely didn’t believe they had done what the tabloids were accusing them of doing. They were sorry for the distress caused, but it was the tabloids who had incited that distress.

Stynes’ engagement announcement was made on February 29, a rare date and one when women can propose to men. She didn’t invent the tradition or the proposal. Again, I doubt either the apology or the engagement would have been an issue if Negus had never mentioned “in the sack” and if it had never been associated with Stynes.

Roberts-Smith said “Initially I was a little surprised at the comments..”. Unsurprisingly, given they were taken out of context. After personally speaking with Stynes and Negus and hearing the actual context and meaning, he said “I also understand they were not meant to be malicious in any way”.

It is a pity, but not surprising, that so many people still passionately believe the self-serving and deliberately inflammatory interpretation of the tabloids over the informed interpretation by Roberts-Smith himself. And a pity too that the media, in their false self-righteous zeal to put the boot into Stynes, does not respect Roberts-Smith desire to “put this matter behind me so I can focus on serving my country.”

@ James Macleod

Thanks for the reply and for your time in explaining, I now see that we are more in accord than not. Wise to avoid the hot issue, I wasn’t going to mention it either , but once I had watched the video again I was driven to refer to it.

Sandilands and others are as much in my sight line when I refer to the obligation that goes along with being welcomed into the living rooms of the nation.

Each presenter, even (perhaps especially ) the controversial, owes a mark of respect to his/her audience and to the producers

Hi guys,
I have to say the decision to axe The Circle was the most assinine thing Channel 10 has ever done.Do you really think all this happened because of Yumi’s slip up- not on your nellie. Gina Rinehart has her paws all over this one!!!Remember the Circle girls had a discussion about whether they could speak without worrying???? Free to Air TV is now run by accountants!! Miss you girls loved your honesty and witt!

@George Negus ha! Good work!