Presenter Quotes

decade after the first edition of this book was published, Yan Wong and I met in the fitting surroundings of the Oxford Museum of Natural History to discuss the possibility of producing a new, tenth anniversary edition. Yan, once my undergraduate pupil, had been employed as my research assistant during the writing of the original edition, before he left for his lecturing position in Leeds and his career as a television presenter. He played an enormously important part in the conception and execution of the first edition, and he was credited as joint author of several of the chapters. During the course of our discussion ten years on, we realised that much new information had come in, especially from the molecular genetics laboratories of the world. Yan undertook the bulk of the revision and I proposed to the publisher that this time he should be properly credited as joint author of the whole book. ~ Richard Dawkins

I couldn't care less about being a presenter at the Oscars. ~ Tim Robbins

I think when you're a TV presenter, you have to have a reason for doing it, and a lot of them have been around a long time and grafted for that. The reason why it works with me on 'The Xtra Factor' is because I was a contestant on it, and I have a relationship with the viewers at home. ~ Olly Murs

I worry that there are people who are put in positions of authority because they're good talkers, but they don't have good ideas. It's so easy to confuse schmoozing ability with talent. Someone seems like a good presenter, easy to get along with, and those traits are rewarded. Well, why is that? They're valuable traits, but we put too much of a premium on presenting and not enough on substance and critical thinking. ~ Susan Cain

Whereas my producer literally worked on this thing for 10 years and because I gave that presenter credit to David Lynch, she to this day never gets credit. It really kills me. ~ Terry Zwigoff

She's an excellent presenter and would have succeeded in advertising, is what I think. She generates a sense of excitement in the room and I become aware that my hands are moist with sweat, but not from fear. From needing to know what happened next. I like the drama. I glance around the room and other people look rapt as well. And I feel like, That's the reason to go to a gay rehab. People appreciate the drama. ~ Augusten Burroughs

The futility of everything that comes to us from the media is the inescapable consequence of the absolute inability of that particular stage to remain silent. Music, commercial breaks, news flashes, adverts, news broadcasts, movies, presenters - there is no alternative but to fill the screen; otherwise there would be an irremediable void ... That's why the slightest technical hitch, the slightest slip on the part of the presenter becomes so exciting, for it reveals the depth of the emptiness squinting out at us through this little window. ~ Jean Baudrillard

The legendary inscription above the Academy's door speaks loudly about Plato's attitude toward mathematics. In fact, most of the significant mathematical research of the fourth century BC was carried out by people associated in one way or another with the Academy. Yet Plato himself was not a mathematician of great technical dexterity, and his direct contributions to mathematical knowledge were probably minimal. Rather, he was an enthusiastic spectator, a motivating source of challenge, an intelligent critic, an an inspiring guide. The first century philosopher and historian Philodemus paints a clear picture: "At that time great progress was seen in mathematics, with Plato serving as the general architect setting out problems, and the mathematicians investigating them earnestly." To which the Neoplatonic philosopher and mathematician Proclus adds: "Plato...greatly advanced mathematics in general and geometry in particular because of his zeal for these studies. It is well known that his writings are thickly sprinkled with mathematical terms and that he everywhere tries to arouse admiration for mathematics among students of philosophy." In other words, Plato, whose mathematical knowledge was broadly up to date, could converse with the mathematicians as an equal and as a problem presenter, even though his personal mathematical achievements were not significant. ~ Mario Livio

I'm happy to be content-maker as well as curator, so I'm happy to also be a presenter for amazing things. ~ Jason Silva

I always wanted to be a 'Blue Peter' presenter when I grew up! ~ Sophie Aldred

Reading is not passive. It is only when the reader brings his/her own experiences to the work and breathes life into the author's words that they consummate the relationship and together bring the story to life. ~ Chuck Miceli

The beauty of a person is confidence whatever your race, color, creed, age, shape and size. The true presenter of yourself is not your outer fit, the color of skin, height or width it's all about your confidence that reflects in the eyes of the people and electrifies them toward you which is your inner-glow, generates from the firm self-confidence making you glorified whatever is your field of career. ~ Lord Robin

For a long time, my shows were about people walking out or about getting my gigs canceled or having the presenter not wanting to pay me. ~ Eric Bogosian

Everyone writes the book he or she loves to read. Great authors write the books others love to read. ~ Chuck Miceli

I had an early taste of fame. I was 20, going out with TV presenter Dani Behr and we'd have paparazzi chasing us. I'm not comfortable being photographed, though I accept it is part of the job. I had to ask myself, 'What comes first, being a celebrity or footballer?' ~ Ryan Giggs

[Replying to the question of the presenter: "where did the name "Sex Pistols" come from, who thought this name up?"] Some animal. I can't remember. It doesn't matter. It's history. ~ John Lydon

We have a society where every hit maker and TV presenter is gay. ~ Elton John

Television came looking for me; it was never a plan to become a presenter. ~ Neil Oliver

The problem is that television executives have got it into their heads that if one presenter on a show is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed heterosexual boy, the other must be a black Muslim lesbian. ~ Jeremy Clarkson

They had come all at once, scientists being pack animals. Their leader was a nice man named Carlos, who had started dating Cecil, the presenter of the local radio station, after a near-death experience a few years before involving a brutal attack from a tiny civilization living under lane 5 of the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex. It was an ordinary enough way to begin a relationship, as these things go. ~ Joseph Fink

'Senior Citizen' and 'Silver Surfer' are the new euphemisms. Unless you're a female presenter on TV, in which case you're ready for the knacker's yard at 35. ~ Terry Wogan

This next presenter is so lovely you could eat her up with a spoon ~ Neil Patrick Harris

One of my very greatest fears as a child was being ridiculed in public. And there it was coming true. As a television presenter, I'd been respected. People come up to you in the street and shake your hand and talk to you in a respectful way. ~ David Icke

I think that no one, or very few, are born as good presenters. It's a skill that you learn. ~ Guy Kawasaki

So much interviewing these days is about the presenter - I?m a clever boy, I?m going to be smart with people; or it?s a trivial - how do you like your eggs boiled? ~ Michael Parkinson

I'm a presenter. ~ Richard Hammond

There are skeptics who do not come to their view because they have a source of income from carbon polluters. ~ Al Gore

I didn't mean to be a TV presenter, I just hated modeling. It feels very odd that it's turned into this 'It-girl' thing. What does that even mean? I wear clothes and I go out. It's so weird. ~ Alexa Chung

Metaphors are one of the most powerful weapons in your arsenal as a presenter. In today's fast-paced world of communication, a well-thought-out metaphor acts as a shortcut to meaning. ~ Bruna Martinuzzi

Why is it Americans are socially permitted to say 'fricking' when in fact everyone knows the word they're actually saying is 'fucking'?
... here you have some bland ho-bag telly presenter saying 'I'm so fricking mad' about whatever, while you, the home viewer, know she's three millimeters away from saying 'I'm so fucking mad'. But instead of being outraged because she basically said 'fucking' on TV, everyone giggles, like she's being cute.
... it's like ten times worse because the public is thinking 'fucking, fucking, fucking'. They're so full of shame or so socially conditioned that the mental effect of saying the word 'fucking' is technically amplified. By actually saying the word 'fucking' in real life, instead of 'fricking', you're doing American society a favor. ~ Douglas Coupland

On my gravestone, I want 'Here lies the singer,' not 'Here lies the T.V. presenter'. ~ Cilla Black

Unless created as freestanding works, quotations resemble "found" art. They are analogous, say, to a piece of driftwood identified as formally interesting enough to be displayed in an art museum or to a weapon moved from an anthropological to an artistic display ... The presenter of found art, whether material or verbal, has become a sort of artist. He has not made the object, but he has made it as art. ~ Gary Saul Morson

How you look has become ridiculously disproportionate to what you do. Critics are more harsh on female presenters. ~ Carol Vorderman