Have we lost our collective social ability to address one another correctly? The broadcasters' tenedency to use 'Sunday' names when interviewing has got a certain "Mr Lafferty" spitting out his cornflakes. 

I have now reached the end of my tether. Every day on radio, predominantly on the BBC, I hear interviewees being addressed by their full names. That sentence may strike you as a harmless one, but here is what I mean: a few days ago on Good Morning Scotland, I heard an excellent debate between Annabel Goldie and Iain Gray about the non-budget. It was moderated by Gary Robertson, one of our finest broadcasters. But in line with the practice prevalent on air, he addressed each one as “Annabel Goldie” and Iain Gray”, and continued to do so long after the protagonists had been calling each other the more natural “Annabel “ and “Iain”.

Apart from the fact that constantly using a full name throughout an interview is less than smooth, what happened to Mr. and Miss? No-one in ordinary life, or in a business meeting, an office consultation, looks at their interlocutor and calls them by their first and second names, so why has this ear-crunching habit become the norm in the media?

I used to wonder if this had come from lay persons seeing lawyers conducting examination in court. Sadly most folk don’t take the trouble to attend court, but I guess the majority of journalists, and news-orientated tv and radio reporters have done. Everyone’s seen Judge John Deed anyway, eh? So I thought that the use of the full name was somehow intended to grab the attention and un-nerve the interviewee, as if they had done something naughty and were about to be unmasked. Though fair do’s , quite a proportion of political bods being questioned might fall into that category.

But on speculative reflection, I take it back to the election of the 1997 Labour government, when “call me Tony” let it be known that all the ministers called each other by first names in Cabinet. This seemed to osmote a dropping of nominative prefixes, but broadcasters failed to find the courage to call the top interviewees “Gordon” or “Peter” . So what was to be done? Using a full name perhaps seemed a neutral approach or a compromise, neither old-fashioned nor too informal.

But whatever the provenance, I am afraid this clumsy practice is now universal on the BBC. To the listener it sounds as if the presenter is being deferential but irritated, as there is the hint of a mother talking to recalcitrant child ( Annabel Goldie, you WILL tell me where you left your hockey tunic). Talk like normal people, guys. You would expect your bank manager to call you Mr. Robertson when you are looking for a mortgage, or Gary if you are looking to invest money. But to be constantly addressed as Gary Robertson for 30 minutes would make you worry you were going to be huckled for bringing down the banking system.

So, Fred Goodwin….

I think I will go home and say “Well, Yvonne Lafferty, what’s for tea then? Would you like a glass of wine, Yvonne Lafferty? What do you mean I am still overweight and not the slim handsome youth you married, Yvonne Lafferty?”

Austin