Talk:Bernard Levin

Arachnophobia

Levin said on TV and in one of his columns that he had a fear of spiders; is this noteworthy?

Meltingpot (talk) 09:07, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Levin and Huffington

I added some stuff about Arianna Huffington, from her article in The Sunday Times 15th of August 2004 (first and second pages of the "News Review" section). Whereas some of the obituaries say her relationship with Levin lasted five years, she says it was from 71 to 80. I erred on the side of putting that in as, well, she'd know better than some guy at The Scotsman :) There she also mentions his having balance problems in 1988, and the name of his long-term partner Liz Anderson comes from The Scotsman. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:08, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Tombstone

Could someone find a portrait? It's a bit gloomy coming to this page and being confronted at once with the tombstone! He deserves better than that! Sedgefoot 14:43, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Bernard Levin/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Dr. Blofeld 9:57 am, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

GA review (see here for criteria)

---

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

   Lead: "A lowly job in the BBC". Can you state what it actually was?

   Done. Tim riley (talk) 12:33, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

   Can you give dates for when he graduated from the London School of Economics and joined Truth?

   Done Tim riley (talk) 12:33, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

   What does "with one break of just over a year" mean, a break before joining the job or during the job or what, when?

   Redrawn to make clear Tim riley (talk) 12:33, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

2. Is it factually accurate and verifiable?

   A. References to sources:

   B. Citation of reliable sources where necessary:

   I would prefer that you use cite web and cite book parameters in your references, but this isn't compulsory to my knowledge.

Another concern is that a large number of the references are not third-party independent sources, you've relied on a lot of material by Levin himself. Personally I would like to see a great balance of sources and far more third-party reliable sources added to the article. Off course being a journalist then his material is likely more valuable than any, but I do believe it needs a wider range of sources by other people, but not compulsory for this to pass GA although it would be I think for FA.

I entirely agree, but there simply isn't the material available: no published books about Levin and not much online except the ODNB and the obits. Tim riley (talk) 12:33, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

1. C. No original research:

2. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

3. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

4. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

   No edit wars.

5. It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

   Some of your image licenses aren't convincing, I'll ask JMilburn for an insight of this, (Checked they are OK but you might consider using Template:Multiple image instead of collages for a better resolution)

   I didn't know about this template and will certainly investigate it for future articles—many thanks! Tim riley (talk) 12:33, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

6. Overall:

   Pass/Fail: Pass

An enjoyable article, quite humorous in places. Seems to summarize the main aspects of his career and life well. Appears to clearly be of GA quality, although I believe it needs a higher percentage of third-party sources not by Levin himself to be completely satisfactory. On hold until the minor issues are addressed.♦ Dr. Blofeld 10:30, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

Given that minor issues and images have been addressed and having looked into sourcing for this biography myself and finding very little third party independent sources related to his biography aside from the Oxford source I think this is sufficient enough to pass this. However, I would think twice about nominating this for an FA because I believe it would fail due to the balance of sources used, even if you've clearly done your best here to research this and have written an article which gives an adequate coverage.♦ Dr. Blofeld

Poverty of family and different background from schoolfellows

An anonymous editor keeps removing the mention of the above, though they are direct quotations from main sources. If the editor concerned has any reliable sources that contradict these statements he/she is welcome to cite them, but must not delete well-cited statements such as the above because he/she happens to dislike them. Persistently doing so amounts to vandalism. Tim riley (talk) 10:47, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

Hi Tim. I apologise for the repeated edits as perhaps I have not been able to make my point clear. I agree that Bernard Levin came from a poor family (as cited) and that he also came from a "very different background" from his fellow school pupils (also cited) but the articles do not link his family's poverty with the observation that his fellow school pupils were from a very different background. I believe the link refers to his Jewish roots and his political philosophy. Given that most of the pupils at Christ's Hospital would have come from a similarly poor background it was not his family's poverty that would have marked his background as being different, on the contrary. It is that suggestion that is unsupported by the articles cited. I reject the premise that you can take two separate statements and then link them to give an alterior meaning than that supported by the original text. I also apologise if this is not the correct way to discuss the reasons for my edits.

Oh, very well. It's most irregular, but I think you are probably right, despite a lack of citations for your contention. Be that as it may, I think we can live without the disputed clause. Best wishes. 23:01, 22 November 2011 (UTC) Tim riley (talk) 23:02, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:

• Arianna Huffington May 2014.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. Community Tech bot (talk) 23:40, 25 July 2018 (UTC)