Bloggers "inadequate, pimpled and single" says Marr
BBC political presenter Andrew Marr has risked the wrath of the blogosphere by blasting bloggers as "inadequate, pimpled and single".
Marr made the comments, which were picked up by the Telegraph, at the Cheltenham Literature Festival where he was giving a talk about how technology is changing the way people receive news and current affairs.
He is reported to have said: "Most citizen journalism strikes me as nothing to do with journalism at all.
"A lot of bloggers seem to be socially inadequate, pimpled, single, slightly seedy, bald, cauliflower-nosed, young men sitting in their mother's basements and ranting. They are very angry people.
"OK – the country is full of very angry people. Many of us are angry people at times. Some of us are angry and drunk. But the so-called citizen journalism is the spewings and rantings of very drunk people late at night.
"It is fantastic at times but it is not going to replace journalism."
Marr's employers at the BBC, where he presents flagship politics programme The Andrew Marr Show, seem rather more fond of blogs than he does. The BBC has a whole network of almost 100 blogs on its website.