Jeni Barnett
Encyclopedia
Jeni Barnett is an English
actress and TV presenter who grew up in Borehamwood
. She is married to Yorkshire-born actor Jim Bywater and has one daughter, Bethany.
's Loose Women
and Five's The Wright Stuff
, and was a long-time presenter of the children's TV series You and Me
.
as a weekend presenter. She courted controversy in 1986 by breast-feeding her new daughter Bethany live on air.
Between 2002 and 2007, Barnett was host of UKTV Food
's flagship food show, Great Food Live
(previously known as Good Food Live) and its spinoffs Great Food Bites and Great Food Live Extra. In 2004/2005, Barnett also hosted the second series of the ITV1
cookery show, Too Many Cooks
.
, when she stood in for Chris Hawkins
on Saturday afternoon. Barnett soon returned to the air filling in for more presenters, including Jim Davis' Lifestyle show. As part of a new Sunday schedule she was given a new 2 hour programme talking about food.
A further change on 7 January 2008 saw Barnett move to weekday afternoons, 1-4pm, as part of the new weekday line up. The programme is a topical debate featuring aspects of news and views, in which the public are encouraged to call in with their views.
Barnett continued to present the Sunday Food programme as well as the new weekday afternoon programme until 20 January 2008 when Bill Buckley replaced her on Sundays so she could concentrate on the weekday programme. She was dropped from the LBC schedule quietly on 17 September 2010 replaced by Petrie Hosken. She started a Sunday morning show on BBC London 94.9 on 9 January 2011 and stood in for Vanessa Feltz during the weeks commencing 21 February 2011 and 31 May 2011.
. She and some callers expressed negative opinions of the vaccination and conventional medicine in general, and disagreed that recent disease outbreaks should be blamed on parents who choose not to vaccinate their children. The views reflected those expressed in the late 1990s when the media took up concerns about possible linkage of the vaccine to autism raised by Dr Andrew Wakefield
, at the time overhyped and since shown to be wrong. When a nurse phoned in to the show and asked Barnett if she knew what was in the MMR vaccine, Barnett admitted that she did not.
The discussion attracted criticism of its accuracy and possible negative influence on public health by doctor and journalist Ben Goldacre
, who described the show as "irresponsible, ill-informed, and ignorant".
Following Goldacre's criticisms, which he placed on his blog along with an audio clip of the show in question, the companies that aired Barnett's show (LBC
and Global Radio
) issued legal threats to force removal of the audio clip on copyright
grounds. Goldacre removed the audio, but it, and transcripts prepared from it, have been made available by others via alternative sources in what the blog Techdirt called a 'Streisand effect
', alluding to the wider publicity arising from an attempt to remove material from the internet. Following this, the controversy received wider attention.
After the broadcast, Barnett admitted on her blog that she "did not have the facts to hand...[was] ill informed...As a responsible broadcaster I should have been better prepared" when she discussed her claims with medical professionals who called in to question her statements. Subsequently to this, all comments submitted to the blog entries dealing with this episode were removed from her site (although they have been archived elsewhere). According to Barnett's agent, Robert Common, they contained "extremely personal and abusive comments" although no such examples have been provided, and third-party archives of the comments do not appear to support this assessment.
An Early Day Motion
criticising her broadcast was tabled by Norman Lamb
MP.
Barnett's broadcast was the recipient of complaints to OfCom
, and Ofcom investigated the show. Ofcom's found that Based on the inclusion of alternate viewpoints from those expressed by Barnett, namely callers that included medical professionals criticising Barnett's statements, Ofcom's final ruling was that the broadcast did not violate rules against misleading portrayals of factual matters or undue prominence to minority views and opinions on matters of political or industrial controversy.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress and TV presenter who grew up in Borehamwood
Borehamwood
-Film industry:Since the 1920s, the town has been home to several film studios and many shots of its streets are included in final cuts of 20th century British films. This earned it the nickname of the "British Hollywood"...
. She is married to Yorkshire-born actor Jim Bywater and has one daughter, Bethany.
Acting career
As an actress she appeared on several TV shows, including Revolting Women (BBC2, 1981) and Doctors, and has also been a panelist on ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
and Five's The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff is a British television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and currently airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning from 9:15 to 11:10am....
, and was a long-time presenter of the children's TV series You and Me
You and Me (TV series)
You and Me is a BBC television programme for pre-school children broadcast in the 1970s to 1990s. The programmes consisted of various segments intended to educate and entertain young children and included elements for early literacy and numeracy....
.
TV presenter
Barnett became well known after appearing on British breakfast station TV-amTV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
as a weekend presenter. She courted controversy in 1986 by breast-feeding her new daughter Bethany live on air.
Between 2002 and 2007, Barnett was host of UKTV Food
UKTV Food
Good Food is a lifestyle channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 5 November 2001 and relaunched in its current format on 22 June 2009. Good Food is available on satellite through Sky and on cable services, primarily...
's flagship food show, Great Food Live
Great Food Live
Great Food Live, formerly Good Food Live, was a British magazine programme hosted by Jeni Barnett and broadcast on UKTVFood part of the UKTV Network between 2001 and 2007. Jeni Barnett was joined every day by a chef co-host...
(previously known as Good Food Live) and its spinoffs Great Food Bites and Great Food Live Extra. In 2004/2005, Barnett also hosted the second series of the ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
cookery show, Too Many Cooks
Too Many Cooks (TV series)
Too Many Cooks was a cookery competition on ITV which turns the idea of cookery shows on its head – the people cook for the chefs.It's a chance for great home cooks to prove themselves to the professionals, or be put in their place if their cooking is not up to scratch – contestants often turn out...
.
Radio presenter
On 16 June 2007 Barnett presented her first radio programme on LBC 97.3LBC 97.3
LBC 97.3 is a London-based talk and phone-in radio station. It is one half of the latest incarnation of LBC, the news and speech service which was Britain's first commercial radio station when it went on air in October 1973...
, when she stood in for Chris Hawkins
Chris Hawkins
Chris Hawkins is a presenter, performance DJ, reporter, journalist, producer, and music pundit....
on Saturday afternoon. Barnett soon returned to the air filling in for more presenters, including Jim Davis' Lifestyle show. As part of a new Sunday schedule she was given a new 2 hour programme talking about food.
A further change on 7 January 2008 saw Barnett move to weekday afternoons, 1-4pm, as part of the new weekday line up. The programme is a topical debate featuring aspects of news and views, in which the public are encouraged to call in with their views.
Barnett continued to present the Sunday Food programme as well as the new weekday afternoon programme until 20 January 2008 when Bill Buckley replaced her on Sundays so she could concentrate on the weekday programme. She was dropped from the LBC schedule quietly on 17 September 2010 replaced by Petrie Hosken. She started a Sunday morning show on BBC London 94.9 on 9 January 2011 and stood in for Vanessa Feltz during the weeks commencing 21 February 2011 and 31 May 2011.
2009 MMR vaccine controversy
In a show broadcast on 7 January 2009, Barnett's topics included the MMR vaccineMMR vaccine
The MMR vaccine is an immunization shot against measles, mumps, and rubella . It was first developed by Maurice Hilleman while at Merck in the late 1960s....
. She and some callers expressed negative opinions of the vaccination and conventional medicine in general, and disagreed that recent disease outbreaks should be blamed on parents who choose not to vaccinate their children. The views reflected those expressed in the late 1990s when the media took up concerns about possible linkage of the vaccine to autism raised by Dr Andrew Wakefield
Andrew Wakefield
Andrew Wakefield is a British former surgeon and medical researcher, known as an advocate for the discredited claim that there is a link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, autism and bowel disease, and for his fraudulent 1998 research paper in support of that claim.Four years after...
, at the time overhyped and since shown to be wrong. When a nurse phoned in to the show and asked Barnett if she knew what was in the MMR vaccine, Barnett admitted that she did not.
The discussion attracted criticism of its accuracy and possible negative influence on public health by doctor and journalist Ben Goldacre
Ben Goldacre
Ben Michael Goldacre born 1974 is a British science writer, doctor and psychiatrist. He is the author of The Guardian newspaper's weekly Bad Science column and a book of the same title, published by Fourth Estate in September 2008....
, who described the show as "irresponsible, ill-informed, and ignorant".
Following Goldacre's criticisms, which he placed on his blog along with an audio clip of the show in question, the companies that aired Barnett's show (LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
and Global Radio
Global Radio
Global Radio UK Ltd. is a British commercial radio company, the largest in the country following acquisitions of Chrysalis Radio and GCap Media.The company's Chief Executive Officer is Stephen Miron, while the Group Chairman is Charles Allen...
) issued legal threats to force removal of the audio clip on copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
grounds. Goldacre removed the audio, but it, and transcripts prepared from it, have been made available by others via alternative sources in what the blog Techdirt called a 'Streisand effect
Streisand effect
The Streisand effect is a primarily online phenomenon in which an attempt to hide or remove a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely...
', alluding to the wider publicity arising from an attempt to remove material from the internet. Following this, the controversy received wider attention.
After the broadcast, Barnett admitted on her blog that she "did not have the facts to hand...[was] ill informed...As a responsible broadcaster I should have been better prepared" when she discussed her claims with medical professionals who called in to question her statements. Subsequently to this, all comments submitted to the blog entries dealing with this episode were removed from her site (although they have been archived elsewhere). According to Barnett's agent, Robert Common, they contained "extremely personal and abusive comments" although no such examples have been provided, and third-party archives of the comments do not appear to support this assessment.
An Early Day Motion
Early day motion
An Early Day Motion , in the Westminster system, is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament for debate "on an early day" . Controversial EDMs are not signed by Government Ministers, PPS or the Speaker of the House of Commons and very few are debated on the floor...
criticising her broadcast was tabled by Norman Lamb
Norman Lamb
Norman Peter Lamb is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and Chief Parliamentary and Political Adviser and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.He is the Member of Parliament for North Norfolk....
MP.
Barnett's broadcast was the recipient of complaints to OfCom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
, and Ofcom investigated the show. Ofcom's found that Based on the inclusion of alternate viewpoints from those expressed by Barnett, namely callers that included medical professionals criticising Barnett's statements, Ofcom's final ruling was that the broadcast did not violate rules against misleading portrayals of factual matters or undue prominence to minority views and opinions on matters of political or industrial controversy.
External links
- Jeni Barnett (Personal website/blog)