Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘I’ve got my flaws, my problems..i’m an ordinary guy trying to hold down a big job’
STEPHEN Nolan has been a familiar face and voice on TV and radio for many years so it’s fair to assume he’s probably heard it all when it comes to criticism.
Whether it’s jibes about his weight, his apparent taking sides or “sensationalising” stories, he’s heard it all and more.
But what he doesn’t understand is this perception that he’s “cocky”.
Speaking to the Mirror, the 47-yearold reflected on 30 series of Nolan Live, how he handles Twitter trolls and why he questions himself every day.
He said: “I don’t know if it goes back to my younger days but when people tell me I work hard I think, ‘Hold on a minute, wise up’.
“People digging roads work hard, nurses work hard. I talk for a living and I don’t know if that’s a psychological thing in my head but I think people in jobs like mine, well-paid, relatively solid, are really, really lucky.
“There are a cohort of people who work hard and maybe get minimum wage, look at taxi drivers who are having to do two to three jobs to pay the bills.
“I think that’s something where I recognise there has been something in the back of my head, maybe since I was a wee boy, I don’t know what it is, which is contrary to the perception of me as this kind of cocky character.
“I think actually the people that know me would realise that I have had for a long, long time this notion in my head of, ‘Am I really good enough to be doing what I’m doing?’
ROBUST
“And how I compensate for that is I work longer and harder to try and sustain it. So, I am not walking around thinking I’m going to be in this job forever and aren’t I great.
“I’m walking around thinking I’m pretty lucky to be here, not sure I’m good enough and I need to work intensely hard to catch up with the rest of them, and that can be debilitating.
“What you do then is you find it hard to take a break, you find it hard to slow down and I realise that’s the type of person I am.
“If you’re looking at what I do and how I do things, when I’m talking to politicians I’m pretty robust, when I’m fighting on behalf of people I’m pretty tough because I wouldn’t achieve what they need me to achieve if I wasn’t.
“So actually where are they getting this other perception of me, because here’s what I tell them and here’s what I allow to be in the public domain because I don’t hide it.
“I don’t dress particularly well because I can’t, I’ve got as many problems as anyone else because it’s clear I have a weight problem, I’ve got my flaws, I’ve got my irritations, so what is it about people who think I’m walking around a different person from what I am?
“Watch and listen to what I do, that’s who I am. I’m an ordinary guy in a big job, trying to hold down that big job as much as anyone else.”
When it comes to the online world, Stephen believes there are huge positives as well as the negative side to social media. But he also doesn’t let the trolls get under his skin, unless he believes the criticism is valid and then he’s happy to take it on board.
He added: “There’s a certain irony in people who rant and rave and sensationalise and tell lies on Twitter – where many of them are anonymous trolls who don’t have the bravery to put their face on something – criticising me who is working in an environment where I am working within the BBC editorial guidelines, I’m working within the Ofcom rules and my face and who I am and what I do is out there for all to see.
“There is some genuine criticism of me and there should be, that’s right, but these made-up trolling accounts which try little campaigns sometimes are just pathetic.
“But what also happens on Twitter is people talk to me about good things, they compliment me about things, people contact me with stories. If I was to show you the amount of stories we are sent on any given day through Twitter, through Facebook, it’s massive.
“I have nearly a quarter of a million followers so I think we have to look at the good and the bad.
“In terms of the bad, have I got thick skin? I’m just sensible and rational about it, so if I see something which has substance and is coming with credibility I’ll read it and consider it. But I’ve got pretty good thick skin at spotting a waster troll from a mile off, who has some kind of crazy political agenda which is embedded in lies, and that doesn’t really pass my notice, they can knock themselves out with their wee fingers because it ain’t going to affect me.”
While tackling the big issues of the day, the presenter knows all too well someone will be annoyed, but he’s
adamant that he doesn’t sensationalise the news he covers.
He said: “I take the facts and I gather opinion and I don’t censor people who maybe have opinions that differs from the norm. Well that’s what I’m all about and that’s a good thing.
“I think anyone in this business, journalists handling any issues in Northern Ireland, we’re not a quiet people, so if you’re a journalist in Northern Ireland and you’re afraid of a bit of criticism or bite back on Twitter then you’re not going to last very long and I’m not afraid of it.”
Stephen revealed it’s the stories where he helps make a difference to just a single person’s life that really resonate with him.
He added: “Just as important as the big political stories is this one. There was a lady whose husband had died maybe 20 to 30 years ago and for the last 20 years she was travelling to her husband’s cemetery to visit the grave and they changed the bus route without speaking to her. We got involved and we empowered her to tell the story, we contacted the authorities on her behalf, now this was many years ago now, but the bus route was put back on.
“And those little stories are actually really fulfilling and you walk out of work at the end of the day thinking the Nolan Show is doing a good thing here because it’s people at the heart of it.”
■ Nolan Live returns tonight on BBC One at 10.45pm.
I think people in jobs like mine, well-paid, relatively solid, are really lucky STEPHEN NOLAN YESTERDAY