The Radio 4 actress and presenter is a newspaper addict but also likes to indulge in a little X Factor
Newspapers I have to confess to having a problem with newspapers ? I can't stop buying them. I hate reading them online. The Guardian and Observer are my regulars, though sadly I rarely have time to read more than the features and articles which really hit me on my first skim through. I then end up hoarding them for I daren't say how long. I particularly like Polly Toynbee, Jonathan Freedland and Gary Younge. I've recently taken to skimming G2 in newsagents to see if I really do need to buy, in a vague attempt to save money. I also can't resist picking up the Evening Standard, the free Independent in the Birmingham hotel I stay in a few days a month when recording The Archers, the Telegraph when visiting my father up north; and I avidly consume any tabloids lying around on trains or at work in Woman's Hour, to get a "wider perspective"! Apparently my great grandmother was always cutting things out of newspapers and was viewed as an eccentric by her children. So maybe I have the excuse that it's in the blood!
Magazines I very rarely buy magazines. The only time I read any are at the hairdressers or dentist, and then it's the women's mags. They're a bit like eating a sickly sweet, I feel indulged but pretty dissatisfied afterwards! I'm considering subscribing to Prospect or Index on Censorship and Songlines, but can I risk adding to the piles of newspapers?
Books As I do a lot of train travel, both commuting and regular trips to Birmingham, I should have plenty of time to read but unfortunately newspapers tend to dominate. The books I do manage are usually connected to other countries I've worked in. One of the most telling books about the Rwandan genocide is Philip Gourevitch's We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families. At the moment I'm reading David Loyn's Butcher and Bolt which gives a comprehensive history of foreign engagement in Afghanistan over the last 200 years. Work has taken me to Kabul a number of times and I strive to understand the country while wishing there were some answers to the best way forward. I'm sometimes drawn to poetry, most recently to Imtiaz Dharker. On a lighter note, waiting to be read by my bed is Carlos Acosta's autobiography!
Television I watch relatively little television ? it's usually the 10 o'clock news followed by some or all of Newsnight, depending on how much I'm drawn to the topics covered, and how tired I am. I used to love documentaries but am sad at how few really good ones are around these days. I'm afraid I stopped watching Panorama when it was reduced to half an hour. If I'm at home on a Saturday night I have to admit to watching the X Factor and Strictly. I'm constantly amazed at the cross section of the population enthralled by these programmes.
Radio Rather predictably, I suspect, I listen to Radio 4 most of the time, waking up to the Today programme. When working from home I do also turn the dial to BBC London for a snippet of Vanessa Feltz in the morning, Robert Elms at lunchtime ? always engaging, entertaining and sometimes laugh out loud ? and Jo Good accompanies late night ablutions. I also try to hear World Service documentaries and The Strand for its wonderful global perspective on the arts. I always intend to listen back to more of these online as well the gems to be found on Radio 3's Late Junction, Between the Ears and The Sunday Feature.
Adverts Tend to wash over me. The last one I really noticed was the T-Mobile dancing crowds on Liverpool Street station. It captured the joy of dance ? and as it's a great love of mine ? you can't get better than that.
Films I'm not great at keeping up with films. I tend to go for live performance as it's invariably much more transient ? if you miss it, that's it for ever, so theatre, dance and music concerts often win out. The last couple of films I've seen are Gainsbourg ? I really liked the imaginatively surreal take on his life by director Joann Sfar ? and Common Dance, a beautiful, haunting film of a dance piece made by contemporary choreographer Rosemary Lee using 50 professional and non-professional dancers aged eight to 82. I'm determined to see Mike Leigh's new film Another Year.
Online I'm resistant to tweeting and Facebook, although my 18-year-old niece is trying to persuade me by saying it's the best way to keep up with her music gigs. Even Woman's Hour, who I work for, are tweeting, so who knows? I find the ease of researching archive material on the internet pretty amazing and still get a buzz out of being able to make instant contact with friends in far-off countries. I try to listen to creative radio features from around the world online. A new organisation celebrating and promoting radio called In the Dark is proving to be a wonderful guiding light.
Felicity Finch plays Ruth Archer in The Archers and is a features and documentary presenter for Radio 4
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/17/felicity-finch-my-media
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