By not having Ian Hislop act like a tree without roots perhaps? One of Britain's most ardent Eurosceptics became one of Britain's biggest Europhiles post-referendum. He stands for nothing politically and wants to disagree with the government, whoever it is and whatever it says. At a time when many comedians seem intent on shoving their politics down your throat, some balance would be ideal. A good comedian shouldn't be mixing politics with their comedy: with people like Hugh Dennis, you don't know which way he votes (he may have said so in op-eds, but the point is you can't tell from his material), and that's a good thing. Whereas Nish Kumar was roundly booed for turning his slot at a Lord's (the cricket ground) dinner into an anti-Brexit rant. During the 2016 US election, HIGNFY decided to launch into a big tirade against Gary Johnson, dragging up comments he had made in the past. It's not a coincidence that, rather than looking at him when he said these things, they did so when Hillary Clinton opted to drag his name through the mud. Indicating no more than being leaned on by the Clinton campaign.Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Fri May 29, 2020 9:44 pmWell it was brutal today. The panellists all come with their own opinions. How do you make it impartial?Rhys Benjamin wrote: ↑Fri May 29, 2020 9:19 pmHave I Got News For You hasn't been "brutal" in years. And hasn't been impartial since the referendum.Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Fri May 29, 2020 8:32 pm I just watched today's Have I Got News For You. Brutal. A must watch.
I watched the 2003 Bruce Forsyth episode the other day: not only was it not immediately evident which way the panellists voted (apparently Marcus Brigstocke votes Green, which I would never have guessed from that episode), when was the last time that show was genuinely as funny as that, rather than being "brutal"? It's not the job of a "topical news quiz" which is also a comedy programme to be "brutal". It's the job of the news departments and media. And frankly, they can't be brutal since they're not asking the right questions, and are more interested in analysing than reporting.