The Media Show
Social media, anti-social media, breaking news, faking news: this is the programme about a revolution in media.
Episodes
Investigating abuse in the Church of England, Tyson vs Paul, NYT Games, Leaving X for Bluesky
The resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury has sparked renewed discussion about accountability in the Church of England. Cathy Newman, Presenter and Investigations Editor, Channel 4 News, reflects on her investigation which triggered it. Mark Stibbe, one of Cathy's original sources, discusses the impact of coming forward with his story. Colin Campbell, Investigative Journalist, BBC News, shares his experience of reporting on cover-ups and systemic failures in the Church’s handling of abuse cases.Friday’s Netflix boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson was more than a fight; it was a media moment. Evan Shapiro, Media Commentator and ‘Media Cartographer,’ sees it as evidence of influencer dominance over traditional media. Oliver Brown, Chief Sports Writer, Daily Telegraph, discusses whether such events mark a shift from genuine sport to spectacle.Games are more than leisure activities; they are now central to media business models. Zoe Bell, Executive Producer of Games, The New York Times, explains how puzzles like Wordle and its new game Zorse contribute to subscription growth. John Halpern, crossword setter, shares insights into his process for crafting puzzles and the timeless appeal of crosswords.Katie Martin, Columnist, Financial Times, discusses her move from X to Bluesky. She reflects on the challenges of platform migration, the persistence of echo chambers, and the broader implications for media spaces.Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
20/11/24•57m 38s
How to cover Trump now, Taskmaster creator Alex Horne and who will replace Gary Lineker?
When Donald Trump won in 2016, it boosted cable news and newspaper subscriptions, with some outlets taking an avowedly anti-Trump stance; some even called this the ‘resistance’. What’s going to happen now? We talk to journalists with different approaches. As popular Channel 4 gameshow Taskmaster celebrates its tenth anniversary, creator Alex Horne shares the secrets of its success. And we assess the choices facing BBC Sport after it was announced Gary Lineker will be standing down from Match of the Day. Guests: Edward Luce, Associate Editor, The Financial Times; Megan McArdle, Columnist, The Washington Post; Katie Drummond, Global Editorial Director, Wired; Alex Horne, creator, Taskmaster; Caroline Frost, columnist, Radio Times
Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer
13/11/24•57m 51s
Trump's winning media strategy, Observer sale, royal journalism
Donald Trump has pledged to send reporters to jail and strip major television networks of their broadcast licenses. We discuss how the Presidential campaign was covered and what happens next. James Harding of Tortoise Media discusses his plans to buy The Observer, and as a new investigation into the business interests of the Royals is released, we discuss the story, its coverage and the life of the royal journalist.Guests: James Harding, Editor and Founder, Tortoise Media; Claire Atkinson, Media Reporter, Media Mix Newsletter; Max Tani, Media Editor at news website, Semafor; Alistair Jackson, Investigations Editor, Channel 4; Jennie Bond, former BBC Royal Correspondent; Kinsey Schofield, Host, To Di for DailyPresenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
06/11/24•56m 59s
Ballots, bias and big tech
This week, The Media Show broadcasts from Washington DC, and asks what the election tells us about the media's role in modern America. The Washington Post finds itself at the heart of a debate on media impartiality after a reported loss of thousands of subscribers following its decision not to endorse a candidate. NPR's media correspondent, David Folkenflik, joins us to unpack the unfolding crisis. With tech billionaires wielding significant influence, this election has seen figures like Elon Musk openly backing Donald Trump. Critics argue that big tech’s sway over public discourse has become too potent. Jennifer Huddleston, a senior fellow in technology policy at the Cato Institute, and Marietje Schaake, a former MEP now with Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center, debate the issues. For over 170 years, the Associated Press has been at the forefront of election coverage, calling winners across the nation. Anna Johnson, AP’s Washington bureau chief, explains how it does what might be "the single largest act of journalism in the world". Also on the show, Lauren Egan, White House reporter for Politico, talks Ros through her job and what access she gets to the President. And David A Kaplan, former Newsweek legal affairs expert, reflects on the 2000 election—a time when the relationship between the media, the candidates and the public looked very different.Presented by: Ros Atkins
Produced by: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
Sound: Ben Martin
30/10/24•57m 33s
George Osborne on covering the budget, Real Housewives' Andy Cohen, media strategies of the far right
George Osborne, presenter of Political Currency, on covering his first Labour budget as a journalist. After it was pulled from the programme of the London Film Festival at the weekend, Katie talks to the makers of the undercover film exposing UK far-right activists some consider too dangerous to show. After Katie's recent interview with Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, we look at how he used the media to promote his message and whether that’s still possible in Russia right now. And we meet the executive producer behind the Real Housewives franchise, Andy Cohen.Guests: George Osborne, Co-host, Political Currency podcast; Claer Barrett, Consumer Editor, The FT; Havana Marking, documentary maker; Nick Lowles, CEO Hope Not Hate; Andy Cohen, Host and Executive Producer, Real Housewives franchise; Francis Scarr, Russia specialist, BBC Monitoring; Daniel De Simone, Investigations Correspondent, BBC News Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
23/10/24•56m 44s
BBC News cuts, Isis Prisons Museum, the perils of press junkets
The BBC has announced cuts to its news output including closing the interview show HARDtalk after nearly 30 years. We talk to HARDtalk presenter Stephen Sackur. The Isis Prisons Museum was established in 2017 when a group of journalists, filmmakers and activists entered deserted Islamic State prisons to collect evidence. We talk to the team behind the project whose public archive was launched last week. Plus we hear what happens when press junkets go bad and talk to the maker of a new BBC Two documentary about one of Hollywood's most notorious scandals when a mysterious bidder acquired MGM Studios only to flee the country while under investigation by the FBI.Guests: Stephen Sackur, Presenter, HARDTalk; David Abraham, CEO, Wonderhood Studios; Kjersti Flaa, journalist and entertainment reporter; Amer Matar, journalist and Director of the ISIS Prisons Museum; Robin Yassin-Kassab, Chief English Editor of ISIS Prisons Museum; Yvonne McDermott Rees, Professor of Law, Swansea UniversityPresenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
16/10/24•57m 16s
Reporting Gaza, expert women on the news, publishing's big week
The BBC's Rushdi Abualouf, The Economist's Zanny Minton Beddoes, how to increase the number of female experts on the news, and the publishing industry's "Super Thursday".Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros AtkinsAssistant Producers: Lucy Wai and Martha Owen
09/10/24•57m 22s
Middle East crisis, Sony's video game flop, The Sidemen
As the Israeli offensive against targets in Lebanon continues, we discuss the challenges for journalists reporting the story from Beirut and Jerusalem. We also look at how the media is reporting on the story and how the fast-moving nature of the conflict makes verifying information difficult. And we hear about one of the biggest flops in video game history as Sony pulls its new game Concord just days after launch. We explore why it failed and what it tells us about the state of the industry. Plus the manager of the biggest YouTube creators in Europe, The Sidemen. Jordan Schwarzenberger reveals their creative process and business strategy.Guests: Lyse Doucet, Chief International correspondent, BBC; Alex Crawford, Special correspondent, Sky News; Yolande Knell, Middle East correspondent, BBC; Shaina Oppenheimer, Journalist, BBC Monitoring; Hesham Shawish, Journalist, BBC Monitoring; Shayan Sardarizadeh, Senior Journalist, BBC Verify; Keza MacDonald, video games editor, The Guardian; Jordan Schwarzenberger, Co-founder, Arcade Media.Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Content Editor: Richard Hooper
Assistant Producers: Martha Owen and Lucy Wai
02/10/24•56m 48s
Al Fayed and the media, Have I Got News for You USA, TV news in Afghanistan
Katie and Ros meet Erica Gornal, director of the BBC’s new investigation into serious sexual abuse allegations by Mohamed al Fayed. Jimmy Mulville, the exec behind the new US version of Have I Got News for You tell us about what makes Americans laugh and we learn what it takes to run Afghanistan’s biggest television channel, still operating under Taliban rule.Guests: Erica Gornall, Director, Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods; Henry Porter, former UK Editor, Vanity Fair; Jimmy Mulville, Managing Director, Hat Trick Productions; Nayeema Raza, Co-host, Semafor's Mixed Signals podcast; Saad Mohseni, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Moby Group; Chris Blackhurst, Communications Advisor and former Editor of The IndependentPresenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Flora McWilliam
25/09/24•57m 38s
TV's "culture problem", origins of Trump's pet eating allegations, the race for AI supremacy
Donald Trump’s ‘migrants eat pets’ claim is the US election’s most viral meme so far. We talk to the journalist who tracked down the source of that story, and an academic investigating the political impact of memes. The Economist’s man in Beijing joins us to discuss life as a foreign correspondent. As his posting comes to an end, he reflects on political and cultural change in China, and what it’s like reporting from a country with ever increasing media restrictions.We’re also looking at the arms race and personal rivalries at the heart of the artificial intelligence industry, with AI authority Parmy Olson. Plus we get the latest on the TikTok ban appeal and the Observer sale with Lara O’Reilly. Guests: Lara O’Reilly, Senior Correspondent, Business Insider; Jonathan Shalit Chair & Founder, InterTalent Rights Group; Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, Chair, Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority; Jack Brewster, Enterprise Editor, NewsGuard; A.J. Bauer, Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism and Creative Media, University of Alabama; David Rennie, Geopolitics Editor, The Economist; Parmy Olson, Tech Columnist for Bloomberg and author of Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
18/09/24•57m 41s
Russia’s alleged ties to US influencers, Government terrorism watchdog, Lucy Letby coverage
The US Department of Justice says it has uncovered a Russian-influence operation recruiting prominent US right-wing influencers to convey its messages. We find out more. In the wake of the Southport stabbings, could more information from police have filled the information vacuum some believe led to the riots? The government’s Independent Reviewer of State Threat Legislation thinks so. He tells us why. As the public inquiry into what happened at the hospital where Lucy Letby murdered seven babies begins, we ask what impact conspiracy theories are having on the ongoing reporting of the story. Plus Jake Kanter from Deadline updates us on the other media stories making the news.Guests: Jake Kanter, Investigations Editor, Deadline; Maggie Miller, Cybersecurity Reporter, Politico; Catherine Belton, International Investigative Reporter, The Washington Post; Jonathan Hall KC, UK Government Independent Reviewer of State Threat Legislation; Judith Moritz, BBC North of England Correspondent; James Coney, News projects editor, Sunday Times Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
11/09/24•57m 31s
Grenfell: the journalists and bloggers who warned of disaster
As the final report of the six-year Grenfell inquiry is published, we explore the way the story has been covered by journalists. We hear about a boom in exports of Korean TV formats and talk to the British journalist who visited the Ukraine-occupied Russian region of Kursk. Guests: Ed Daffarn, blogger, Grenfell Action Group; Kate Lamble, Presenter, Grenfell: Building a Disaster; Gary Younge, Presenter, Over The Top Under The Radar podcast; Sophie Barnes, former Deputy News Editor, Inside Housing; Catherine Philp, World Affairs Editor, The Times; Franics Scarr, Russian specialist, BBC Monitoring; Lucas Shaw, Head of Entertainment Coverage, Bloomberg; InSoon Kim, Head of Content, Something Special; Regina Kim, entertainment contributor, Forbes Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
Asst Producer: Lucy Wai
04/09/24•57m 49s
Telegram founder arrested
After the detention in France of Pavel Durov, owner of the controversial Telegram app, we explore what the first arrest of a social media boss means for content regulation and freedom of speech. As a new parliamentary term begins, we find out how the new Labour government is managing the media. Also in the programme, there’s a new Chinese computer game which is breaking records – and revealing details of how the gaming industry is evolving. Plus, satirical outlet The Onion is returning to print. We find out why.Guests: Mike Isaac, Tech Correspondent, The New York Times; Steve Rosenberg, Russia Editor, BBC News; Matt Chorley, Presenter, BBC Radio 5 Live; Eleanor Langford, Political Reporter, The i; Keza MacDonald, Games Editor, The Guardian; Frankie Ward, eSports broadcaster; Chad Nackers, Editor, The Onion Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
28/08/24•56m 53s
TV's hidden dilemma
To many, we're living through a golden age of TV. But behind the rich offerings for consumers lie several growing structural issues, from a market oversupplied by streamers desperate for subscriptions, to the consequences of the US actors and writers strike, to a downturn in the advertising spend that powers the UK industry. Ros talks to a panel of TV big hitters at the Edinburgh International TV Festival. We hear from the Democratic National Convention where Kamala Harris is about to accept her party's nomination for President - all at a time when the candidate is refusing to do media interviews. Plus, after a spate of newspaper closures and high profile resignations, we explore the state of Scottish news media during a tumultuous period in the nation's politics. Guests: Chris Curtis, Editor, Broadcast; Stephen Lambert, Chief Executive, Studio Lambert, Andy Harries, CEO, Left Bank Pictures; Claire Lundberg, founder, CTL Scouting; Nicola Shindler, Chief Executive, Quay Street Productions Douglas Fraser, Business and Economy Editor, BBC Scotland; Frank O’Donnell, Senior Partner at Charlotte Street Partners; Karin Goodwin, Co-Editor, The Ferret; Nayeema Raza, Co-Presenter, Mixed Signals
Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
21/08/24•56m 41s
The riots and the media
Lorna Woods' thinking was central to the new Online Safety Act, designed to tackle dangerous content online. After the recent riots, which many argue were fomented on social media, the law is being put to the test in the courts. We talk to Lorna alongside Nazir Afzal, former Chief Crown Prosecutor. We also look at the role the traditional media plays in the discourse around immigration with Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, columnist, at The I and Sunder Katwala, Director of the British Future thinktank. We also explore Elon Musk's X platform's new legal action against advertisers, the role of the media lawyer and Andrew Cotter explains the art of Olympic commentary.Guests: Nazir Afzal, former Chief Crown Prosecutor; Lorna Woods, Professor of Internet Law, University of Essex; Lara O'Reilly, Senior Correspondent, Business Insider; Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Columnist, The I; Sunder Katwala, Director, British Future; John Battle, Head of Legal and Compliance, ITN; Gill Phillips, legal consultant and former Editorial Legal Director, The Guardian, Andrew Cotter, broadcasterPresenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
14/08/24•56m 38s
Sun Editor Victoria Newton
We talk to Tom Witherow from The Times who's been tracing where the false claim the Southport attacker is Muslim began, as well as reporters covering the riots on the ground. The Editor of The Sun, Victoria Newton, discusses that paper's coverage of Huw Edwards. What qualities do you need to be a journalist? The National Council for the Training of Journalists say the younger generation lacks confidence when it comes to tasks like cold calling and phone interviews. We find out more. Plus get the latest in the legal battle between Netflix and the alleged subject of its drama, Baby ReindeerGuests: Maria Breslin, Editor, The Liverpool Echo; Priyanka Raval, Reporter, The Bristol Cable; Tom Witherow, Reporter, The Times; Stephanie Stacey, Technology Reporter, The Financial Times; Jake Kanter, Investigations Editor, Deadline; Victoria Newton, Editor, The Sun; Laura Adams, Head of the Journalism Skills Academy, National Council for the Training of JournalistsPresenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
07/08/24•56m 47s
Huw Edwards pleads guilty
David Silito reflects on Huw Edwards's guilty plea to making indecent images of children, 41 images that had been shared with him by another man on WhatsApp. We look at how the story broke and the challenges of covering it for journalists inside the BBC. Katie talks to Channel 4 News’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy. Amid controversy surrounding the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing show, he secured an exclusive interview with contestant Amanda Abbington about her experiences on the programme. A former Strictly contestant himself, Krishnan talks about the impact the show had on him.News emerged last week that Rupert Murdoch is attempting to change his family’s legal trust to preserve the editorial stance of his media outlets after his death. Several of his children are fighting back. Jim Rutenberg, writer at large at The New York Times has been following the family for more than two decades. He got the scoop and he joins us alongside Murdoch biographer Claire Atkinson.Also in the programme, Peter White tells us about his new documentary 50/50 Vision and his career as a broadcaster. Guests: David Silito, Media and Arts Correspondent, BBC; Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Main Anchor, Channel 4 News; Jim Rutenberg, Writer at Large, The New York Times; Claire Atkinson, biographer of Rupert Murdoch; Peter White, broadcaster and presenter of Radio 4’s In Touch Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
31/07/24•57m 48s
“The UK’s wildest climate trial”
The trial of five activists who disrupted the M25 in London in 2022 concluded last week with them receiving the longest ever UK sentences for non-violent protest. Summing up, the judge thanked a journalist from The Sun newspaper who provided key evidence after secretly recording a Just Stop Oil meeting. Damien Gayle describes how he navigated reporting restrictions to cover dramatic scenes in court as the defendants attempted to draw attention to their cause. Jack Chapman is a producer who has also been covering the group's tactics in his Channel 4 documentary, Chris Packham: Is It Time to Break the Law? We explore the ethical and legal challenges of following these activists. It's a subject that divides opinion. Meera Selva explains why she feels the media as a whole gets the story wrong. Plus we discuss Kamala Harris's social media strategy; the findings of the BBC's annual report and how journalists are covering the Paris Olympics, which start this week.Guests: Damien Gayle, Environment Correspondent, The Guardian; Jack Chapman, Producer, Chris Packham: Is It Time to Break the Law?; Meera Selva, CEO, Internews Europe; Mimi Mihailescu, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Bath; Nicole Auerbach, Senior Writer, The Athletic; Max Miller, Sport & Tech Reporter, Broadcast Magazine; Dade Hayes, Business Editor, Deadline Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
24/07/24•56m 43s
Trump shooting: the journalists who were there
We talk to three journalists who were there when a gunman tried to assassinate Donald Trump. The attack has brought renewed attention on the nature of America’s political discourse and the media’s role. We discuss this too. Katie has been reporting on Strictly Come Dancing as new claims about contestants’ experiences emerge. We talk with an agent whose clients have appeared on the show. Also in the programme, now that Euros are over we hear about the relationship between Gareth Southgate’s team and the journalists covering the campaign. Guests: Anna Moneymaker, Photographer, Getty Images; Gary O'Donoghue, Senior North America Correspondent, BBC; Hadriana Lowenkron, White House Reporter, Bloomberg; Jay Caspian Kang, Saff Writer, The New Yorker; Megan McArdle, columnist The Washington Post; Katie Hind, Showbiz Consultant Editor, The Mail on Sunday; Sue Ayton, Co-Founder, Knight Ayton; John Cross, Chief Football Writer, The Mirror; Jacob Steinberg, Football Reporter, The GuardianPresenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
17/07/24•56m 46s
How to cover a general election
In the aftermath of the Labour landslide Roger Mosey, former Editorial Directior of BBC News, accuses broadcasters of spending too much time on 'the kind of trivia that alienates voters.' Should journalism do better? We test the thesis with new research from Dominic Wring of Loughborough University outlining the topics journalists covered most, plus Sam Jeffers from media transparency organisation Who Targets Me explains how the parties used social media and Harriet Line from The Daily Mail tells us how she's going to cultivate contacts to report on the new government.Across the channel the French election continues to surprise with the campaign dominated by parties, from left and right, at the farther ends of the political spectrum. Victor Goury-Laffont, Politics Reporter at Politico Europe and Dr Ayala Panievsky from City University explain the challenges for journalism of covering populist campaigns. Also in the programme, we talk to journalist Oz Katerji who arrived at the scene of the missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv, stopped reporting and started helping. Guests: Oz Katerji, war correspondent and filmmaker; Roger Mosey, Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge, former Editorial Director, BBC; Dominic Wring, Professor of Political Communication, Loughborough University; Priyanka Raval, Reporter, The Bristol Cable; Dr Ayala Panievsky, Presidential Fellow, City University; Victor Goury-Laffont, Politics Reporter, Politico Europe; Harriet Line, Deputy Political Editor, Daily Mail; Sam Jeffers, Executive Director, Who Targets Me Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
10/07/24•57m 39s
Reporting Biden's health
In the aftermath of his halting debate performance, the editorial boards of some of the major US newspapers have called on Joe Biden to withdraw from the race for re-election. We ask why this issue is only being discussed so widely now, talking to a journalist who raised a comprehensive set of concerns but faced a backlash from others in the media and a former Executive Editor of The New York Times. Also in the programme, we explore how the disappearance of teenager Jay Slater in Tenerife has drawn the attention of online sleuths and the problems this creates for conventional reporters. Plus we hear what it's like reporting from Glastonbury, as well as what Ros and Katie got up to while they were there.Craig Oliver, former Downing Street Director of Communications; Jill Abramson, former Executive Editor, The New York Times; Annie Linskey, White House reporter, Wall Street Journal; Nayeema Raza, Co-Host, Semafor’s Mixed Signals podcast; Nick Garnett, Senior Journalist, BBC; Robyn Vinter, north of England correspondent, The Guardian; Craig Jackson, Professor of Psychology, Birmingham City University; El Hunt, Commissioning Editor, The Evening Standard.
Presenters: Katie Razzall & Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
03/07/24•1h 1m
Julian Assange: journalist or activist?
On the day Julian Assange is freed, we explore the story of WikiLeaks' unprecedented data releases, how he and the organisation changed the way journalists and newsrooms operate and how these releases ultimately led to his incarceration. Also in the programme, ITV's Julie Etchingham explains the secrets behind chairing prime ministerial debates and Steven Moffat, writer of new comedy drama Douglas is Cancelled, on why he's making journalism his subject. Guests: Leila Nathoo, Political Correspondent, BBC; Dominic Wring, Professor of Political Communication, Loughborough University; Jonathan Munro, Deputy Director, BBC News; Julie Etchingham, journalist and moderator, ITV news; James Ball, Political Editor, The New European; Carrie DeCell, senior staff attorney, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University; Katie Mark, Deputy Editor, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism; Steven Moffat, writer, Douglas is Cancelled.Presenters: Katie Razzall & Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
26/06/24•57m 35s
Political podcasts - who's listening?
What's behind the glut of politics podcasts? Hardly a month goes by without a new title being launched, competing with established brands like The New York Times’s The Daily and the wildly popular The Rest is Politics with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. We talk to the team behind the latter about the secrets of its success, and the opportunities for journalists who want to break free of the strictures of traditional broadcasting. We also consider their appeal to politicians and reflect on the dominance of the medium by middle aged men. Plus we ask how much influence these platforms ultimately have. Also in the programme, we look at the row engulfing The Washington Post's new British CEO Will Lewis.Guests: Baroness Ruth Davidson, Co-presenter, Electoral Dysfunction; Lewis Goodall, Co-host, The News Agents; Tony Pastor, Co-Founder, Goalhanger Podcasts; Adam Fleming, Presenter, Newscast; Nick Hilton, Co-founder, Podot; Vivian Schiller, Executive Director, Aspen DigitalPresenters: Katie Razzall & Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Martha Owen
19/06/24•57m 59s
The PM and D-Day: how the row unfolded
We explore how political scandals unfold across the media and the art of the 'get to know' interview with two journalists who recently interviewed Rishi Sunak. As one of the alleged subjects of the Netflix drama Baby Reindeer sues the streamer for defamation, negligence and privacy violations, we weigh the legal arguments. Also in the programme, new online reality TV formats and how they're challenging the primacy of broadcasters and we look at LGBT representation in Dr Who and BBC dating show I Kissed a Girl. Guests: Paul Brand, UK Editor, ITV News; Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor, Daily Telegraph and host, The Daily T Podcast; Dominic Wring, Professor of Political Communication, Loughborough University; Stuart Benjamin, Professor of Law, Duke University; Persephone Bridgman Baker, Partner, Carter Ruck; Hannah Bowler, Senior Reporter, The Drum; Scott Bryan, TV Critic; Sophie Wilkinson, journalist and feature writerPresenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
12/06/24•56m 44s
Papers, politics, power
How do we gauge the power of newspapers in this election? Will press endorsements from the mainstream media prove decisive, or does power now stem from corners of the media that are harder to define, boosted by opaque social media algorithms? And as big tech increasingly squeezes the revenue and audiences of news outlets, we talk to the Editor of The Atlantic on how to make journalism pay. Andrew Neil, presenter, Times Radio; Caroline Waterston, Editor-in-Chief, The Mirror; Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor in Chief, The Atlantic; Katie Notopoulos, Senior Tech Correspondent, Business InsiderPresenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
05/06/24•58m 14s
Is this the TikTok election?
A week into the election, we explore party control of the media message and the gaffes that happen when things go wrong. We hear live from the Labour battle bus, talk to Boris Johnson's former social media strategist and look at the way the different campaigns are crafting their message on TikTok. Guests: Shona Ghosh, Senior Editor, Bloomberg; Martha Lane Fox, former Board Member, Twitter/X; Katy Balls, Political Editor, The Spectator; Sean Topham, Co-Founder, Topham Guerin; Jessica Elgot, Deputy Political Editor, The Guardian; Timandra Harkness, writer and author of Technology is Not the Problem; Sam Jeffers, Executive Director, Who Targets Me.Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
29/05/24•57m 41s
Newsnight: end of an era
At the end of this week Newsnight as we know it comes to an end. From Tuesday, its format will change – and it’ll be shorter too. To discuss the end of an era, Katie and Ros speak to an all-star Newsnight line up: Kirsty Wark, Peter Snow, Michael Crick. They're also joined by Professor Suzanne Franks, who researches changing broadcast news consumption. On Saturday, Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury to become boxing's undisputed heavyweight champion. The high-profile match was held in the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which has been accused of ‘sportswashing’. Alex Pattle from The Independent reveals what it was like reporting from the event, and Prof Simon Chadwick analyses the Saudi sports investment strategy.The actor Scarlett Johansson has accused OpenAI of deliberately copying her voice for its latest chatbot ‘Sky’. OpenAI said that it would remove the voice, but insisted that it was not meant to be an "imitation" of the star. Lawyer Susan Aslan assesses if the actor has a case, and tech journalist Takara Small updates us on the latest AI releases. Guests: Kirsty Wark, broadcaster; Peter Snow, broadcaster; Michael Crick, broadcaster; Alex Pattle, Combat Sports correspondent, The Independent; Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy, Skema Business school; Takara Small, technology journalist; Susan Aslan, Partner, ACK Media Law.Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
22/05/24•53m 59s
Baby Reindeer: truth or fiction?
Katie and Ros go inside the controversy about Netflix drama Baby Reindeer which has raised questions about the impact drama inspired by true events can have on real people. They’ll be helped by Piers Morgan who just interviewed one of the alleged subjects; Clive Coleman, legal expert and dramatist; and Chris Banatvala, former Head of Standards at Ofcom who can explain the rules for these kinds of productions. Also in the programme, ahead of the infected blood inquiry publishing its final report on Monday, we speak to Caroline Wheeler who has followed the story for over two decades. We're also joined by Maggie Harrison Dupree, the journalist who broke the story of Sports Illustrated allegedly publishing AI generated stories. Plus, how do you compose an iconic news theme? As the BBC news theme celebrates its 25th birthday, we speak to its composer David Lowe and Victor Vlam, who owns the largest collection of news theme tunes in the world.Guests: Piers Morgan, presenter, Piers Morgan Uncensored; Chris Banatvala former Ofcom Director of Standards; Clive Coleman, Partner at Maltin PR and former BBC News Legal Correspondent; Caroline Wheeler, Political editor, The Sunday Times; Maggie Harrison Dupre, tech writer, Futurism; Victor Vlam, Founder, Network News Music Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
15/05/24•57m 31s
Inside the US campus protests
US university campuses have been the scene of pro-Palestinian demonstrations over the last month. We assess the challenges of reporting the protests and hear why student journalists have been crucial to our understanding of the story. We also look at Israel’s ban of Al Jazeera where the government accuses it of being a mouthpiece for Hamas, a charge the network denies. Plus, what’s it like to cover the Met Gala? And how are the media strategies of political parties evolving as we approach a general election in the UK? Guests: Pippa Crerar, Political Editor, The Guardian; Ben Riley-Smith, Political Editor, The Daily Telegraph; Leila Nathoo, Political Correspondent, BBC News; Richard Hall, Senior US Correspondent, The Independent; Julia Vargas Jones, Reporter, CNN; Doug MacLeod, Professor, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Jada Yuan, National Culture Writer, Washington Post; Shaina Oppenheimer, Journalist, BBC Monitoring Jerusalem; Mohamed Moawad, Managing Editor, Al JazeeraPresenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
08/05/24•57m 43s
Behind the Information Iron Curtain
An information iron curtain has fallen across large parts of the globe, where access to impartial news reporting and information has never been more difficult. With the help of BBC specialists, Ros and Katie consider the impact of censorship and technological controls on Russia, Iran and China; how ingrained state disinformation has become and how it has distorted their citizens’ perception of the world. Our panel also look at attempts to circumvent internet blocking and state restrictions on free media, from the use of VPNs by those on the inside, to the innovative tactics adopted by outsiders who are trying to deliver truthful news to an often indoctrinated audience.
Guests: Kerry Allen, China media analyst, BBC; Francis Scarr, journalist, BBC Monitoring; Kia Atri, journalist, BBC Middle East; Suzanne Raine, Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge; Joe Tidy, cyber correspondent, BBC News; Fabian Falch, tech entrepreneur; Evie Aspinall, Director, British Foreign Policy Group, Jonathan Munro Deputy CEO & Director of Journalism, BBC News; Famil Ismailov, News Editor, BBC Russian Service.Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
01/05/24•57m 41s
Ofcom, impartiality and elections
Katie and Ros explore the place of creativity in modern media, from advertising to game show formats. They talk to the producers behind ITV’s The 1% Club and Channel 4’s Hunted. They’ll also hear about concerns over dating app Grindr’s use of user data and talk to media regulator Ofcom about new research into how audiences feel about politicians presenting current affairs programmes. Guests: Cristina Nicolotti Squires, Group Director, Ofcom; Decca Aitkenhead, Chief Interviewer, The Sunday Times; Matt Bennett, Senior Executive Producer, Shine TV; Dean Nabarro, Co-founder, Magnum Media; Sir John Hegarty, Advertising Executive, The Garage Soho; Josh Parry, Senior Journalist LGBT and Identity, BBC; Zoe Schiffer, Managing Editor, PlatformerPresenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
24/04/24•57m 43s
What next for Channel 4?
Last week Dr Hilary Cass published her final report and recommendations to NHS England in her role as Chair of the Independent Review of gender identity services for children and young people. The Cass report recommends a new approach for clinicians. But what might journalism do differently in the way it covers such a polarising subject? We discuss with Hannah Barnes, the author of Time to Think: the Inside Story of the Collapse of the Tavistock’s Gender Service for Children ; and Rebecca Coombes, Head of Journalism at the British Medical Journal.Hugh Grant has settled his privacy case against the publisher of the Sun newspaper. We get the latest from Jake Kanter, Investigations Editor from Deadline.Taylor Swift is back in the headlines with the release of her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, on Friday. ITV's This Morning has also just appointed its first Taylor Swift correspondent. So what’s it like to report on the pop icon, and what’s her relationship with the media? We're joined by Laura Snapes, who writes a weekly newsletter called Swift Notes for The Guardian, and Augusta Saraiva from Bloomberg. What is the role and impact of Channel 4 on our lives – and on the independent commercial sector? We speak to Alex Mahon, Chief Executive of Channel 4, Jake Kanter from Deadline and Joel Wilson, the co-founder of the production company Eleven, behind hits such as Sex Education and Ten Pound Poms.Presenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Simon RichardsonGuests: Jake Kanter, Investigations Editor, Deadline; Hannah Barnes, Associate Editor, New Statesman; Rebecca Coombes, Head of Journalism at the BMJ; Laura Snapes, Deputy Music Editor, The Guardian; Augusta Saraiva, Economics Reporter, Bloomberg; Alex Mahon, Chief Executive, Channel 4; Joel Wilson, Co-founder, Eleven.
17/04/24•57m 2s
How I set up Truth Social
The Executive Chairman of the Sky News Group, David Rhodes shares his plans for Sky News – and on his years as a senior TV news exec in New York.Elon Musk has predicted that AI will surpass human intelligence within a year. OpenAI and Meta have also said that they're on the brink of releasing new AI models that will be capable of reason and planning. What will be the impact of these advanced AI models on the news media? We're joined by Madhumita Murgia, the AI Editor at the Financial Times, and author of a new book Code Dependent, to discuss.Donald Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, continues to make headlines with its public listing. Billy Boozer, its former Chief Product Officer, reveals what it was like setting up the company with Trump. We're also joined by Prof Joshua Tucker and Prof Yini Zhang who has investigated how Trump has used Truth Social and X to drive news media attention.Presenters: Ros Atkins and Katie RazzallProducer: Simon RichardsonGuests: David Rhodes, Executive Chairman, Sky News group; Madhumita Murgia, Artificial Intelligence Editor, Financial Times; Joshua Tucker, Professor of Politics, New York University; Yini Zhang, Asst Professor of Communications, University at Buffalo; Billy Boozer, former Chief Product Officer, Truth Social.
10/04/24•57m 37s
Fear, threats and intimidation
British counter terrorism officers are investigating the stabbing last Friday of an Iranian TV host outside his home in London. Iran International presenter Pouria Zeraati was hospitalised, before being discharged and moving to a safe place under the supervision of the Metropolitan Police. We talk to British Iranian journalist Sima Sabet, who has also been targeted. Have US diplomats been targeted by Russian sonic weaponry? A joint report between The Insider, Der Spiegel and CBS's 60 Minutes alleges it’s the result of their brains being targeted by "directed energy" weapons operated by a secretive Russian military unit. We meet one of the journalists involved in the story. In Londonderry journalists covering a dissident republican parade on Easter Monday were attacked with petrol bombs thrown by masked youths. Politicians have condemned the violence. We hear the testimony of one of the reporters targeted. We talk to the producers behind the successful BBC reboot of Gladiators.And as Gmail celebrates its 20th anniversary, how useful is email today as a form of communication? Or has it been overtaken by messaging apps like WhatsApp?Presenters: Ros Atkins and Katie RazzallProducer: Simon RichardsonGuests: Sima Sabet, former presenter, Iran International; Dan Baldwin, Managing Director, Hungry Bear Media; Julia Hobsbawm, journalist and author; Niall Deeney, Derry Correspondent, Belfast Live; Mike Isaac, Tech Reporter, The New York Times; Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor, The Economist; Michael Weiss, Editor, The Insider
03/04/24•57m 43s
How conspiracy theories went mainstream
Last week, the Princess of Wales announced that she is undergoing treatment for cancer. It was preceded by weeks of speculation about her whereabouts that went well into conspiracy territory. How exactly did conspiracy theories move from the fringes to the mainstream? And what are the responsibilities of the "mainstream media" when covering them? Also on the programme, BBC Radio 5 Live celebrates its 30th anniversary and what Tim Davie's speech means for the future of the BBC.Guests: Chris Curtis, editor in chief, Broadcast; Nicky Campbell, presenter, BBC Radio 5 Live; Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor, New Statesman; Dr Annie Kelly, journalist and postdoctoral researcher specialising in conspiracy theories.Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Dan Hardoon
27/03/24•28m 8s
Is the clock ticking for TikTok?
As the US Congress moves to ban TikTok on national security grounds, we ask could the UK follow? Elon Musk lured former CNN journalist Don Lemon to boost X's video credentials but the pair fell out after a recent interview. We find out why. Also on the programme, why the BBC has announced plans to move into UK podcast advertising and we explore what one journalist found when she downloaded all the data held on her after years of using Meta's services.Guests: Ciaran Martin, Professor, Blavatnik School of Government, The University of Oxford; Max Tani, media journalist, Semafor; Matilda Davies, Data and Digital Journalist, The Times and The Sunday Times; Nick Hilton, Co-founder, Podot Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
20/03/24•28m 51s
Is seeing still believing?
We discuss the controversial photo of the Princess of Wales and her children released by Kensington Palace on Sunday which was removed from circulation by photo agencies due to concerns it had been inappropriately edited. The story raises many questions about how images in the media are sourced, how they’re checked and how they’re distributed. We talk to press photographers, picture agencies and newspaper picture editors. Also in the programme, two developing stories concerning Tiktok and the Daily Telegraph. In the United States, the House of Representatives have passed a bill that could see Tiktok banned and the UK government looks set to introduce legislation stopping the purchase of The Daily Telegraph by an investment vehicle backed by the United Arab Emirates.Guests: Phil Chetwynd, Global News Director, AFP; Jamie Lorriman, Chair, British Press Photographers’ Association; Fiona Shields, Head of Photography, The Guardian; Christianna Silva, Senior Culture Reporter, Mashable; Christopher Williams, Business Editor, The Daily Telegraph Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
13/03/24•28m 52s
Pam Abdy, CEO Warner Bros Motion Picture Group
Exclusive interview with one of Hollywood's most powerful executives
08/03/24•43m 33s
Is this the end for TalkTV?
With the scandal still all over the front as well as the back pages, we explore what the Christian Horner allegations tell us about the challenges journalists face in holding sports leaders to account. TalkTV is moving to online only and GB News has been censured by Ofcom. We consider the successes and failures of both channels. Plus, as pictures of the Princess of Wales are published in the United States we hear why codes of behaviour among British journalists mean, despite being freely available online, they will not be appearing on TV or in print here.Contributors: Jake Kanter, Investigations Editor, Deadline; Aggie Chambre, Host, Westminster Insider podcast; Andrew Benson, Chief F1 Writer, BBC Sport; Fern Buckley, F1 Correspondent, talkSPORT; Chris Ship, Royal Editor, ITV News Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
06/03/24•28m 30s
Reverberations of the Israel-Gaza War
With Islamophobia, antisemitism, and threats against MPs all in the news, what role has the media itself played in stoking tensions? Also in the programme, as international broadcasters sign a letter calling for access to Gaza, what impact would that have on how the conflict is reported?Guests: Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, Sky News; Caroline Wheeler, Political Editor, Sunday Times; Ayesha Hazarika, Columnist and Presenter, Times Radio; Tim Montgomerie, Columnist and Founder of Conservative Home; Dr Hannah White, Director, Institute for GovernmentPresenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Dan Hardoon
28/02/24•28m 8s
Russia and Ukraine: reporting the war two years on
Two years on from Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine and in the week of the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, what have reports from the region taught us about journalism and its ability to inform and influence? Has Western reporting got Russia and Putin fundamentally wrong? Meanwhile, what's the state of journalism in Russia itself, after Putin's crackdown on independent news outlets? We talk to the journalists and experts following the conflict and hear the story of Novaya Gazeta Europe's scoops from Alexei Navalny's prison. Guests: Diana Magnay, International Correspondent, Sky News; Romeo Kokriatski, Managing Editor, The New Voice of Ukraine; Katya Glikman, Deputy Editor, Novaya Gazeta Europe; Lyse Doucet, Chief International Correspondent, BBC; Samuel Greene, Professor of Russian Politics, King's College LondonPresenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
21/02/24•28m 21s
Prince Harry's dispute with the tabloids - who's next?
Last week Prince Harry settled his outstanding claims with the Mirror titles – but only after he took them to court – where a judge ruled the Prince had been the subject of extensive phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers. We explore the meaning of the verdict and the resulting settlement. Is traditional broadcast TV dead? Piers Morgan seems to think so – he’s leaving his nightly TV show and setting up shop on YouTube. Ben Smith from Semafor, who broke the story, joins us. Also on the programme we discuss Disney's new partnership with the Fortnite online platform plus Gillian Reynolds explains what made the late Steve Wright a radio legend. Guests: Evan Harris, legal analyst, former Executive Director, Hacked Off; Jane Martinson, Professor of Financial Journalism, City University of London; Ben Smith, Co-founder, Semafor; Gillian Reynolds, Radio Critic, Daily Telegraph; Takara Small, Tech Columnist, CBC Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
14/02/24•28m 8s
Tucker Carlson's head to head with Putin
Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News presenter, has travelled to Moscow to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin. What will both men hope to gain from the encounter?Also in the programme, Anushka Asthana on following Rishi Sunak for a new ITV programme, and the BBC's plans to launch four new music radio stations.Guests: Francis Scarr, Journalist, BBC Monitoring; Brian Stelter, Special Correspondent, Vanity Fair; Anushka Asthana, Deputy Political Editor, ITV News; Lorna Clarke, Director of Music, BBC; Gill Hind, Chief Operating Officer, Enders Analysis; Phil Riley, co-founder, Boom Radio.Presenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Simon Richardson
07/02/24•28m 55s
How air fryers cooked up a media feast
This week Channel 4 announced major job cuts, caused in part by a decline in the amount of advertising the channel sells to fund its programmes. We look at Channel 4's plans to become a 'digital first' organisation, as well as talking to leaders in the UK advertising industry about the problems they're currently facing.Also on the programme, what's behind the current air fryer cookery boom? Take a look at the UK non-fiction bestseller charts and you'll find multiple air fryer cookery books, many with similar titles, and channels 4 and 5 have been airing documentaries about the cooking trend. We talk to the commissioner of the best selling title in the field. Guests: Chris Curtis, Editor, Broadcast; Josh Krichefski, CEO, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, GroupM; Lily James, Creative, Lucky Generals; Celia Palazzo, Commissioning Editor, Ebury Press; Philip Stone, Media Manager, Nielsen IQPresenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Simon Richardson
31/01/24•28m 49s
Deepfakes v democracy
Voters in New Hampshire have been getting phone messages apparently from Joe Biden urging them not to take part in the state's presidential primaries. How alarmed should we be about the potential for deepfakes to derail elections? We also talk about the world’s number one YouTuber, MrBeast and why Elon Musk was desperate to get him onto X. Also on the programme, we explore the government’s proposed reforms of the BBC and the political debates they have stirred. Guests: Jake Kanter, International Investigations Editor, Deadline; Emily Bell, Director, Tow Center for Digital Journalism; Zoe Kleinman, Technology Editor, BBC News; James Ball, Fellow, Demos; Walter Sheirer, Professor of Computer Science, University of Notre Dame; Owen Meredith, Chief Executive, News Media AssociationPresenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Simon Richardson
24/01/24•28m 5s
Hashtags and hijacking
On the day the United States designates the Houthis as a terror group, we explore how the organisation hones its message through music, video and poetry on social media. Also on the programme, we hear an update on the sale of The Telegraph and The Spectator and what the success of the BBC reboot of Gladiators tells us about a resurgence of 'event TV'. Guests: Nic Robertson, International Diplomatic Editor, CNN; Chris Williams, Business Editor, The Telegraph; Hisham Al-Omeisy, Yemeni analyst and Senior Advisor, European Institute for Peace; Hannah Porter, independent Yemen researcher; Abi Watson, Senior Media Analyst, Enders Analysis; David Brown, TV critic, The Radio Times. Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
17/01/24•28m 38s
The Post Office Scandal: a failure of the press?
Why did it take an ITV drama for a huge miscarriage of justice to get the headlines it deserves? As the government races to respond to public outrage over the Post Office scandal, The Media Show meets some of the key journalists who have reported on it over the last 15 years, and asks why it is only now that the story is cutting through.Guests: Rebecca Thomson, former Computer Weekly journalist; Nick Wallis, presenter of The Great Post Office Trial; Tim Brentnall, former sub-postmaster; Ian Hislop, Editor of Private Eye; Amelia Gentleman, reporter at The GuardianPresenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Simon Richardson
10/01/24•28m 52s
Return of The Traitors
The Traitors is a format based on the Dutch series De Verraders and it's now popular all over the world. We talk to Mike Cotton, a reality TV expert who has also worked on Gogglebox, Naked Attraction, The Only Way is Essex and Undercover Boss, about what makes reality TV work.And we explore the wider implications of The New York Times' legal action against artificial intelligence company OpenAI and Microsoft. The New York Times claims its copyright has been infringed because these companies use millions of its articles to train their AI models. Plus, we explore the idea of the media gatekeeper with Neil Maggs whose new documentary A Spokesperson Said explores their role for Radio 4. Guests: Mike Cotton, Deputy Creative Director, Studio Lambert; Claire Atkinson, founder, The Media Mix; Siobhan Synnot, TV critic; Vivian Schiller, Executive Director, Aspen Digital; Neil Maggs, journalist.Producer: Simon RichardsonPresenter: Ros Atkins
03/01/24•29m 0s
Meera Syal
When she graduated from university, Meera Syal says she couldn't see a future for a young Asian woman in showbusiness. Four decades later, on top of an MBE and CBE for services to drama and literature, in 2023 she's been awarded a prestigious BAFTA Fellowship and this month Women in Film and TV has given her a Lifetime Achievement Award. Meera tells Ros about her trailblazing career showcasing unheard British Asian stories, including hit comedies Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42, and her early screenplay Bhaji on the Beach. Meera also reflects on how the TV industry has changed and the work still left to do.Presenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Simon Richardson
27/12/23•27m 57s
How CNN got into Gaza
It's currently almost impossible for international journalists to enter Gaza. For those who can, it's a deadly conflict to cover. We talk to news organisations working on the ground since before the current war began, alongside those monitoring the situation from abroad, and hear about legal action being taken by the Foreign Press Association in Israel to get access. Guests: Clarissa Ward, Chief International Correspondent, CNN; Mohamed Moawad, Managing Editor, Al Jazeera; Josef Federman, News Director, Associated Press and board member of the Foreign Press Association; Jeremy Bowen, International Editor, BBC News. Presenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Simon Richardson
20/12/23•29m 9s
Martin Lewis, Britain's most influential journalist?
Martin Lewis is easily one of Britain's most influential and trusted journalists. His Money Saving Expert website ranks as one of the most-read news sites in the UK, his weekly newsletter has around 9 million subscribers, and he is a regular face on prime-time TV. In a wide-ranging interview, Martin joins Ros Atkins to discuss his career in media, the state of British journalism, and the toll being in the public eye has had on his mental health. He also talks about his campaign against scam ads on social media, and singles out Facebook-owner Meta for criticism, who told the BBC in October: "We're constantly working to improve our systems and encourage anyone who sees content they believe breaks our rules to report it using our in-app tools so we can investigate and take action."Producer: Dan Hardoon Presenter: Ros Atkins
13/12/23•56m 26s
Investigating Lockerbie, 35 Years On
How Christina Lamb pieced together for The Sunday Times reports of acts of sexual violence by Hamas during the 7 October attacks. What a new documentary about the 1988 Lockerbie bombing tells us about how journalists would now cover a major tragedy. And a new chair for the BBC is proposed by the government.Guests: Christina Lamb, chief foreign correspondent, The Sunday Times; Daniel Thomas, global media editor, The Financial Times; John Dower, director, Lockerbie; Frank O’Donnell, former editor of The Scotsman; Eleni Courea, deputy editor, Politico London PlaybookPresenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Simon Richardson
06/12/23•28m 48s
BONUS Lord Grade, Ofcom Chair, in conversation with Katie Razzall
Lord Grade recorded at the Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference, 29 November 2023
29/11/23•23m 14s
Regenerating the Doctor
We look at the latest developments in the sale of the Telegraph Newspaper and planned cuts at BBC Newsnight. Jane Tranter, the force behind the new Doctor Who, tells us what the franchise is worth for the BBC and Katie talks to Ofcom chair Lord Michael Grade about the future of public service broadcasting. Guests: Hannah Walsh, Principal Analyst, Ampere Analysis; Jane Tranter, Founder and CEO, Bad Wolf; Oliver Shah, Associate Editor and Leader Writer, The Sunday Times; Jane Martinson, author of You May Never See Us Again: The Barclay Dynasty; Michael Grade, Chair, OfcomPresenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
29/11/23•28m 8s
Inside the mind of the tech bro
As Sam Altman returns to run OpenAI after his sensational firing just days earlier, why is the idea of the charismatic founder so appealing in Silicon Valley? Why are they often men? And do some tech firms now look more like cults than companies?Guests: Walter Isaacson, who spent two years following Elon Musk for a new biography; Helen Lewis, staff writer, The Atlantic; Shona Ghosh, Deputy Executive Editor, Business Insider UKPresenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Simon Richardson
22/11/23•27m 59s
Suella Braverman's high-risk media strategy
It's a week since Suella Braverman published that article about the policing of protests in The Times and the repercussions are still being felt. We consider why ministers still go direct to the papers with such statements. And we explore the relationship between journalists and the military, hearing from journalists from CNN and Channel 4 who recently embedded with the Israel Defence Forces in Gaza. Guests: Geri Scott, Senior Political correspondent, The Times; Nic Robertson, International Diplomatic Editor, CNN; Jo Tanner, Senior Director, ACPO Worldwide; Michael Crick, journalist; Tim Marshall, journalistPresenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Simon Richardson
15/11/23•28m 13s
Conspiracy theories and the Israel Gaza conflict
It's claimed social media videos featuring bogus "crisis actors" are being used by both sides as part of the conflict's information war. We explore the meaning of these allegations. We evaluate the implications for the media outlined in the King's Speech. And former Controller of BBC One, Peter Fincham, talks about his new podcast Have You Seen?Guests: Louise Callaghan, Middle East Correspondent, The Times and Sunday Times; Robert Topinka, Senior Lecturer School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication, Birkbeck, University of London; Daniel Thomas, Global Media Editor, Financial Times; Seana David, Misinformation Specialist, Reuters; Peter Fincham, Co-host, Have You Seen?Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
08/11/23•28m 5s
Al Jazeera and the information war
The Israel-Gaza war continues to raise pressing questions about how the media covers the conflict, including media blackouts and the challenges reporters face in getting access to Gaza. One of the most important regional broadcasters is Al Jazeera. It’s owned by the Qatari state and has TV and digital output in English and Arabic. It’s one of the oldest regional news broadcasters and has a substantial presence in Gaza. We consider its influence.Guests: Achiya Schatz, Executive Director, FakeReporter; Shaina Oppenheimer. Journalist, BBC Monitoring; Philip Seib, Professor Emeritus, School of Journalism and Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California; Bel Trew, International Correspondent, The Independent; Ismaeel Naar, Arab Affairs Editor, The NationalPresenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
01/11/23•28m 17s
From Frozen to the top of Disney
Jennifer Lee changed cinema forever when she wrote and directed Frozen. The film won her an Academy Award and she became the first woman to helm a feature film that grossed more than $1bn. She is now Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios but continues to direct and write, including Disney’s latest release, the computer-animated musical, Wish. In this interview with Katie Razzall, she reflects on her story; how she went from Disney obsessive who used to watch Cinderella to cope with school bullies, to reaching the top of one of the world’s greatest entertainment companies.Produced for BBC Radio 4 by Simon Richardson and for BBC News by Roxanne Panthaki.
25/10/23•27m 46s
Gaza hospital blast: searching for the facts
The deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza raises many questions about how the media is covering the Israel Gaza war. Ros Atkins talks to senior executives from Reuters, BBC and AFP about how news organisations should report claims being made by both sides. We consider the terms of engagement for journalists after a Reuters video journalist was killed in a strike in Lebanon, and hear what it's like reporting on Hamas.Alessandra Galloni, Editor in Chief, Reuters; Phil Chetwynd, Global News Director, AFP news agency; Richard Burgess, Director of News Content, BBC News; Emily Bell, Director, Tow Center for Digital Journalism; Isobel Yeung, foreign correspondent.Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
18/10/23•27m 56s
Reporting the Israel Gaza war
Exploring how the media is covering the conflict, we look at the battle for influence online and some of the misinformation that has been circulating, plus we talk to the BBC’s director of editorial policy about why BBC journalists won't use the word 'terrorists' to describe the perpetrators of the atrocities. Guests:Secunder Kermani, Foreign Correspondent, Channel 4 News; Bel Trew, International Correspondent, The Independent; Ben Goggin, Deputy Tech Editor, NBC News Digital; Sherif Mansour, Committee to Protect Journalists; David Jordan, Director, Editorial Policy and Standards, BBCPresenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
11/10/23•28m 4s
The Tories, the message and the media
Tim Montgomerie Eleni Courea and Cleo Watson discuss goings on at the Conservative party conference with Ros Atkins. Plus Jennie King and Marco Silva on 15 Minute Cities.Guests: Tim Montgomerie, journalist; Eleni Courea, Deputy Editor, Politico's London Playbook; Cleo Watson, presenter, Radio 4 series How to Win a Campaign; Jennie King, Head of Climate Research and Policy, Institute for Strategic Dialogue; Marco Silva, BBC Verify.Producer: Simon Richardson
04/10/23•28m 2s
Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner
We look at Rumble, the online platform where Russell Brand's is now hosting a regular show, and explore the politics of free speech on the internet. Plus Guardian editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner, tells Katie Razzall about their expansion into Europe and Nick Robinson talks about his new Today Podcast, which he's hosting with Amol Rajan.Guests: Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian; Nick Robinson, presenter, The Today Podcast; Libby Emmons, Editor-in-chief, The Post Millennial; Sarah Grevy Gotfredsen, Research Fellow, Tow Center for Digital Journalism Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
27/09/23•28m 5s
The Russell Brand allegations
Channel 4's CEO Alex Mahon says the allegations made against Russell Brand are "disgusting and saddening," but what do the claims mean for the TV industry as a whole? And when reporting the testimony of anonymous witnesses, how hard is it to get a story like this over the line? Ros Atkins talks to the Channel 4 executive behind the Russell Brand story about their collaboration with the Times and the Sunday Times and we get the government's view on regulation of internet TV channels and social media.Guests: Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport; Louisa Compton, Head of News and Current Affairs and Specialist Factual, Channel 4; Mark Williams-Thomas, investigative journalist; Chris Curtis, Editor in Chief, Broadcast; Alexandra Topping, Senior News Reporter, The Guardian; Peter Guest, Acting Business Editor, Wired.Producer: Simon Richardson
20/09/23•27m 57s
Who will buy The Telegraph?
Who’s going to buy The Daily Telegraph and the Spectator? The titles have been up for sale since June, after Lloyds seized control from the Barclay family. Also in the programme, a government taskforce to tackle Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), and George Osborne launches a podcast with Ed Balls, his former political adversary. Guests: George Osborne, co-host, Political Currency, Paul Staines, founder, Guido Fawkes, Jane Martinson, author of a forthcoming book about the Barclay family called You May Never See Us Again, Fiona O’Brien, London bureau director, Reporters Without Borders, and Dr Susan Karamanian, dean of the College of Law, Hamad Bin Khalifa UniversitySound engineer: Emma HarthProduced by: Simon Richardson
13/09/23•28m 11s
A rulebook for the web
The EU Digital Services Act, which aims to tackle disinformation and misuse of user data, offers a blueprint for internet regulation around the world, but will it work? Plus we hear results of a new survey from entertainment union Bectu about the plight of UK freelancers during the Hollywood writers' strike.Guests: Jen Baker, European tech and policy journalist; Adam Satariano, Technology Correspondent, New York Times; Chris Stokel-Walker, tech journalist; Nick Seeber, Global Lead Partner for Internet Regulation, Deloitte; Jackie Sweeny, independent hair and makeup artist; Spencer MacDonald, National Secretary, Bectu.Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
06/09/23•28m 20s
Is AI now coming for your private data?
Ros Atkins and guests consider the dilemmas faced by streaming companies in the face of growing costs and competition, the changing face of sports broadcasting and concerns about AI trawling our private data.Guests: Minal Modha, Consumer Lead, Ampere Analysis; Scott Bryan, TV Critic; Brian Merchant, Technology Columnist, LA Times; Eugene Kim, Chief Tech Correspondent, Insider Business.Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
30/08/23•28m 1s
Reporting the Lucy Letby Trial
The murder trial of Lucy Letby lasted 10 months and came to its conclusion this week, with the former nurse being sentenced to a whole life prison sentence. For journalists covering the trial, their work was complicated by strict reporting restrictions the judge had imposed from the outset. Also in the programme, a new Channel 4 documentary tells the story of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and its Nobel Peace prize winning editor Dmitry Muratov.Guests: Judith Moritz, North of England Correspondent, BBC News; Steve Ford, Editor, Nursing Times; Marc Waddington, Senior Editor, Cheshire Live; Patrick Forbes, Director, The Price of Truth; Kirill Martynov, Editor in Chief, Novaya Gazeta EuropeProducer: Simon RichardsonPresenter: Ros Atkins
23/08/23•27m 56s
AI - destroyer of journalism?
How will the recent explosion in AI change how we find out about what’s going on in the world? What sources will AI rely on to deliver trustworthy news? Will it put journalists out of work? This week we answer these questions and more.Guests: Madhumita Murgia, Artificial Intelligence Editor, Financial Times; Tom Clarke, Science and Technology Editor, Sky News; Eliz Mizon, Communications Lead, The Bristol Cable; Jackson Ryan, Science Editor, CNETPresenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
16/08/23•28m 7s
Trying Trump
As of now, Donald Trump has three criminal trials pending – the latest, and most serious, concerns allegations that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. When it gets to full trial, it will be box office. But the conventions of the Federal Court ban any electronic broadcast or photography. What are the implications for Trump and for American democracy?Plus Jeff Jarvis discusses his book The Gutenberg Parenthesis and we hear about the row consuming France’s only national Sunday newspaper.Guests: Jeff Jarvis, Associate Professor, City University of New York's Graduate School of Journalism; Elie Honig, Senior Legal Analyst, CNN; Naomi Lim, White House Reporter, The Washington Examiner; Jeremy Barr, Media Reporter, The Washington Post. Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
09/08/23•28m 8s
The Hegarty Effect
Advertising executive Sir John Hegarty has created campaigns for some of the world's most famous brands including Levi's, Lynx, and Audi. He was a founding partner of Saatchi and Saatchi before co-founding his own firm, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, in 1982. But he believes that advertising today has lost sight of creativity, in its relentless focus on data and targeted advertising. He joins Ros Atkins to discuss his career, his theory of creativity, and the future of his industry.Presenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Dan Hardoon
02/08/23•28m 2s
Hot off the press
How journalists are covering the European heatwaves and wildfires.Guests: Justin Rowlatt, Climate Editor, BBC News; Laura Tobin, broadcast meteorologist, Good Morning Britain; Anjana Ahuja, contributing writer on science, FT;
Ross Clark, freelance journalist writing for the Daily Mail; Kamal Ahmed, Editor-in-Chief, The News MovementPresenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
26/07/23•28m 11s
Going undercover in Myanmar
Stuart Ramsay has just returned from spending a month undercover in the jungle of Myanmar where an often forgotten civil war still rages. He tells us about how he got into the country and the dangers he faced as a reporter when he got there.The arrival of Threads is the latest seismic shock in a year of chaos for the major social platforms. We ask what social media users want now and explore the business models platforms must adopt to provide it.Guests: Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent, Sky News; Dave Lee, US Technology Columnist, Bloomberg; Elaine Moore, Deputy Editor, FT Lex; Christopher Barrie, Lecturer in Computational Psychology, University of EdinburghPresenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
19/07/23•28m 11s
The BBC Presenter Story
As the BBC pauses its investigation into the alleged inappropriate behaviour of an unnamed presenter, we consider why this is still a story with more questions than answers. And what does it tell us about the influence The Sun still holds on public discourse? In a quirk of timing, it’s also the week the corporation publishes its annual report showing what it describes as “another year of extraordinary delivery for audiences” but also outlines its failure to meet all its targets for engaging audiences. Guests: James Ball, Journalist; Jane Martinson, Professor of Journalism, City University London; Jake Kanter, International Investigations Editor, Deadline; Camilla Wright, Founder, Popbitch, Persephone Bridgman Baker, Partner, Carter-Ruck Presenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Simon Richardson
12/07/23•28m 2s
Reporting the French riots
After the fatal shooting of a 17 year old boy by a police officer during a traffic stop in a suburb of Paris, protests and riots have taken place across France over the last week. Thousands have been arrested, shops looted, and hundreds of vehicles set alight. Journalists reporting the story have found themselves a target, with some being injured by protestors. Meanwhile, President Macron has blamed social media and video games for fuelling the violence.Also in the programme, the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich approaches 100 days behind bars in Russia. The US, the Wall Street Journal and Mr Gershkovich all deny the allegation by the Russian authorities that he is a spy.Guests: Katya Adler, Europe editor, BBC News; Phil Chetwynd, Global News Director, Agence France-Presse; Emma Pearson, Editor, The Local France; Boris Kharlamoff, Journalist, BFMTV; Emma Tucker, Editor-in-chief, The Wall Street Journal. Presenter: Katie Razzall
05/07/23•28m 4s
Spinning the coup that wasn't
In days gone by, the organisers of a military coup would be after the radio towers and the TV stations. But when Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, rebelled against the Russian government last week, it was the messaging app Telegram that he turned to for publicity. Who controls the media ecosystem in Russia and how is Putin now spinning his own narrative on the coup that wasn't?Also in the programme, as a new Radio 4 podcast investigates the origins of Covid, what did journalists get right and wrong during the early days of the pandemic?Guests: John Sudworth, BBC North America Correspondent and presenter of Fever, Natasha Loder, Health Editor of The Economist, Clare Wilson, Medical Reporter at The New Scientist, and Francis Scarr, Journalist with BBC MonitoringPresenter: Ros Atkins
28/06/23•28m 7s
Gauging the power of Britain's right-wing media
With Boris Johnson’s current parliamentary career over, we’re asking what The Daily Mail hopes to get in return for the rumoured million pounds it’s paying for his new column. Meanwhile, the Telegraph is up for sale. What power and influence does the right-wing media hold in the UK?Also in the programme, as The Guardian bans gambling advertising, Clive Tyldesley, one of the most recognisable voices in football joins us to explain why he's stepping down from commentating on talkSPORT over the betting industry’s role in the sport. Guests: Alice Enders, Tim Montgomerie, Susie Boniface, Joey D’Urso, Clive TyldesleyPresenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Simon Richardson
21/06/23•28m 5s
Charlie Brooker
Charlie Brooker is one of the most influential satirists working today. Having started out as a cartoonist, his razor sharp writing on culture and the media made his TV columns for The Guardian, begun in 2000, essential reading for many. It wasn’t long until his acerbic and frequently absurd world view found a home on BBC Four in the form of the TV review show, Screenwipe. He's also behind acclaimed comedies like Nathan Barley. But he’s found global fame with the series Black Mirror, which has entered the lexicon for a singular form of technology-enhanced dread. In the week that the new season launches, Charlie Brooker joins The Media Show to look back at his career.Presenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Simon Richardson
14/06/23•27m 30s
How to interview Andrew Tate
Last week the BBC's Lucy Williamson conducted an interview with Andrew Tate, his first with a major TV broadcaster since being released into house arrest from police custody in Romania in April. She describes how she approached it and what has happened since it aired. Also in the programme, the boss of CNN is reported to have been ousted, and David Aaronovitch on life after The Times.Guests: Lucy Williamson, BBC reporter; David Aaronovitch, journalist; Brian Stelter, former CNN host; Brooke Gladstone, host of WNYC’s On the MediaPresenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Simon Richardson
07/06/23•28m 9s
Westminster's Secrets and Lies
Westminster journalists are the ultimate insiders, with privileged access to the Houses of Parliament and the people running the country. Do they work to hold the powerful to account? Or is the Lobby an opaque and cosy club that sometimes fails democracy? Katie Razzall is joined by a panel of Westminster insiders to discuss.Guests: Guto Harri is a former Director of Communications at 10 Downing Street. His new podcast, Unprecedented, tells the story of the final months of Boris Johnson’s administration. Ian Dunt is a columnist at the i Newspaper and author of How Westminster Works... and Why It Doesn't; Caroline Wheeler is Political Editor at The Sunday Times and Eleni Courea is Deputy Editor of POLITICO London Playbook.Recorded at the Hay Festival.Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
31/05/23•28m 3s
Bellingcat answers Elon Musk's 'psy-ops' claim
Eliot Higgins, founder and creative director of Bellingcat, responds to claims by Elon Musk that the investigative group is engaged in 'psy-ops. Also in the programme, the challenge of reporting on the Sudan crisis.Guests: Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat; Beverly Ochieng, BBC Monitoring Africa Analyst; Lou Osborn, researcher at the Centre for Information Resilience.Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
Studio Managers: Andrew Garratt and Steve Greenwood
24/05/23•28m 9s
Twitter bows to Erdoğan?
As the vote for the Turkish presidency heads for a second round, we explore the challenges journalists in the country are facing covering its closest election in decades, from the dominance of media supportive of the government to bans on social media platforms. After Rishi Sunak was photographed welcoming Ukraine's President Zelenksy to Chequers with a bear hug, we discuss press photographers' access to the Prime Minister.And we discuss what Google's latest AI announcements mean for Search. Guests: Ozge Ozdemir, journalist with the BBC's Turkish Service; Yaman Akdeniz, Turkish academic and online rights campaigner; Shona Ghosh, Deputy Executive Editor at Insider's UK bureau; Jay Davies, Director of News photography at Getty Images; Carl Dinnen ITV political correspondent.Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
Studio Managers: Duncan Hannant and Steve Greenwood
17/05/23•27m 59s
Jeremy Bowen: seeing through the fog of war
Jeremy Bowen, BBC News' International Editor, talks about his career and new Radio 4 series, Frontlines of Journalism, which explores the obstacles that stand between journalists and the truth.Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
Studio Engineers: Andrew Garratt and Sue Maillot
10/05/23•45m 37s
David Olusoga: Bafta-winning historian
The historian and broadcaster David Olusoga is being honoured with a BAFTA special award. He gives his first interview since the news dropped. Comedian Nish Kumar talks about the launch of his new podcast, Pod Save the UK. They're joined by The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls and Emily Bell, Professor at the Columbia School of Journalism. Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Dan Hardoon
03/05/23•28m 10s
'The craziest day in cable news history'
It’s been a tumultuous week across the US media landscape from the collapse of BuzzFeed News to the firings of primetime hosts including Fox’s number one presenter Tucker Carlson. The media commentator Brian Stelter called it "the craziest day in cable news history". What might Carlson's departure mean for America? Also in the programme, how should the BBC cover the Coronation of King Charles?Guests: Ben Smith, Editor-in-chief, Semafor and founder of BuzzFeed News; Hillary Frey, Editor-in-chief, Slate; Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Director, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism; and Graham Smith, CEO, RepublicPresenter: Ros Atkins
26/04/23•27m 50s
Hunting the Pentagon leaker
Jack Teixeira is the 21 year old US airman charged with leaking confidential intelligence and defence documents. They appeared on the gaming platform Discord and revealed US assessments of the war in Ukraine as well as sensitive secrets about American allies. The New York Times managed to identify Teixeira as the suspect before the FBI arrested him. Also in the programme, a new BBC podcast that investigates the cold case of a boy from London who went missing over 40 years ago, and what next for Murdoch after the Fox News defamation lawsuit pay-out.Guests: Aric Toler, Director of Training and Research, Bellingcat; Haley Willis, Video Journalist, The New York Times; Colin Campbell, investigative reporter, "Vishal" podcast on BBC Sounds, Shaun Keep, retired police detective, and Clare Malone, staff writer, The New Yorker.Presenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Simon Richardson
19/04/23•28m 5s
Head to Head with Elon Musk
BBC North America Tech Reporter James Clayton takes us inside his last minute interview with Elon Musk; Executive Producer Juliette Howell who runs House Productions talks about their new drama, The Good Mothers, one of Disney Plus's slate of new shows tailored for a European audience and we talk to Emily Keen, Director of Channel 4's Undercover Ambulances and Claire Newell, Head of Investigations at The Telgraph about going undercover.Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
12/04/23•28m 3s
China and the Information War
TikTok is the biggest media brand to come out of China and has been in the news because of US security concerns about the app. China denies there is an issue – but what is undeniable is that China has a global media strategy designed to amplify its own narratives.Guests: Yuan Yang, Europe-China correspondent, Financial Times; Howard Zhang, Chinese Editor, BBC News; Sean Haines, Freelance journalist and former Xinhua reporter; Joshua Kurlantzick, Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia, Council on Foreign RelationsPresenter: Ros AtkinsProducers: Helen Fitzhenry and Simon Richardson
05/04/23•27m 19s
Britain's Best-Connected Editor
During his long career in Fleet Street, Geordie Greig has occupied the editor’s chair at some of the country’s biggest news titles including The Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, The Evening Standard, Tatler magazine and, since January 2023, The Independent. He joins Katie Razzall to discuss his plans for the future of the online-only title, highlights from his career in journalism, and whether the relationship between the media and those in power has become too cosy.Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Dan Hardoon
29/03/23•27m 55s
Writing a First Draft of History
Journalist Gary Younge has seen up close some of the defining moments of our age. From Nelson Mandela's rise to power, to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, to the Black Lives Matter protests, he's been there to report the story. Presenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Dan Hardoon
17/03/23•56m 7s
The Great Impartiality Debate
After a tweet by Gary Lineker triggered a BBC crisis, The Media Show asks whether the concept of impartiality is still relevant to audiences. What does the word even mean? Are BBC guidelines compatible with wider trends in media of opinionated presenters and loud polemic? And might the fallout from Lineker's tweet even hasten the end of the licence fee? Ros Atkins and Katie Razzall debate with an expert panel.Producers: Helen Fitzhenry and Dan HardoonPresenters: Ros Atkins and Katie Razzall
15/03/23•57m 8s
We Need to Talk About Gary
The BBC says that it is having a “frank conversation” with Gary Lineker after he tweeted that the language setting out the government’s new plan for small boats crossing the channel was "not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s".Also in the programme, Elon Musk picks a twitter fight with a sacked employee – and then says sorry, and the role algorithms play in how we consume media.Guests: Roger Mosey, former director of BBC Sport, Alva Ray, Host of POLITICO’s Westminster Insider Podcast, Kara Swisher, Host of "On with Kara Swisher", Noah Giansiracusa, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Bentley University, and Katy Leeson, CEO of Relentless MediaPresenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
08/03/23•27m 40s
Covid's back in the news
The Daily Telegraph has got hold of thousands of WhatsApp messages sent by Matt Hancock when he was Health secretary during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the FBI has said it believes the most likely explanation for the origin of the pandemic is a lab leak in China. Both stories provide big questions for the business of journalism; what are the ethics of working with leaked private correspondence, and were some journalists too quick to dismiss the 'lab leak theory' when it first emerged?Guests: Heather Brooke, freedom of information campaigner; Vivian Schiller, executive director of Aspen Digital; Paul Nuki, senior editor, Global Health Security and Campaigns at The Telegraph; Tim Caulfield, professor of health law and science policy at the University of Alberta; Pippa Allen-Kinros, Full Fact, and Erik Wemple, Washington Post columnistPresenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
01/03/23•27m 38s
The 'shameful' coverage of Nicola Bulley
Nicola Bulley's family have denounced some media coverage of her disappearance as 'shameful'. What are the lessons for the media in reporting missing person cases? Also in the programme, a year on from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, how has war reporting changed?Guests: Josh Halliday, north of England correspondent at The Guardian; Andy Trotter, former chief constable, British Transport Police; Orla Guerin, senior international correspondent at BBC News; Kateryna Malofieieva, freelance journalist and producer; Rohit Kachroo, global security editor at ITN; John Sweeney, independent journalist.Producer: Dan HardoonPresenter: Katie Razzall
22/02/23•28m 12s
Charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent... and more!
Meet one of the pioneers of reality TV; Fenton Bailey hung out with Andy Warhol in the 80s, launched RuPaul’s pop career in the 90s, and made what might be reality TV’s most successful show: RuPaul’s Drag Race. His company, World of Wonder, has also made films about Monica Lewinsky, Britney Spears and the TV Evangelist Tammy Faye. And long before that, he brought the cult comedy duo Adam and Joe to Channel 4. Fenton and Katie discuss an extraordinary career, how drag provides the perfect parody of celebrity, and why reality TV has always been camp. Image credit: Lucille Flood, World of Wonder Productions. Presenter: Katie Razzall Producer: Helen Fitzhenry
15/02/23•27m 51s
Free speech at GB News
GB News launched almost two years ago, promising to shake up traditional news channels. But as one of its star presenters quits, is the channel in trouble? Also in the programme, a new BBC documentary and podcast about Shamima Begum.Guests: Angelos Frangopoulos, CEO, GB News; Lis Howell, Professor Emeritus of Journalism, City University; Josh Baker, reporter, and Sara Obeidat, producer, The Shamima Begum Story.Producer: Dan HardoonPresenter: Katie Razzall
08/02/23•27m 53s
BBC's Modi documentary controversy
In India, a BBC documentary about India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is causing controversy. The documentary explores tensions between Narendra Modi and India's Muslim minority. The Indian government says it has ordered Twitter and YouTube to take down video clips from the documentary, but what are the implications for press freedom in India? Also in the programme, how Spotify's podcast strategy is changing and what it means for how we listen to radio and podcasts in the future.Guests: Rishi Iyengar, staff writer at Foreign Policy magazine; Supriya Sharma, Executive Editor of the news website Scroll; Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia policy director at Access Now; Nick Hilton, podcast industry analyst and founder of Podot; Arielle Nissenblatt, founder of the EarBuds Podcast Collective newsletter.Producer: Dan Hardoon
Presenter: Ros Atkins
01/02/23•28m 0s
The Story Behind the Nadhim Zahawi Scoop
The story of Nadhim Zahawi's tax affairs was broken thanks to the work of journalists and investigators. Katie Razzall meets two of them. Also in the programme, why Netflix has bought its first Welsh language crime drama.Guests: Anna Isaac, City Editor, The Guardian, Dan Neidle, Founder, Tax Policy Associates, Adrian Bate, Co-founder, Vox Pictures, and Llinos Griffin-Williams, Chief Content Officer, S4C.Presenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
25/01/23•28m 19s
Why the BBC chairman says he won't quit
Richard Sharp is accused of helping facilitate a loan to the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, when Mr Sharp was applying to be BBC chairman. His appointment is now under review by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. In this interview with Katie Razzall, Mr Sharp denies being involved in any loan and explains why he believes he will be exonerated because he "was appointed on merit".
24/01/23•16m 15s
Investigating Andrew Tate
What the rise of Andrew Tate tells us about modern masculinity and the media, with the VICE journalist who investigated him. Andrew and Tristan Tate both deny the allegations against them.Guests: Matt Shea, journalist for VICE World News's The Dangerous Rise of Andrew Tate, Helen Lewis, staff writer at The Atlantic and presenter of The New Gurus on BBC Sounds, and Professor Scott Galloway, host of the Prof G Pod and co-host of the Pivot podcast.Presenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Helen FitzhenryImage credit: Scene from VICE World News's The Dangerous Rise of Andrew Tate, produced and directed by Jamie Tahsin.
18/01/23•27m 38s
What the Culture Minister Really Thinks
Michelle Donelan is the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. In this broad interview with Katie Razzall, the minister explains why she reversed her predecessor's plans for Channel 4, gives her thoughts on Prince Harry's complaint about the press, and says why the Parthenon marbles will not be returning to Greece. Katie is also joined by Lara O'Reilly, senior correspondent on Insider's business desk covering tech and media.Presenter: Katie RazzallSound engineer: Duncan HannantProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
11/01/23•27m 55s
Staying loyal to The Traitors
As The Traitors prepares to launch in the US, the producer behind the series discusses why it was a hit in the UK. Also in the programme, what the Christmas period revealed about advertising – from how companies are spending their ad budgets – to the ads which are working the best. Guests: Stephen Lambert, CEO, Studio Lambert, Sophie Lewis, Chief Strategy Officer, M&C Saatchi, Dino Myers-Lamptey, Founder, The Barber Shop, Benjamin Cohen, CEO, PinkNews, and Chris Curtis, Editor in chief, Broadcast magazinePresenter: Ros Atkins
04/01/23•28m 0s
The Magic of Natural History
The last five years have seen a surge in demand for natural history programmes. But as budgets get tighter and commissioners become more discerning how can those working in this genre continue to offer new stories about the natural world?Guests: Vanessa Berlowitz, Co-Founder, Wildstar Films. Alastair Fothergill, Co-Founder, Silverback Films, and Rowan Crawford, Series Producer, Natural History Unit at BBC StudiosPresenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
28/12/22•27m 53s
Inside the mind of Elon Musk
Since taking charge of Twitter in October, Elon Musk has temporarily banned some journalists from the platform, overhauled the verification system, reinstated Donald Trump's Twitter account and laid off more than half Twitter's workforce. Now, following a Twitter poll, he plans to stand down as the company's CEO. But why does it matter for the wider media, culture and society?Guests: Kara Swisher, leading technology journalist and presenter of the podcast On with Kara Swisher; Rebekah Tromble, Director of the Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics at George Washington University; Dex Hunter-Torricke, VP Global Communications & Public Engagement, Meta Oversight Board; John Gapper, business columnist at the Financial Times.Presenter: Ros AtkinsStudio engineer: Giles AspenProducer: Dan Hardoon
21/12/22•28m 3s
Read All About It... in America?
Newspaper group Reach has announced plans to launch US operations for the Mirror, Express, and Irish Star. But can these British brands really succeed in America? Also in the programme, Google's UK boss, Matt Brittin.Guests: Liz Hazelton, Editorial Director, Express.co.uk, David Yelland, Former Editor of The Sun, Christina Garibaldi, Correspondent, Us Weekly, Claire Atkinson, Chief Media Correspondent, Insider, and Matt Brittin, President of EMEA Business and Operations, Google.Presenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Dan Hardoon
14/12/22•28m 11s
My plan for ITV
Kevin Lygo is ITV’s Managing Director of Media and Entertainment. He tells us how ITV X will reach new audiences, why he agreed to Matt Hancock joining I'm a Celebrity, and what he texts to Ant and Dec during ad breaks. Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Helen Fitzhenry
07/12/22•28m 3s
China's journalism crackdown
As protests sweep China on a scale not seen for 30 years, the challenge facing journalists is to report the story for the Chinese public to get accurate information. Also in the programme, 25 years of Grand Theft Auto - a great British cultural export, or 'society's dark mirror'?Guests: Yuan Yang, Europe-China correspondent at the Financial Times; Howard Zhang, editor of the BBC's Chinese service; Joseph Menn, technology reporter at The Washington Post; and Chris Warburton, co-presenter of Bugzy Malone’s Grandest Game.Presenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
30/11/22•28m 14s
Gary Lineker: 'We were sportswashed'
The BBC presenter Gary Lineker says a failure to speak out more about human rights issues during the World Cup in Russia in 2018 explains his approach to covering the tournament in Qatar. Lineker delivered a monologue at the start of the BBC's coverage of the opening game and described the event as "the most controversial World Cup in history". Also in the programme, trouble at the top for Disney.Guests: Gary Lineker, BBC Sport Presenter, Ayman Mohyeldin, Host of AYMAN on MSNBC, Roger Mosey, Former Director of Sport at the BBC, and Zoe Kleinman, Technology Editor at BBC NewsPresenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
23/11/22•28m 3s
Does the media report climate protests responsibly?
How should journalists cover climate protests? The climate conference Cop27 ends this week. But you might have seen more about the activists who threw oil on a Gustav Klimt painting in Vienna yesterday. Or the protesters who brought the M25 to a standstill last week. In an era of apparently increasing direct action, what’s the media’s role? And by giving the latest stunt publicity, is it fanning the flames?Guests: Fiona Harvey, Environment Correspondent, The Guardian, Cameron Ford, spokesperson, Insulate Britain, Rich Felgate, documentary-maker, Wolfgang Blau, Managing Partner, the Climate Hub at the Brunswick Group, and Danny Shaw, former BBC home affairs correspondent.Presenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
16/11/22•28m 13s
Qatar: a World Cup size failure of sports journalism?
“The worst World Cup ever” is how PR Week describes Qatar’s hosting of the event. The latest controversy was just this week, after the tournament’s ambassador said in an interview that being gay was “damage in the mind”. Meanwhile, human rights groups have been calling on players to protest on the pitch. So how did the World Cup end up being awarded to Qatar in the first place? Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp says it’s partly the fault of journalists who "should have sent a message" about the country's unsuitability years ago.Also in the programme, why local newspaper groups are up in arms about the BBC’s plans to spend more on digital news and less on local radio shows.Guests: Joey D’Urso, investigations writer, The Athletic, Miles Coleman, Producer and writer, FIFA Uncovered, Beth Fisher, freelance sports broadcaster, Henry Faure Walker, Chief Executive, Newsquest, Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director of Nations, BBC, and Alice Enders, Head of Research, Enders AnalysisPresenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
09/11/22•28m 5s
Elon Frees the Bird
Does it matter that the world’s richest man now owns Twitter? Elon Musk is the latest American billionaire to take control of an influential social media platform. How much will change? Also in the programme, how the BBC's Africa Eye team investigated a tragedy on the Moroccan – Spanish border.Guests: Peter Kafka, host of Recode Media, Danielle Citron, professor of law at University of Virginia and advisor to Twitter, Shona Ghosh, UK Deputy Editor at Insider, Benjamin Strick and Suzanne Vanhooymissen, journalists on BBC Africa Eye's Death on the Border investigation.Presenter: Katie RazzallStudio Engineer: Donald MacDonaldProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
02/11/22•28m 6s
The BBC: Another 100 years?
If you turned on your wireless set 100 years ago, what would you have heard? Katie Razzall looks back at the earliest days of the BBC as it celebrates its centenary, hearing how the idea of a single, national broadcaster came into being. Early broadcasts involved reading out railway timetables and mocking up Big Ben's chimes on tubular bells, but very quickly the power of wireless broadcasting became apparent. From debates about the difficulties of enforcing the licence fee to fraught deals with newspapers and live performers who feared competition and losing audiences to the newly-formed BBC, some of the discussions have never gone away. But will the BBC last another century?Guests: Mark Damazer, executive at the BBC for more than 30 years, including as controller of Radio 4; Jean Seaton, professor of media history at the University of Westminster and an official historian of the BBC; Paul Kerensa, broadcaster on BBC Radio Essex and producer of the podcast British Broadcasting Century, which tells the story of the BBC from the beginning; Emily Bell, founding director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School.Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Tim Bano
26/10/22•28m 3s
Egged on by the Press?
“At last! A true Tory budget”, proclaimed The Daily Mail after the mini-budget. Four weeks on and a very different tone: “In office but not in power”, was the front page this Tuesday.So what exactly is Liz Truss’ relationship with Britain’s press? Was she really “egged on” by the media, as some of her critics claim, to do what she did in the disastrous mini-budget? And if the opinion polls are to be believed – with her party apparently heading for oblivion at a general election – might traditional Tory papers switch allegiance? Guests: James O'Brien, Presenter, LBC, Christopher Hope, Associate editor, The Daily Telegraph, Eleni Courea, Deputy editor, Politico’s London Playbook, Mark Landler, London bureau chief, The New York Times and Tessa Szyszkowitz, correspondent for German and Austrian publications.Presenter: Katie Razzall
Sound engineer: Duncan Hannant
Producer: Helen Fitzhenry
19/10/22•28m 0s
Interviewing Zelensky
As the war in Ukraine continues to escalate, what role does journalism play in peace-making, in dialling down the rhetoric? The BBC’s John Simpson was in Kyiv last week to interview President Zelensky – we’ll hear his take. And with Katie in the studio is another giant of journalism. Emma Tucker is the editor of The Sunday Times. Only the second woman to have done that job in more than 100 years.Presenter: Katie Razzall
Studio Engineer Donald MacDonald
Producer: Helen Fitzhenry
12/10/22•28m 11s
How to Run a Movie Studio (and take Tom Cruise to space)
Donna Langley is one of the most powerful women in Hollywood. As Chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, she oversees film franchises like Fast and Furious, Despicable Me and Jurassic World, and was behind hits like Mamma Mia and Straight Outta Compton.
In this special edition of The Media Show, Katie Razzall meets Donna Langley in Hollywood, and hears how a girl who grew up on the Isle of Wight became a movie studio boss. How does she decide which films to back? What does she do when the big budgets don’t pay off? And has the covid pandemic changed forever how we watch movies?Presenter: Katie Razzall Producer: Helen Fitzhenry
05/10/22•28m 4s
Telling the tale of market turmoil
On the day the Bank of England intervened to calm turmoil following the Chancellor's mini-budget last week, we look at the challenge facing journalists to tell this story well. Stephanie Flanders is the head of Bloomberg Economics and Paul Lewis presents Radio 4’s Money Box.Also in the show we speak to The Sunday Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund. His scoops regularly set the news agenda for the week ahead. How does he do it?And if you’re wondering about Jane Garvey and Fi Glover’s recently announced move from the BBC to Times Radio – we've got their agent on to tell us how it happened. Sue Ayton is co-founder of Knight Ayton Management. She joins Megan Carver Founder and MD of Carver PR discuss how to manage big talent making moves, and the new opportunities of the growing audio market.Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Helen Fitzhenry
28/09/22•28m 7s
The media mourns a monarch
The Queen's funeral was the culmination of days of coverage across the British media. The new culture secretary called the BBC’s efforts "phenomenal" and "spot-on". So did the media get the tone right? Were a range of views about the monarchy represented? And amid the pageantry and commentary, was there room for journalism?Guests: Marcus Ryder, Head of External Consultancies at the Sir Lenny Henry Centre For Media Diversity, Tina Stowell, Chair of the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee, Ed Vaizey, Former Culture Secretary and member of the House of Lords, Emily Bell, Director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, and Stefanie Bolzen, UK Correspondent for Die WeltProducer: Helen FitzhenryPresenter: Katie Razzall
21/09/22•27m 48s
The death of the Queen
The Queen's coffin has travelled in ceremonial procession to Westminster Hall today where she will lie in state for four days until her funeral on Monday.
Thousands have lined the route and for millions in the UK and around the world, it is the media that allows them to follow this period of national mourning.
We talk to guests from news broadcasters, commercial radio and local newspapers about their experience of covering this story. We'll talk about Ukraine too. In an extraordinary few days, Russian forces have been pushed back. We know that – but there are significant challenges establishing exactly what has happened. We’ll try and understand what can be done to report these developments with confidence. Guests: Cristina Nicolotti Squires, Director of content, Sky News, Frank O’Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, The Press and Journal, Phil Riley, Founder of Boom Radio, James Waterhouse, Ukraine Correspondent, BBC News, and Francis Scarr, BBC MonitoringPresenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
14/09/22•28m 7s
Microsoft v The Regulator
We look at what may be the biggest media deal of the year – Microsoft is trying to buy one of the world’s leading games producers Activision Blizzard for almost 60 billion pounds, but UK regulators have questions. The cost of living crisis is deepening, does the news media have the skill set to understand and explain a story of this scale and complexity? And who is the new Culture Secretary?With Sarah Lester, Editor of the Manchester Evening News, Sebastian Payne politics writer for the Financial Times, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation, Faisal Islam, BBC Economics Editor, Jason Kingsley, Co-founder and CEO of video game developer Rebellion and Louise Shorthouse, Senior Games Analyst at Ampere Analysis. Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Helen Fitzhenry
Studio Engineer: Tim Heffer
07/09/22•28m 7s
Podcasting the News
As Global's new daily podcast The News Agents launches, we ask Jon Sopel for his reflections on the BBC he left and the freedoms of a new home.
And we'll look at the growing market for news podcasts with Dino Sofos, executive producer of The News Agents and founder of Persephonica, Nosheen Iqbal, Today in Focus presenter, Alastair Campbell, co-presenter of The Rest is Politics with Rory Stewart, and Adam Boulton, who starts a new Sunday show on Times Radio this week.Presenter: Ros AtkinsStudio engineer: Duncan HannantProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
31/08/22•28m 7s
Reporting from Ukraine - six months on
Six months after Russia invaded Ukraine, what has the media taught us about the war and what has the war taught us about journalism? How has the narrative changed? What role has social media played?Deborah Haynes is defence and security editor for Sky News. Nic Robertson is CNN’s international diplomatic editor. Oz Katerji is a freelance journalist who spent several months in Ukraine reporting on the conflict. Olga Tokariuk is a Ukrainian freelance journalist who has been reporting on the war since it began. Francis Scarr, BBC Senior Digital Journalist monitoring Russian media.Presenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Tim Bano
24/08/22•28m 12s
Have soaps run their course?
The end of both Holby City and Neighbours in the space of a few months suggests that something is wrong in the world of soaps. Viewers have been declining for years as soaps face competition from structured reality shows, streaming services and social media content. But millions still sit down every evening to see the ups and downs of the lives in Walford, Weatherfield and beyond, and EastEnders remains one of the most watched programmes on BBC iPlayer. So what role do soaps play in media landscape today? Should we expect the Queen Vic to be pulling its last pint, or are there many more births, deaths, marriages and everything in between still to come in the unpredictable world of soap operas?Sir Phil Redmond is the creator of Grange Hill, Brookside and Hollyoaks. Charles Collingwood has played Brian in The Archers since 1975. Emma Bullimore is a TV critic and soap fan. Daniel Kilkelly is soaps editor for entertainment news website Digital Spy.Presenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Tim Bano
17/08/22•27m 55s
Covering strikes: Whatever happened to the Industrial Correspondents?
As postal workers become the latest group to call a strike, and railway workers and train drivers plan to walk out again through August, we look at how well the news media covers industrial disputes. What’s changed in journalism since the days when every media outlet had an industrial correspondent and the union bosses on speed dial? We speak to Nick Jones, a former industrial correspondent for the BBC and author of The Lost Tribe of Fleet Street, Jeremy Warner, associate editor and business columnist at The Daily Telegraph, and Alan Jones, industrial correspondent at the Press Association (PA Media).We also look at broadcast sports rights today – with big changes in the offing as new companies with deep pockets get involved. Amazon has been making its presence felt for some time and the Nordic owned Viaplay is about to arrive in the UK. With Minal Modha, principle analyst at Ampere Analysis, and Matt Slater, football news reporter at The Athletic.Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Helen Fitzhenry
10/08/22•28m 8s
It's... another true crime show!
Crime and true crime has always been big business in films and books. But when Serial exploded onto the scene almost eight years ago it launched a whole new genre; the true crime podcast. Now with the major broadcasters and streaming services involved, it seems like we just can’t get enough of solved and unsolved crimes. And it’s not just criminal cases - this week we’ve seen the insatiable interest surrounding the Wagatha Christie verdict, the TV rights are already sold.TV cameras are also now allowed into criminal courts for sentencing right across the UK. So today we take a look at how the public appetite for true crime has led to one of the biggest production booms in years, and ask where it might lead. Mark Williams-Thomas is an investigative reporter, former detective and new global head of investigations for the regional publisher Newsquest.
Suruthi Bala is co-host of the Redhanded podcast which tells the stories of an incredible range of criminal cases and unusual mysteries from around the world.
Will Hanrahan is co-founder of First Look TV, a production company that specializes in True Crime.
Persephone Bridgman Baker is a partner with the legal firm Carter-Ruck.
Abi Clarke is the host of the 'It's... Wagatha Christie' podcast and also a huge True Crime fan.Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
Producer: Helen Fitzhenry
03/08/22•28m 7s
Into the Metaverse
In October 2021, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would change its name to Meta, reflecting its shift towards “the Metaverse”. Today, the concept is central to the strategies of the world’s biggest tech companies – including Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft – who are spending billions of dollars to build it. But what exactly is the Metaverse, how will it work, and what are the opportunities and dangers ahead?Matthew Ball is a venture capitalist, former head of strategy at Amazon Studios, and now author of "The Metaverse, And How It Will Revolutionise Everything". He joins Ros Atkins for a special edition of The Media Show, dedicated to what some are calling “the next internet”.Producer: Dan Hardoon
Presenter: Ros Atkins
Editor: Richard Hooper
Studio engineer: Emma Harth
27/07/22•28m 8s
Inside the Tory TV showdowns
There’s a balance of risk and reward for any politician taking part in a TV debate but what's at stake for the presenters? Julie Etchingham and Krishnan Guru-Murthy both grilled the Conservatives candidates for PM over the weekend. They tell us about the negotiating, the cajoling and the hard graft that makes these live TV events happen, and whether you can ever predict what will make candidates get personal. Sky News announced this week that Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss had declined to take part in their planned third debate, effectively cancelling it. Their head of newsgathering Jonathan Levy tells us what he wants to do to take this power out of the politicians hands in future.
20/07/22•27m 56s
The Race for the Tory Crown
What role does the press play in choosing the next Conservative leader? How do you cover an election campaign that most of the public doesn’t have a say in? And what might all of this mean for Channel 4’s planned privatisation – next week’s Media Bill, which would have included details of the sale, has now been delayed.Guests: Fraser Nelson, Editor, The Spectator, Paul Mason, journalist and campaigner, Rosamund Urwin, Media Editor, The Sunday Times , Hardeep Matharu, Editor, Byline Times and Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director, Savanta ComResPresenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
13/07/22•28m 15s
How Boris Johnson lost the press
These are perilous moments for Boris Johnson. As we witness a stream of resignations from his government we look at the role the media has played in this latest scandal. From disastrous broadcast media rounds to increasingly hostile editorials, we’ve seen how politics, power and the press intertwine.With Michael Crick political journalist and author, Jane Martinson Columnist and Marjorie Deane Professor of Financial Journalism at City, Joey Jones spokesman for Theresa May when she was Home Secretary and former deputy political editor at Sky News, James Ball, who writes for the New Statesman, Eleanor Langford, lobby journalist at Politics Home and Kate McCann, political Editor at Talk TV.Presenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
06/07/22•28m 10s
The Return of 'Q'
QAnon is the conspiracy theory that claims Donald Trump has been waging war on a cabal of satanic paedophiles who stole the 2020 US election. Supporters of the baseless theory were among the mob that stormed the US Capitol in January 2021. After nearly two years of silence, the anonymous message board user who signed off as "Q", has posted again. Also in the programme, why Bristol’s mayor is facing a boycott of his press briefings by journalists.Guests: Gabriel Gatehouse, International Editor, BBC Newsnight and presenter of The Coming Storm, Irene Pasquetto, Assistant Professor of Information, University of Michigan, Martin Booth, Editor, Bristol 24/7, Charlotte Green, Local Democracy Reporter, Manchester Evening News, Shirish Kulkarni, journalist, and Keren Haynes, Co-founder, Shout! CommunicationsPresenter: Katie RazzallStudio engineer: Duncan HannantProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
29/06/22•27m 52s
Another Warning for the BBC
The media regulator Ofcom has released a review of how the BBC operates. It's considered how the BBC deals with complaints, how it approaches impartiality, and how it decides which services to provide. Across all three, Ofcom wants an improvement.Guests: Kevin Bakhurst, Group Director, Ofcom; Owen Meredith, Chief Executive, News Media Association; Roger Mosey, former Head of TV News, BBC; and Alice Enders, Head of Research, Enders AnalysisProducer: Steven WilliamsPresenter: Ros Atkins
22/06/22•28m 16s
Carole Cadwalladr v Arron Banks: a victory for press freedom?
Carole Cadwalladr gives her first interview after Brexit campaigner Arron Bank loses his libel case against her. Mr Banks, the founder of the pro-Brexit campaign group Leave.EU, sued the investigative journalist for defamation over comments she made about his relationship with the Russian state.Guests: Carole Cadwalladr, investigative journalist, and Sarah Palin, barrister, Doughty Street ChambersPresenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Helen FitzhenryClarification:It has been drawn to our attention by Mr Banks’ lawyers since this was broadcast that while the Judge states Ms Cadwalladr had found being subjected to cross examination very stressful, she also expressly noted that the cross examination was undertaken properly and professionally by Mr Banks’ Leading Counsel.Furthermore, during the course of the trial Ms Cadwalladr accepted that the tweet that was put to her did not actually accuse her of sleeping with a fellow journalist.Mr Banks’ lawyers say that he did not sue TED Talks because it is based in the United States (which does not allow enforcement of English libel judgments); nor could he have sued the Observer because Ms Cadwalladr was not acting on behalf of the newspaper but rather as an individual. They also make the point that the allegations previously published by Ms Cadwalladr in the Observer were different to those made in the TED talk.
17/06/22•18m 38s
GB News: One Year On
GB News launched one year ago this week. It promised to disrupt - to hear people, places and issues that other media outlets weren’t paying attention to. The show’s design was certainly different. The opening monologue came from a studio that was almost entirely black. Viewers were noting this, they were noting sound issues too – the start of a range of technical issues for the network as a whole. Within weeks Andrew Neil was on holiday never to return. Within months, Nigel Farage had taken over a primetime show of his own. GB News Chief Executive, Angelos Frangopoulos talks to The Media Show about where the channel has come from and where it goes next.Presenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
08/06/22•28m 51s
Dan Walker and Reporting on the Royals
Dan Walker has quit BBC Breakfast for a job presenting Channel 5’s flagship news show - what made him go? Also in the programme, as the media prepares for days of Jubilee coverage, are journalists who report on the Royal family capable of ever being truly critical?Guests: Dan Walker, Presenter, 5 News, Jonny Dymond, Royal correspondent, BBC News, Chris Ship, Royal editor, ITV News, and Dr Laura Clancy, Lecturer, Lancaster UniversityPresenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
01/06/22•28m 0s
Partygate - is the story over?
Sue Gray’s report into what went on in Downing Steet during lockdown has finally been published. We now know that staff broke covid rules with the approval of their bosses. Excessive drinking, with people being sick, abuse of cleaning and security staff – events, Sue Gray says, that “should not have been allowed to happen”. Details of some of the events she investigated only became known to her because of reporting in the media. Ros Atkins asks what role the media has played in the whole saga. Also in the programme, Anneka Rice talks about the return of Challenge Anneka for Channel 5.Guests: Stephen Glover, columnist at the Daily Mail, David Yelland, former editor of The Sun and now director of the communications firm Kitchen Table Partners, Tim Montgomerie, founder of the Conservative Home website and former Boris Johnson advisor, Ayesha Hazarika, broadcaster and former Labour politician adviser, and Anneka Rice, presenter of Challenge Anneka Presenter: Ros AtkinsSound engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
25/05/22•28m 17s
Wagatha Christie and celebrity journalism
This week we discuss the Wagatha Christie trial and what it told us about celebrity journalism.
Simon Boyle, Executive Showbiz Editor at The Sun, tells us how the newspaper managed to keep their journalists out of court.
John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg, on new UK expansion plans and who Britain's libel laws are really serving.
Also in the programme: Jim Waterson, Media Editor at The Guardian and Pandora Sykes, co-host of Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV.
18/05/22•28m 8s
What next for Channel 4?
As Channel 4 approaches its 40th birthday it faces one of the most pivotal moments in its history. The broadcaster is funded by advertising but is publicly owned, for now. As part of the Queen’s speech this week the government confirmed its plans to privatise Channel 4 – despite the broadcaster’s opposition. In fact, Channel 4 has published an alternative showing us what it wants to become if it weren’t privatised – something the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said was based on "flawed assumptions". However Channel 4’s future is settled will have major ramifications for the UK’s TV industry. Whether it’ll make such a difference to the programmes that Channel 4 offers viewers depends on who you ask. At the centre of this issue are two key figures, Nadine Dorries, the Culture Secretary, and our guest in this edition - Alex Mahon, the chief executive of Channel 4.Presenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Helen FitzhenryEditor: Richard Hooper
11/05/22•28m 3s
Reporting on the abuse of power
Two stories about power – and how it can be abused. The first is the tale of an MP caught looking at porn in the House of Commons and what it might tell us about the culture of political reporting at Westminster. The other is the joint BBC and The Guardian investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by the DJ Tim Westwood. Also in the programme, the future of tech regulation in the UK.Guests: Chi Chi Izundu, Reporter on "Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power", Katie Ferguson, Deputy Political Editor at The Sun, Eleanor Langford, Political Reporter at Politics Home, Margot James, former government minister, Philip Marsden, Professor of Law and Economics at the College of Europe and Kate Beioley, Legal Correspondent at the Financial Times.Presenter: Katie RazzallSound engineer: Duncan HannantProducer: Helen Fitzhenry
04/05/22•27m 34s
Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover
Three major stories could change the way we get our news. The multi-million-dollar streaming service CNN+, once billed as the broadcaster’s future, has shut down after less than a month. Over in Silicon Valley, Elon Musk has signed a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter. And the UK has seen the launch of a new broadcast channel in Talk TV. These three models – streaming, social media, and broadcast – offer competing alternatives for how we’ll consume news-based content in the future, but which of them will win out?Guests: Claire Atkinson, Chief Media Correspondent, Insider; Vivian Schiller, Executive Director, Aspen Digital; Christopher Williams, Business Editor, The Telegraph; Lauren Hirsch, reporter, The New York Times.Producer: Dan Hardoon
Presenter: Ros Atkins
Studio engineer: Tim Heffer
27/04/22•27m 50s
Piers Morgan Returns
Piers Morgan is the star signing for Rupert Murdoch's new TalkTV channel in the UK. His show, "Piers Morgan Uncensored", will also be streamed on Fox Nation in the US and air on Sky News Australia. It represents a significant bet on one man's ability to transfix a global audience. But is it money well spent? Piers Morgan discusses his departure from Good Morning Britain, "cancel culture" and the limits of free speech, his record on holding Donald Trump to account, and changing business models in the media.Producer: Dan HardoonPresenter: Ros AtkinsEditor: Richard Hooper
20/04/22•1h 5m
Translating the French election
The government’s plan to privatise Channel 4 has now been revealed. But who is lining up to buy the broadcaster and what could a change in ownership mean for viewers? Also in the programme, the French newspaper Le Monde is hoping to capitalise on interest in the elections by launching a English language edition. But is there a market for it?Guests: Chris Curtis, editor-in-chief of Broadcast; Elvire Camus, editor of Le Monde in English; Dominic Hinde, lecturer in Media and Communication at Glasgow University; Bénédicte Paviot, France 24’s UK Correspondent.Producer: Dan Hardoon
Presenter: Katie Razzall
Studio engineer: Duncan Hannant
13/04/22•28m 3s
Ira Glass, Godfather of Sound
Ira Glass is the presenter and producer behind This American Life, the first ever radio programme to win a Pulitzer Prize. Its spin off podcast, Serial, is credited with revolutionising podcasting and, in 2020, Glass sold Serial Productions to the New York Times for a reported $25 million. Ira discusses the inspiration behind his shows, the changing audio landscape, and responds to accusations of liberal bias in his journalism.Presenter: Katie Razzall
Sound engineer: Bob Nettles
Producer: Dan Hardoon
06/04/22•28m 1s
Ukraine's lessons for the media
As peace talks between Ukraine and Russia get underway, the war on the ground continues. How is the war being reported differently by Ukrainian and international media? And is there a danger that the public is losing interest in the war?Guests: Oleksiy Sorokin, political editor at the Kyiv Independent; Iryna Matviyishyn, freelance journalist and producer; Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist; Lyse Doucet, BBC Chief International Correspondent; Cristina Nicolotti Squires, director of content at Sky News.Presenter: Ros AtkinsStudio engineer: Duncan HannantProducer: Dan Hardoon
30/03/22•28m 4s
Netflix's Hollywood Ambition
The Media Show is in Hollywood this week, ahead of the 94th Academy awards. Netflix’s The Power of the Dog is nominated for 12 Oscars, including the coveted Best Picture. Katie Razzall meets Scott Stuber, Netflix's Head of Global Film, to find out how the platform continues to disrupt the film industry.Scott discusses his beginnings in the business with a cameo appearance in Free Willy 2, his strategy for luring legendary directors like Steven Spielberg to the platform, and his response to critics who claim that streaming services are killing cinema.Producer: Dan HardoonPresenter: Katie RazzallEditor: Richard Hooper
23/03/22•27m 0s
Why are Russian oligarchs only now in the press spotlight?
As governments around the world race to sanction associates of Vladimir Putin, the British media turns its attention to the role Russian oligarchs have played in public life. This week an edition of Panorama aired allegations about the source of Roman Abramovich's wealth. At the weekend The Sunday Times reported that Evgeny Lebedev was made a peer despite the concerns of the security services. But why is it only now that the mainstream press has put the oligarchs in the spotlight? What stopped them before? Guests: Paul Caruana Galizia, reporter at Tortoise Media; Adam Bienkov, Political Editor at Byline Times; Laura Kayali, Tech Correspondent at Politico; Natalia Antelava, journalist and co-founder of Coda Story, a global affairs news site; Lionel Barber, former editor of The Financial Times.Producer: Hannah SanderStudio engineer: Tim HefferPresenter: Katie Razzall
16/03/22•26m 6s
A News Cold War
A media crackdown in Russia, including a new law against ‘fake news’, has led many independent news outlets to shut down. Some major western media have pulled out of the country completely. But the BBC is not only staying - it is actually increasing its services aimed at Russians. So what news can ordinary Russians access? And what impact is that information is having?Guests: Jamie Angus, Controller of BBC News Output & Commissioning; Peter Pomerantsev, author of This Is Not Propaganda; Vera Krichevskaya, co-founder of TV Rain; Olga Irisova, Editor-in-chief of Riddle Russia; Dr Ian Garner, Russian propaganda expert; Julia Davis, Columnist at The Daily Beast.Producer: Hannah SanderStudio engineer: Tim HefferPresenter: Ros Atkins
09/03/22•28m 7s
The Information War in Ukraine
Alongside fighting in Ukraine, an "information war" is playing out. While Western media on the ground are describing a brutal war, Russian media offers a very different narrative. Journalists are not even allowed to describe the situation in Ukraine as a "war". So how will the latest crackdown on independent Russian media affect what people in the country see? And what does that mean for the future of this conflict?Guests: Ivan Kolpakov, Editor-in-Chief at Meduza; Olga Malchevska, Journalist at the BBC Ukrainian service; Professor Samuel Greene, Director of the Russia Institute at King’s College, London; Luke Harding, Senior International Correspondent at The Guardian; Roland Oliphant, Senior Foreign Correspondent at The Telegraph; Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor at Channel 4 News. Producer: Hannah SanderStudio Engineer: Tim HefferPresenter: Ros Atkins
02/03/22•28m 6s
The Tricky Question of Press Freedom
What are the limits of free media? The Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is calling on regulator Ofcom to consider action against Russian "propaganda" in the UK, shining a spotlight on TV channel RT. Elsewhere in the UK, the Supreme Court has stopped Bloomberg from publishing an investigation, on privacy grounds. Some have condemned this as threat to journalists’ ability to investigate. So when should a state or the law intervene in press freedom? Guests: Erika Solomon, Berlin Correspondent at the Financial Times; David Merritt, Senior Executive Editor at Bloomberg News; Hugh Tomlinson QC; Francis Scarr, BBC Monitoring journalist in Moscow; Chris Curtis, Editor-in-Chief at Broadcast Magazine.Studio engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Ros Atkins
23/02/22•27m 57s
John Witherow, Editor of The Times
How much power do our newspapers really have? John Witherow has been at the heart of Fleet Street for decades, He is one of the longest-serving national newspaper editors, first at the Sunday Times and now The Times, exposing cash for honours, abuse in Rotherham and corruption at Oxfam. But what role has his paper played in exposing the Partygate scandal that could bring down the Prime Minister? And what does this tell us about the relationship between the press and those running the country?Guest: John Witherow, Editor of The TimesProducers: Hannah Sander and Emily FinchPresenter: Katie Razzall
16/02/22•39m 33s
How digital sleuths changed journalism
Open-source investigators forensically analyse digital evidence - social media posts, eyewitness videos, satellite imagery - to find the truth behind news events. Their techniques are now increasingly used by investigative journalists to achieve big impact. An investigation by The New York Times into civilian deaths from air and drone strikes has resulted in a policy change by the US military. Also in the programme - in the west it's headlined as "the Ukraine crisis", but how is the situation being reported in Russian and Ukrainian media?Guests: Alexa Koenig, Executive Director, Human Rights Center, Haley Willis, Visual Investigations Reporter, The New York Times, Benjamin Strick, Investigations Director, Centre for Information Resilience, Alison Killing, Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting, and Francis Scarr, Senior Digital Journalist, BBC Monitoring in Moscow.Presenter: Katie RazzallStudio engineer: Tim HefferAssistant producer: Emily FinchEditor: Richard Hooper
09/02/22•28m 7s
Spotify's $100 million problem
One of the world's most popular podcasters has given Spotify a headache. Some critics and musicians claim that Joe Rogan is promoting COVID misinformation in his podcasts, which are exclusive to Spotify after a reported $100m deal in 2020. So how did Spotify - originally a music streaming service - become embroiled in a free speech debate? Also in the programme, BBC Three returns as a traditional TV channel, six years after the BBC decided it should be online only. Guests: Elizabeth Dwoskin, Silicon Valley Correspondent at the Washington Post; Jake Kanter Media Correspondent at The Times; Rosanna Pound-Woods, producer of The Catch Up on BBC Three; Batya Ungar-Sargon, Deputy Opinion Editor, Newsweek; Marianna Spring, BBC Disinformation ReporterStudio engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Ros Atkins
02/02/22•27m 50s
Face to face with the ISIS "Beatles"
A major trial will take place this year in the US. Elshafee El Sheikh is accused of being a member of the Islamic State group, and of being one of the notorious IS Beatles, so named by their hostages because of their British accents - and accused of torturing and beheading journalists and aid workers. ITV News’ Rohit Kachroo secured interviews with El Sheikh and another of these men before they were transferred to US custody. Those interviews are expected to form part of the trial. So what are the ethics of interviewing suspected members of a terrorist group? Is it ever OK to give what amounts to publicity to people accused of such serious crimes? And how do you even go about doing it? Guest: Rohit Kachroo, Global Security Editor at ITV News.Studio engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Katie Razzall(Picture credit: ITV News)
26/01/22•27m 53s
"Operation Red Meat"
The Prime Minister is under intense scrutiny, with political journalists reporting on backbencher unrest and a fiery PMQs. But is there really a government media strategy called "Operation Red Meat", using headline-grabbing policies to distract the media? Should we worry about the apparent cosy relationship between those in government setting these policies – and those in Fleet Street reporting on them? And amidst all this - what does the new BBC licence fee deal mean for the industry? Guests: Helen Lewis, staff writer at The Atlantic; Laura Hughes, political commentator at the Financial Times; Joey Jones, former spokesman for Theresa May, and former Deputy Political Editor at Sky News; Phil Riley, Chief Executive of Boom Radio.Studio engineer: Donald MacDonaldProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Katie Razzall
19/01/22•27m 55s
The Editor Planning to Shake Up News
A bold new media start-up plans to create from scratch a news provider that will rival the likes of CNN, the New York Times and the BBC. The people behind it are Justin Smith, boss of Bloomberg Media, and Ben Smith, former editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News and media columnist at the New York Times. And with those two at the helm, journalists around the world are paying attention...
But what does this new company tell us about the state of global journalism, the aftermath of the Trump years and declining trust in the news?Guest: Ben Smith, former editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed NewsStudio engineer: Duncan Hannant
Producer: Hannah Sander
Editor: Richard Hooper
Presenter: Ros Atkins
12/01/22•26m 33s
Did the storming of the Capitol damage US media?
A year on from the storming of the US Capitol and the media is still coming to terms with what happened. Some US news outlets have been accused of "obsessing over" the scenes on 6 January 2021. Others have condemned parts of the media for "normalising" the violence. So how can these divisions be healed? And in the week that several political figures were banned from Twitter, what role do the tech giants now play in our democracy?Guests: David Folkenflik, Media Correspondent at NPR; Robert Costa, Political Reporter at the Washington Post and co-author of Peril; Susan Ferrechio, Chief Congressional Correspondent at the Washington Examiner; Chris Stokel-Walker, tech journalist; Zing Tsjeng, Editor-in-Chief at Vice UK Studio engineer: Donald MacDonaldProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Ros Atkins
05/01/22•28m 10s
The Secret Life of the Continuity Announcer
Their voices resound in living rooms across the country, but how much do we really know about the people who talk between the programmes? From impeccable composure to a catchy turn of phrase, there’s a lot that goes into good continuity. So what does the future hold for this familiar feature of TV and radio – is it set to go the same way as teletext or the Red Button?Guests: Duncan Newmarch, announcer for BBC One and BBC Two; Andrea Fox, ITV announcer; Jeanna Gallagher, announcer for Channel 4 and Film 4; Jane Steel, announcer and newsreader for BBC Radio 4; David Allan, former announcer on BBC Television.Producer: Dan HardoonPresenter: Katie RazzallStudio engineer: John BolandEditor: Richard Hooper
29/12/21•40m 44s
Meet the Covid Influencers
Decisions about how we should behave at Christmas are heavily influenced by the media – from online Twitter threads and infographics to interviews with scientists and public health officials. As a result of the pandemic, certain scientists and journalists have themselves become well-known characters in the Covid story – but is it a role they welcome?Guests: Professor Neil Ferguson, epidemiologist and member of SAGE; Professor Christina Pagel, Director of UCL’s Clinical Operational Research Unit; Dr Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the World Health Organisation; John Burn-Murdoch, chief data reporter at Financial Times.
Producer: Dan Hardoon Presenter: Ros Atkins Studio engineer: Bob NettlesEditor: Richard Hooper
22/12/21•27m 56s
Jon Snow: A Lifetime in News
Jon Snow is the longest-running presenter of Channel 4 News and one of the most famous faces in broadcasting. Over the course of three decades, he has grilled every prime minister from Margaret Thatcher to Theresa May. He drew the iconic words ‘Let bygones be bygones’ from Nelson Mandela, shared a plane with Idi Amin, and reported on wars in Iran and crises in Vietnam.
But he has also been accused of being partisan, of having political views that were too obvious – and which undermine the network’s impartiality. And so, at a time when the future of Channel 4 is up for grabs, his words have come under unprecedented scrutiny. Studio engineer: Giles AspenProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Katie Razzall
15/12/21•27m 46s
Inside the No 10 Christmas party scoops
Was there a Christmas party in 10 Downing Street last year during lockdown? The Mirror received a tip-off from an anonymous source, alleging that a party took place. ITV News then secured footage of Downing Street aides joking about a party. How did the journalists involved get hold of these stories, and what did they do to "stand them up"? These two scoops dominated Prime Minister's Questions and every news bulletin. So what is the relationship between the government and the Lobby?Guests: Pippa Crerar, Political Editor at The Mirror; Paul Brand, UK Editor at ITV News; Kitty Donaldson, Political Editor at Bloomberg; Michael Crick, Political Correspondent at Mail Plus; Katie Perrior, former Director of Communications at 10 Downing Street.Studio engineer: Giles AspenProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Ros AtkinsEditor: Richard Hooper
08/12/21•28m 7s
Don't Shoot the Messenger
What is the relationship between journalists and their audiences? Reporters covering the Omicron variant say they’ve received abuse from people angry about the government’s response – and blaming the journalists. One newspaper group announced they’ve had to disable reader comments altogether on their coverage of the tragedy in the English Channel. So are the trolls making it impossible to have a healthy debate between reader and reporter? Plus, Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, is stepping away from the company. What are the big tasks facing new CEO Parag Agrawal?Guests: John Thornhill, Innovation Editor and Tech Columnist at the Financial Times; Rizwana Hamid, Director of the Centre for Media Monitoring; Isobel Asher Hamilton, Senior Tech Reporter at Insider; Ian Carter, Editorial Director at Iliffe Media; Rebecca Whittington, Online Safety Editor at Reach. Studio engineer; John BolandProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Katie Razzall
01/12/21•28m 7s
How a Political Story Cuts Through
A faltering speech by Boris Johnson has Westminster journalists in a spin. The government changed its stance on lobbying following attacks in the Daily Mail and other bits of the media. And a BBC interview with Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, has made headlines. But how much do political stories like these actually cut through with the public?Guests: Anushka Asthana, Deputy Political Editor at ITV News; Chris Williams, Business Editor at The Telegraph; Joe Twyman, Director at DeltaPoll; Steve Rosenberg, BBC Moscow Correspondent.Studio engineer: Nigel DixProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Ros Atkins
24/11/21•27m 58s
Nadine Dorries
Nadine Dorries was made Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in September. In this interview, her first sit-down discussion with the BBC since she started her role, Dorries speaks to Katie Razzall about arts and media in schools, cancel culture, social media harms, and the future of the BBC.
24/11/21•23m 21s
The Ethics of Reporting Terrorism
After Sunday’s attack in Liverpool, journalists are questioning the right way to report responsibly on these types of incident. When should the words "terror attack" be used on a front page? And is it morally wrong to "door-step" victims and members of the public caught up in an attack? Also in the programme, Sky in the UK have launched a new streaming service, Peacock, in the week that Netflix says it will double its studio space in the UK. Can the traditional TV giants claw back an audience from the likes of Netflix and Disney? Guests: Maria Breslin, Editor at the Liverpool Echo; Kamal Ahmed, Editor-in-Chief at The News Movement; Julia Alexander, Senior Strategy Analyst at Parrot Analytics; Simon Walker, Chief Executive at Marquee TV.Studio engineer: Nigel DixProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Katie Razzall
17/11/21•28m 9s
How 'British' is British TV?
The UK has become a production hub, with giant companies like Amazon and Netflix filming on our shores - and driving up the cost of shoots. But how easy is it to build up a thriving TV industry in a new part of the country? And faced with an influx of US programmes, should the government lay down legal requirements for ‘Britishness' on TV?Guests: Sarah Doole, Chief Executive of Red Production Company; Tony Wood, Chief Executive of Buccaneer Media; Sir Phil Redmond, creator of Grange Hill, Hollyoaks and Brookside; Chris Curtis, Editor of Broadcast.Studio engineer: Donald MacDonaldProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Ros Atkins
10/11/21•28m 7s
Who's been listening?
This has been a nervy week in the media world, as radio stations finally found out what happened to listening habits. Audience data was suspended during the pandemic and has only just returned. So what did the RAJARS (Radio Joint Audience Research) reveal about audiences? Who were the big winners and losers? And can broadcast radio stand up against the giants of Silicon Valley with their well funded podcast plans? Guests: Dick Stone, Chief Content Officer at Jack Media; Miranda Sawyer, Radio Critic at The Observer; Ashley Carman, Senior Reporter at The Verge and lead writer at Hot Pod; Matt Deegan, Creative Director at Folder Media.Studio engineer: Duncan HannantProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
04/11/21•27m 52s
What is the Metaverse?
It's been another tough week for Facebook, as the world's biggest news brands publish co-ordinated and critical stories, all based on whistle-blower Frances Haugen and her trove of documents. How did Haugen, a former Facebook Product Manager, come to have such strong media and PR support? Facing difficulties in the real-world, Facebook are investing heavily in alternative-reality. But what exactly is the "metaverse" - and how soon before we all live in it?Guests: Emily Birnbaum, Tech Lobbying Reporter at Politico; Madhumita Murgia, European Tech Correspondent at The Financial Times; Nicola Millard, Principal Innovation Partner at BT; Lauren Goode, Senior Writer at Wired.Studio engineer: Steve GreenwoodProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
27/10/21•28m 12s
Climate change and the challenge for media
Heat pumps, net zero, decarbonisation, the Paris agreement. With less than 2 weeks to go until Cop26, we’re being deluged with detail and jargon. But how much do you actually understand about climate change? Do you even know what COP actually stands for? (It’s Conference of the Parties if you don’t). Katie Razzall asks what role the media has in educating us about climate change. Maybe you feel hectored rather than informed? Or maybe you think the media isn’t going far enough; if we now face an existential crisis, should journalists dispense with the notion of objectivity and become activists in the fight to save the planet? Guests: Daniela Chiaretti, environment reporter at Brazil’s biggest financial newspaper Valor Econômico, Natasha Clark, environment correspondent for The Sun, Tom Chivers, science editor for UnHerd, and Wolfgang Blau, co-founder of the Oxford Climate Journalism Network.Presenter: Katie RazzallStudio engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Richard Hooper
20/10/21•28m 10s
Saudi Arabia's media ambition
The Saudi Arabian purchase of Newcastle football club has been a huge news story. But football isn't the only area of British public life in which the Saudis play a part. The Evening Standard and The Independent can both trace their ownership back to Saudi Arabia, while in the US, media giants including Disney and Netflix have large Saudi investments. But does this actually affect the journalism we read or the television we watch?
Also in the programme, the classic American music magazine Rolling Stone has launched in the UK. So why – when so many publications are shrinking – was this the right moment to launch? Guests: Vivienne Walt, correspondent at Fortune, Areeb Ullah, journalist at Middle East Eye, Sanam Vakil, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, Jim Waterson, Media Editor at The Guardian and Darren Styles, Managing Director of Rolling Stone UK.Studio engineer: Giles AspenProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Katie Razzall
13/10/21•27m 49s
Are the public interested in public interest news?
A global investigation and the largest leak of offshore data in history has produced the Pandora Papers. Journalists around the world have had front-page splashes on alleged corruption and money-laundering. Meanwhile in the US, a whistle-blowing former Facebook employee has appeared before Congress, accusing the company of harming democracy. And a piece in The New York Times seems to have brought down a wunderkind news organisation.But how interested are the public in these public interest stories? Is there a trick to keeping stories of this size at the top of the bulletins? And can public interest journalism still have an impact on the world?Guests: Juliette Garside, Deputy Business Editor at The Guardian; Margot Gibbs, Investigative Reporter at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists; Ben Smith, Media Columnist at The New York Times, Alexandra Suich Bass, Senior Columnist at The Economist.Studio engineer: Donald MacDonaldProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Rajan Datar(Picture credit: Facebook whistle-blower Frances Haugen speaks to the US Congress. Getty Images)
06/10/21•27m 7s
Politicians and the press
It’s party conference season. Political journalists are dashing around the country from fringe event to meeting room. Politicians beyond government are having their moment in the media spotlight. So how has Labour leader Keir Starmer handled the press attention? Does he have the same level of newspaper backing that Tony Blair or Boris Johnson could count on? Also in the programme, Netflix has revealed its most watched shows. How has a Korean horror-drama claimed top spot - and where is The Crown?Guests: Aaron Bastani, co-founder of Novara Media; Jane Merrick, Policy Editor at the i newspaper; Jack Peat, founder of The London Economic; Lara O'Reilly, Media Editor at Insider.Studio engineer: Donald MacDonaldProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Rajan Datar
29/09/21•28m 6s
Gary Lineker: presenter, influencer, campaigner
His TV audience is in the millions. His new game show launches soon on ITV. He has over 8 million followers on Twitter. And he wasn’t too bad at football either. So how did Gary Lineker become a media powerhouse? From Des Lynham's presenting tips to the effect of TV rights deals on football, Lineker tracks his transition from superstar player to Saturday night TV host. But does he ever worry his social media posts could damage the BBC's reputation for impartiality?Studio engineer: Sue MaillotProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Ros Atkins
21/09/21•57m 26s
Reporting Afghanistan
The world is waiting nervously to see what kind of Afghanistan emerges. A power struggle has broken out among Taliban leaders. But much of the Western media seems to have lost interest - right at the crucial moment. So what story are they missing? And why can't some Western news outlets deal with a story as complicated as Afghanistan?Guests: Clarissa Ward, Chief International Correspondent at CNN; Sana Safi, Journalist at BBC Pashtu; Alex Shephard, Staff Writer at The New Republic; Saad Mohseni, Chief Executive of Moby Group, including Tolo News; Secunder Kermani, BBC Pakistan and Afghanistan Correspondent.Studio engineer: Duncan HannantProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Ros Atkins
15/09/21•27m 56s
'TV has failed disabled people. Utterly and totally'
Jack Thorne is the acclaimed screenwriter behind episodes of His Dark Materials, Shameless and Skins. In this year's MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival he set out why he believes the industry has failed disabled people "utterly and totally". Ros Atkins and guests discuss. Also in the programme, David Elstein, former Channel 5 CEO, sets out his case for the privatisation of Channel 4.Guests: Jack Thorne, screenwriter, Bryony Arnold, Co-Director of Deaf & Disabled People in TV, Cherylee Houston, actor and founder of the Disabled Artists Networking Community, Deborah Williams, executive director of the Creative Diversity Network, and David Elstein, former Channel 5 CEO.Producer: Emma WallacePresenter: Ros Atkins
08/09/21•27m 53s
Making the news "less London"
To tell the story of the UK more fairly and more equitably there need to be more reporting voices outside London - that seems to be the journalistic mood of the moment. The BBC in March announced plans to shift focus from the capital in a “commitment to better reflect, represent, and serve all parts of the country". When GB News launched, it promised to “reach out to non-metropolitan audiences beyond London and engage them in our national conversation". So what does it mean to have a "non-metropolitan" bias?Guests: Lorna Willis, CEO of Archant, Nick Mitchell, Editor of NationalWorld, Ifan Morgan Jones, founder of Nation.Cymru, and Shazia Ali, The People’s NewsroomProducer: Emma WallacePresenter: Julian Worricker
01/09/21•27m 57s
The Great British Nostalgia Trip
Welcome to the era of the reboot. Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen doing up people’s living rooms, Ruby Wax interviewing Hollywood stars. New versions of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Blankety Blank, Sex and the City. So why are there so many rebooted formats? Is it because the 90s and 00s were the real golden age of TV after all? Or is competition for viewers now so fierce that commissioners need trusted hits from yesteryear? Guests: Ruby Wax, broadcaster and writer; Clive Tulloh, Executive Producer of When Ruby Wax Met..., Layla Smith, Head of Objective Media Group; Mark Sammon, Executive Producer of Changing Rooms.Studio engineer: Nigel DixProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Julian Worricker
25/08/21•28m 5s
How to earn a living on social media
Social media platforms earn a fortune from our unpaid labour. Users share pictures on Instagram, tell stories on Twitter, and offer up their music on YouTube - all for free. But have the tables now turned? Patreon offers fans the ability to pay their favourite artists and writers directly. TikTok and Facebook have started offering cash to the most popular "creators". So what is the Creator Economy - and who is policing this online world? Guests: Sam Yam, co-founder of Patreon; Kaya Yurieff, tech reporter at The Information; Beckii Flint, YouTube influencer and founder of Pepper Studio, a social media marketing agency; Chris Stokel-Walker, author of TikTok Boom: China’s Dynamite App and the Superpower Race for Social Media; Kaf Okpattah, reporter at BBC Panorama.Studio engineer: Giles AspenProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Julian Worricker
18/08/21•27m 58s
Reporting on the ground in China
How hard is it to report on the ground in China? Journalists covering the recent floods found their presence was not always welcome. Major titles - including the New York Times - now have their China correspondents based outside the country. And Steve Vines, The Observer’s man in Hong Kong since the 1980s, said this week that it was no longer “safe” for him to be there. So what is the situation for journalists in China – and for those trying to cover the country from afar?Guests: Amy Qin, China correspondent for the New York Times; Sha Hua, China correspondent for the Wall Street Journal; Steve Vines, former China correspondent for The Observer; Cédric Alviani, East Asia Bureau head for Reporters without Borders; Meera Selva, Deputy Director of the Reuters Institute.Studio engineer: Donald MacDonaldProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Julian Worricker
11/08/21•27m 57s
Deborah Turness, boss of ITN
ITN News is part of the iconography of British television news. But who watches bulletins these days? Younger audiences are moving online for their fix of news. Some older demographics are attracted to more partisan, opinionated platforms, such as GB News. And politicians have openly disparaged the so-called “mainstream media.” How can ITV’s News at Ten and Channel 4 News win audiences back - and regain our trust?Studio engineer: Nigel DixProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Clive Myrie
04/08/21•27m 26s
Sports broadcasters fight for our attention
This is a packed summer of sport, from the Olympics and the Euros, to a new cricket competition called The Hundred on primetime BBC. But in the age of infinite choice, how can broadcasters make live sport more attractive than TikTok, Fortnite or the latest Netflix drama? And has the amount of money TV companies are prepared to pay for sport fallen during the pandemic? Guests: Andrew Georgiou, President of Sports at Discovery; Sanjay Patel, Managing Director of The Hundred for the England and Wales Cricket Board; Bryan Henderson, Director of Cricket at Sky Sports; Minal Modha, Sports Analyst at Ampere Analysis.Studio engineer: Bob NettlesProducer: Hannah Sander
Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
28/07/21•28m 4s
Inside The Pegasus Project
A group of news outlets from countries around the world have banded together to expose the alleged use of a phone hacking tool to spy on leading journalists, politicians and human rights activists. How do you pull off a series of global scoops like this? Also in the programme, the role professional fact checkers now play in journalism.Guests: Laurent Richard, Founder of Forbidden Stories, Paul Lewis, Head of Investigations at The Guardian, Claire Milne, Acting Editor of Full Fact, and Ian Birrell, Contributing Editor of The Mail on Sunday
21/07/21•28m 8s
Why can't social media companies stop online abuse?
Footballers are being racially abused on social media. Why can't social media companies stop this from happening? An investigation by two New York Times journalists says Facebook's approach to moderation reflects a culture within the company. But social media also gives footballers a platform for campaigning - and even lets them shape their own public image.Guests: Henry Winter, Chief Football Writer at The Times; Joey D'Urso, Investigations Writer at The Athletic; Mayowa Quadri, freelance football writer and broadcaster; Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang, New York Times journalists and authors of The Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle For Domination.Studio engineer: Giles AspenProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Andrea Catherwood
14/07/21•28m 4s
The unstoppable rise of TikTok
TikTok had a fantastic pandemic, stacking up over 800 million users. Hollywood studios are casting TikTok stars. Record labels are snapping up TikTok singers. Facebook and YouTube have both launched rival services. But the Chinese app is facing the same issues with disinformation and moderation as the Silicon Valley giants - and has become embroiled in geopolitics. What's next for this upstart?Guests: Richard Waterworth, TikTok's General Manager, UK and Europe; Rhiannon Williams, Tech Correspondent at The i Paper; Liza Lin, China Tech Reporter at the Wall Street Journal.Studio engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
07/07/21•28m 22s
The tabloids claim a scalp
A scoop in The Sun forced health secretary Matt Hancock to resign. But how did The Sun come to have this explosive story, and what did they do with it once it landed on their desk? The pandemic has helped the British press regain its influence. Tabloids have launched charities and campaigned for people to get jabbed. So what role does the press play in public life - and do papers still have the power they once did?Guests: Victoria Newton, Editor-in-Chief of The Sun and Sun on Sunday; Tobyn Andreae, Deputy Editor of The Daily Mail; Emily Sheffield, Editor of The Evening Standard.Studio engineer: Duncan HannantProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Clive Myrie
30/06/21•27m 54s
Channel 4 facing privatisation?
The government has launched a consultation on the future of Channel 4 and privatisation is being considered. But what could that mean in practice? Would the channel see an influx of private cash, helping it compete with the streaming giants? Or would British TV suffer, with documentaries edged out by mass market gameshows? Also in the programme, the world of entertainment TV has been shaken up with the arrival of The Masked Singer. Are "guessing shows" here to stay?Guests: Alex Mahon, Chief Executive of Channel 4; Derek McLean, Managing Director of Bandicoot TV; Danielle Lux, Managing Director of CPL Productions; and Chris Curtis, Editor-in-Chief of Broadcast.Studio engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Olly Mann
23/06/21•28m 7s
Reporting when there's no journalist in the room
The world’s biggest leaders have been face-to-face in a series of meetings. But as always, nobody from the press was allowed in the room. So how easy is it for journalists to sort the fact from the spin? And do the politicians even want them there – unless it’s to snap them posing grandly on the beach?Guests: Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic Editor at The Guardian; Steven Erlanger, Chief Diplomatic Correspondent at The New York Times; Rym Momtaz, Senior France Correspondent at Politico; Naomi O'Leary, Europe Correspondent at The Irish Times; Tom Wainwright, Media Editor at The Economist.Studio engineer: Emma HarthProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
16/06/21•27m 44s
Radio takes on the tech giants
One of the UK’s commercial radio groups is launching ad-free versions of their stations for a monthly fee. Is this radio’s secret weapon to defeat Spotify and the streaming services? Or should more presenters follow Iain Lee's lead and swap network radio for digital platforms? Plus, an Ofcom report shows the new dominance of TikTok and the music streaming platforms.Guests: Paul Keenan, President of Audio at Bauer; Iain Lee and Katherine Boyle, presenters of The Late Night Alternative; Yih-Choung Teh, Strategy and Research Director at Ofcom; Madhumita Murgia, European Tech Correspondent at the Financial Times.Studio engineer: Giles AspenProducer: Hannah Sander Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
09/06/21•27m 49s
A crisis for war reporting?
The role of foreign reporter is one of the most glamourous in journalism. But with international correspondents stuck at home during the pandemic, and editors looking to save money, foreign reporting now faces an existential crisis. What would we lose if our perspective on the world didn't come from our own correspondent? Guests: John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor; Sebastian Walker, Vice News Washington DC Bureau Chief; Christina Lamb, Sunday Times Chief Foreign Correspondent; Arwa Damon, CNN Senior International Correspondent.Studio engineer: Duncan HannantProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
02/06/21•27m 49s
What next for the BBC after the Bashir scandal?
The BBC is facing intense scrutiny. Last week’s Dyson Report revealed multiple lies and deception by Martin Bashir - to secure his famous interview with Diana, Princess of Wales in 1995. Now, questions are being asked about the BBC’s entire governance. So what could actually be done? Are we about to see fundamental change at the BBC? And will this scandal bring about a reckoning for the whole industry? Guests: Richard Tait, professor of journalism at Cardiff University and former editor of ITN; Dorothy Byrne, former Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4; David Yelland, former editor of The Sun and founder of Kitchen Table Partners; John Ware, investigative reporter; Jane Martinson, professor of journalism at City.Studio engineer: Emma HarthProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Mobeen Azhar
26/05/21•27m 34s
Israel-Gaza conflict rages online
The Israel-Gaza conflict is a local clash playing out on the global stage, with social media a weapon of war for both sides. But how did TikTok tutorials, Instagram infographics and Twitter posts become influential news sources for millions? Also in the programme, The Week Junior is one of the UK's fastest growing magazines. Are children much more how interested in the news than we expect?Guests: Gabriel Weimann, Professor of Communication at Haifa University; Rayhan Uddin, journalist at Middle East Eye; Sara Hirschhorn, Visiting Assistant Professor of Israel Studies at Northwestern University; Chris Stokel-Walker, journalist; Anna Bassi, Editorial Director at The Week Junior.Producer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Mobeen Azhar
19/05/21•27m 48s
Riding the news cycle
The elections are over and the results are in - but a giant inflatable Boris Johnson has captured much of the press attention. So how does our new cycle work? Who gets to decide what stories make the front page, and how much control do politicians have over their depictions in the press? Plus, the 'news wire' agency Reuters provides photos, breaking news lines and copy to much of the world's press. How do they help to keep the news cycle spinning?Guests: Michael Friedenberg, President of Reuters News; Thomas Cock, Digital Editor of Bristol Live; Catriona Stewart, Chief Reporter at the Glasgow Times; Stephen Bush, Political Editor at the New Statesman; Katy Balls, Deputy Political Editor at the Spectator. Studio engineer: Giles AspenProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Mobeen Azhar
12/05/21•27m 34s
Decline of the Editor
In his final edition as presenter of The Media Show, Amol Rajan looks at the challenges ahead for journalism. With help from leading journalists, Amol argues that this is a golden age of media - but a dark age for news. Readers increasingly don't trust what they see in newspapers. Journalists criticise each other in public. And editors have seen much of their power shift to Silicon Valley, where algorithms now decide what people see. What can the media do to fix itself?Contributors: James Mitchinson, Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post editorial director; Dorothy Byrne, Channel 4 editor-at-large; Kath Viner, Guardian editor; Helen Lewis, journalist; Piers Morgan, journalist; Andrew Neil, GB News chairman; Brian Stelter, CNN correspondent; Susan Ferrechio, Washington Examiner correspondent; Dean Baquet, New York Times executive editor; the late Sir Harry Evans, former Sunday Times editor; Steve Huffman, Reddit chief executive.Studio engineer: Giles AspenProducer: Hannah Sander
05/05/21•27m 31s
Podcasts go premium
Amazon-owned Wondery are launching their first British podcast, while Apple and Spotify are moving some of their most popular podcasts behind a subscription paywall. What impact will this have on the world of podcasts - and should British podcasters worry about the dominance of a few US players?Guests: Declan Moore, Head of International at Wondery, part of Amazon; Caroline Crampton, journalist and host of Shedunnit; Imriel Morgan, Chief Executive of Content is Queen; Matt Deegan, Creative Director at Folder Media.Studio engineer: Giles AspenProducer: Hannah Sander
28/04/21•28m 13s
Roula Khalaf, editor of The Financial Times
The biggest political story of the year - David Cameron's involvement with the failed financial company Greensill - began as a scoop in The Financial Times. The newspaper has gained a reputation lately for its long-form investigations into poverty, deprivation and capitalist excess. But is there something inherently odd about the stockbroker's paper of choice taking on crusading topics? And how hard is it to take over the editorship of a newspaper already in rude health?Guest: Roula Khalaf, editor of The Financial Times.Studio engineer: Duncan HannantProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Amol Rajan
21/04/21•32m 24s
Threats to journalists in Northern Ireland
A cameraman has been assaulted while covering scenes of violence in Northern Ireland. Other journalists have faced death threats. So what is the best way to cover this volatile political story - and have London-based reporters been slow to pay attention? Plus, French media giant Banijay sells many of the UK's favourite TV programmes, from Masterchef to Peaky Blinders. What is their role in determining the shows we watch?Guests: Suzanne Breen, Political Editor at the Belfast Telegraph; Noel Doran, Editor of the Irish News; Marianna Spring, BBC's Disinformation Reporter; Cathy Payne, CEO of Banijay Rights.Studio engineer: Donald McDonaldProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Joe Tidy
14/04/21•28m 14s
Reddit and the anti-establishment
Steve Huffman is co-founder and CEO of Reddit, the website that bills itself as "the front page of the internet". In this extended interview, Huffman tells Amol Rajan about his "pathological dedication" to Reddit's policy on free speech and moderation, why Reddit has always had an "anti-establishment edge", and his own mission "to fulfil the promise of the Internet". Earlier this year, Reddit hit the headlines after a community of amateur stock market traders set out to inflict losses on hedge funds that had bet against GameStop, an unfashionable US retailer.Producer: Hannah SanderStudio engineer: Duncan Hannant
31/03/21•31m 10s
Fighting the Covid infodemic
As the UK marks one year since the start of the first lockdown, Amol joins the BBC World Service programme World Questions to take questions from listeners around the globe. His expert panel assesses how well the media has covered the pandemic and whether fake news and misinformation has influenced public behaviour.Guests: Nick Pickles, Senior Director of Public Policy Strategy and Development at Twitter, Zeynep Tufekci, sociologist and writer, Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat, and Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the World Health OrganisationProducers: Helen Towner and Charlie TaylorStudio Engineers: Ronan Loftus and Duncan HannantThis edition of The Media Show is an edited version of the BBC World Service programme, World Questions, first broadcast on 24 March 2021.
24/03/21•27m 8s
The truth about investigations
Amol Rajan on the mechanics of investigative journalism: the nuts, bolts, fear, loathing and legal letters of being a proper investigative hack. But how easy is it to cultivate sources in a pandemic? And is the government changing the way it handles freedom of information requests?Guests: Rachel Oldroyd, Managing Editor and CEO of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism; Jennifer Williams, Politics and Investigations Editor for the Manchester Evening News; George Arbuthnott, Deputy Editor of The Sunday Times Insight investigations team; Marty Baron, former Editor of The Washington Post.Studio engineer: Donald McDonaldProducer: Hannah Sander
17/03/21•27m 6s
"There's no democracy without a strong, free press"
As he steps down as editor of the Washington Post, Marty Baron reflects on his tenure. When he joined the paper in 2012, it was a moderately profitable local newspaper. He leaves The Post as a global brand, with ten Pulitzer Prizes under his editorship and a new owner in Jeff Bezos.Studio engineer: Donald MacDonaldPresenter: Amol RajanProducer: Hannah Sander
17/03/21•40m 0s
Andrew Neil: a 50-year media career
The chairman of GB News, which launches later this year, tells Amol Rajan about editing The Sunday Times, launching Sky TV and publishing The Spectator.
12/03/21•1h 28m
Meghan and Harry on Oprah: the media fallout
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's interview with Oprah Winfrey delivered record ratings for ITV: at its peak, 12.4m viewers were watching, the broadcaster's biggest audience since the 2019 Rugby World Cup final. But it's also resulted in ITV's star journalist, Piers Morgan, resigning after he refused to apologise for his criticism of the couple on Good Morning Britain. What does Morgan's departure say about the future of highly-opinionated journalism in British media?Guests: Andrew Neil, chairman of GB News, Professor Jane Martinson, City University, Benjamin Cohen, CEO PinkNews, and Scott Bryan, TV criticPresenter: Amol RajanProducer: Hannah Sander
10/03/21•27m 1s
Is the UK media obsessed with Westminster?
There’s an almighty ruckus going on in Holyrood, but London-based media seem to be finding the story difficult to follow. Is the UK media too focused on Westminster to cover politics properly? Plus BBC Three is returning to televisions as a broadcast channel, six years after it lost the spot. But is this a clever ploy to win back younger viewers – or an anxious attempt to compete with the streaming giants? Guests: Callum Baird, editor of The National; Frank O'Donnell, editor of Aberdeen Journals Ltd; Lara O'Reilly, Media Editor at Insider; Teddy Nygh, co-founder of Fully Focused Productions; Stuart Murphy, chief executive of the English National Opera and former controller of BBC Three.Studio engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Amol Rajan
03/03/21•27m 20s
Squaring up to the tech giants
A spat between the Australian government and Facebook resulted in the Silicon Valley giant blocking every news organisation from their platform in Australia. But what does this display of might from Facebook mean for other countries preparing to take on Big Tech? Plus the boss of new station Boom Radio on whether niche, age-based services are the future of radio.Guests: Latika Bourke, journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald; Dr Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority; David Lloyd, head of Boom Radio; Gillian Reynolds, radio critic at the Sunday Times.Studio engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Amol Rajan
24/02/21•27m 9s
Andrea Coscelli, the watchdog taking on the tech giants
Andrea Coscelli, the chief executive of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, tells the BBC that tech giants Google and Facebook have too great a share of the UK online advertising market and that regulation is needed. In this extended interview with Amol Rajan, Dr Coscelli also gives his response to Facebook's recent behaviour in Australia after a new law was proposed which would force tech companies to pay publishers for news.In response to this interview, Facebook said it faces "significant competition" online from rival firms and that "it’s always been our intention to support journalism in Australia and around the world, and we’ll continue to invest in news globally and resist efforts by media conglomerates to advance regulatory frameworks that do not take account of the true value exchange between publishers and platforms like Facebook". Google has also been approached for comment by the BBC.Producer for BBC News: Elizabeth Needham-Bennett
Producer for The Media Show: Hannah Sander
23/02/21•52m 55s
How ITV News reported first-hand on the storming of Congress
The second impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump has dominated the news. Much of the trial focused on events at the Capitol buildings on January 6th. For several hours that day, only one TV crew was inside with the rioters. Producer Sophie Alexander and correspondent Robert Moore from ITV News tell Amol Rajan how they came to be alongside the Trump supporters - and how they came out unhurt.Guests: Sophie Alexander, producer, and Robert Moore, correspondent, ITV News.Producer: Hannah Sander
12/02/21•41m 23s
Carolyn McCall, boss of ITV
Dame Carolyn McCall, the chief executive of ITV, on the crucial role played by public service broadcasters and the "urgent" need for government protection. She tells Amol Rajan why she welcomes the arrival of GB News, and explains the decision to take the Jeremy Kyle Show off-air. Plus Poirot, Love Island and the return of Britain's Got Talent.Studio engineer: Sarah HockleyProducer: Hannah Sander
10/02/21•55m 24s
Discovery on their shift to streaming
American streaming services dominate our viewing, even though many of their programmes are British-made. Discovery International's CEO tells Amol Rajan why streaming is now such a vital part of their strategy. Plus executive producer and director Julie Anne Robinson on making Netflix's Bridgerton, an American version of a British period drama devised by Hollywood "super-producer" Shonda Rhimes.Guests: JB Perrette, Discovery International president and CEO; Julie Anne Robinson, executive producer and director, Bridgerton; Manori Ravindran, International Editor at Variety.Studio engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah Sander
03/02/21•27m 13s
"We're never doing an anti-immigrant story again"
Daily Express editor Gary Jones is Labour-voting, backed Remain, and wants his paper to reflect multicultural Britain. He tells Amol Rajan how he effected a complete change of direction at the tabloid, once known for its dodgy weather forecasts and anti-immigrant stance. Plus, why he gave Prime Minister Boris Johnson a beanie hat - and working at the News of the World under a young Piers Morgan.Guest: Gary Jones, Editor-in-Chief at the Daily Express.Studio engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah Sander
27/01/21•48m 56s
Reporting the war on coronavirus
If we are "at war" with coronavirus, where do journalists find the frontline? Or are more distanced, factual pieces better at keeping people informed? Also in the programme, as Joe Biden becomes US President, what does that mean for free speech, combative news stations and the tech platforms?Guests: Laura Donnelly, Health Editor at The Telegraph; Sarah Boseley, Health Editor at The Guardian; Clive Myrie, BBC presenter and foreign correspondent; Glenn Greenwald, author and journalist.Studio engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Amol Rajan
20/01/21•27m 15s
Free Speech vs the Internet
In the past week, President Trump has been deleted from Twitter, and suspended from Facebook - and now YouTube. Parler, a free speech network, has been forced offline after first Google and Apple, then Amazon, refused to host it. Is this grand de-platforming of Trump and his supporters the right thing to do? And if so, who should have the power to control how we speak online?Guests: Amy Peikoff, Chief Policy Officer at Parler; Glenn Greenwald, author and journalist; Danielle Citron, professor of law at University of Virginia, Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan, Europe Tech Correspondent at the Financial Times; Robert Moore, ITV News Washington Correspondent; Sophie Alexander, ITV News Washington Producer.Studio Engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Amol Rajan
13/01/21•26m 41s
How video games became the lockdown playground
Schools are shut across the UK and screens are the only route children have to teachers. So which bits of the media are stepping up to keep kids informed and entertained? Plus the launch of The Oldham Times, a new daily print newspaper; and we drill down into why YouTube banned - and later reinstated - TalkRadio.Guests: Lydia Winters, Chief Storyteller at Mojang, makers of Minecraft; David Statter, Adopt Me!, Chris Stokel-Walker, author of YouTubers; Marianna Spring, BBC Disinformation Reporter; Steve Thompson, editor of The Oldham Times; Jodi Birkett, technology, media and telecommunications partner at DeloitteStudio engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Joe Tidy
06/01/21•26m 48s
Jane Tranter, super-producer
Jane Tranter is the super-producer behind shows like His Dark Materials, Succession, and the Emmy Award winning The Night Of. As co-founder of Bad Wolf, the Cardiff based production company, she has been credited with revitalising the Welsh TV industry. In this big interview, Jane Tranter discusses her career and gives the story behind some of her biggest hits.Studio Engineer: Donald MacDonaldPresenter: Amol RajanProducer: Hannah Sander
30/12/20•27m 36s
Johnny Depp and the libel trial of the century
It’s been a big year for media lawyers. There's been the Johnny Depp libel trial, Harry and Meghan suing The Mail on Sunday, and the newsroom drama over Barnard Castle. Amol Rajan reunites the lawyers from both sides of the Depp case to debate press behaviour. Also in the programme, the backstory to the Mail's famous front page demanding justice for Stephen Lawrence, and how The Guardian came to trust Julian Assange as a source.Guests: Jenny Afia, Partner at Schillings; Louis Charalambous, head of the Media Content and Disputes Team at Simons Muirhead & Burton; Gill Phillips, Director of Editorial Legal Services for The Guardian; Eddie Young, former legal adviser to Associated Newspapers and contributor to Mail+ podcast The Murder That Shamed Britain.Producer: Hannah Sander
23/12/20•49m 35s
Who's winning in sports media?
This is a bumper week for sports media. New rights deals are up for grabs, while a packed football calendar means logistical headaches for broadcasters. So why might Amazon want to get involved? And the traditional media on how they - and the freelancers who work for them - adapted to months without live sport.Guests: Alex Green, Sport MD for Amazon Prime Video; Kathryn Anastasi, Head of Live Sport at talkSPORT; Daniel Storey, freelance sports writer and broadcaster; Minal Modha, Consumer Lead at Ampere Analysis.Studio Engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Amol Rajan
16/12/20•28m 14s
British TV and the threat from tech
This week Ofcom, the media regulator, warned that traditional broadcasting is "at risk" without "radical shake-up". But at risk of what, and what kind of shake-up does the regulator have in mind? Meanwhile, Ofcom is about to take on the massive task of regulating “online harm”, including social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram. But is a British regulator really able to police the internet? In her first major interview, Melanie Dawes, the new CEO of Ofcom, explains her strategy to Amol Rajan.Producer: Hannah Sander
09/12/20•27m 56s
Reporting the vaccine
The UK has approved a coronavirus vaccine and will start rolling it out. But what role does the media play in reporting the science, and perhaps even encouraging readers to take up the vaccine? Also in the programme, the government has announced a new Digital Markets Unit, a regulator of sorts that will look at Facebook and Google.Guests: Fiona Godlee, editor of the British Medical Journal, Laura Collins, editor of the Yorkshire Evening Post, Felicity Cross, deputy news editor of the Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday, and Philip Marsden, professor of law at the College of Europe.Studio engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah Sander
02/12/20•28m 5s
A Queen of Advertising
This has been an exceptionally difficult year for advertisers. With shops closed and holidays cancelled, many advertisers saw their revenues drop. Amol Rajan speaks to Annette King, UK boss of Publicis Groupe, the ad giant that includes Saatchi & Saatchi. Even before the pandemic her industry faced enormous structural threats, including the dominance of Facebook and Google in the ad market.This programme includes clips from the British Airways 'Face' advert (1989) directed by Hugh Hudson, and McDonald's 'McDelivery' advert (2020) directed by Los Perez.Studio Engineer: John Boland
Producer: Hannah Sander
25/11/20•26m 52s
A new era for media
Are we witnessing a shift in the balance of media power? The Labour party says emergency laws are needed to make social networks "criminally responsible" for anti-vaccine content their users post. Meanwhile, over in the US both Republicans and Democrats are vowing to change the way the likes of Twitter and Facebook are regulated. And could it also represent the birth of an alternative media? Donald Trump is rumoured to be plotting a new channel to rival Fox News.Guests: Amélie Pia Heldt, Leibniz-Institute for Media Research, Tom Wainwright, The Economist media editor, Shayan Sardarizadeh, BBC Monitoring disinformation journalist, and Mathew Ingram, Chief Digital Writer at Columbia Journalism ReviewPresenter: Joe TidyProducer: Richard Hooper
18/11/20•27m 54s
John Whittingdale's media agenda
As Minister for Media and Data, John Whittingdale has the power to significantly change the media landscape in the UK over the next few years.Should Channel 4 be privatised? Do we still need the licence fee? Is there enough competition in radio? In this extended interview recorded at the Radio Academy Festival, John Whittingdale answers these big questions, sets out his vision for public service broadcasting and discusses the influence overseas tech companies now have in British media.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
11/11/20•50m 29s
Diana, Panorama and a BBC apology
Princess Diana's brother has called for an inquiry into the circumstances of his sister's historic Panorama interview. Charles Spencer alleges BBC reporter Martin Bashir used "sheer dishonesty" to secure the interview. The corporation said its investigation was "hampered at the moment" by the fact that Bashir was "seriously unwell" with complications from Covid-19. Amol Rajan discusses the allegations with BBC Royal correspondent, Jonny Dymond.Also in the programme, why Substack has become one of the hottest brands in media, and a libel case loss for Johnny Depp.Guests: Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack, Vivian Schiller, executive director at the Aspen Institute, Persephone Bridgman Baker, senior associate at Carter Ruck, and Jonny Dymond, BBC Royal correspondent.Presenter: Amol RajanProducer: Richard Hooper
04/11/20•28m 7s
'If you're not breaking stories, you're nothing'
Alison Phillips is editor-in-chief of The Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People. In this extended interview, Phillips discusses her strategy for the papers during the pandemic, how the Mirror worked with The Guardian on their Dominic Cummings lockdown scoop, and whether she considers the title to be a socialist paper.Presenter: Amol RajanProducer: Richard Hooper
28/10/20•58m 10s
As America decides, Big Tech weighs in
Facebook and Twitter have been accused of censorship after they suppressed a story by the New York Post about Joe Biden's son, Hunter. The social media companies said the story breached their policy on misinformation and questioned the source of the allegations. Amol Rajan asks what the incident says about the power of the tech platforms, journalism ethics, and election strategy in the US.Guests: Brian Stelter, CNN anchor and author of Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth; Susan Ferrechio, Washington Examiner chief congressional correspondent; Sara Fischer, Axios media reporter; and Toni Cowan-Brown, podcaster and authorProducer: Natalia Fernandez
Studio engineer: Giles Aspen
21/10/20•28m 2s
The economics of outrage
A global pandemic, the US election, Brexit negotiations, climate change - the news has never been busier, but how good a job are journalists doing at making sense of everything? Or have some journalists had their brains hijacked by social media opinion?Presenter: Amol RajanGuests: Helen Lewis, staff writer at The Atlantic and former deputy editor of the New Statesman and Piers Morgan, journalist and author of Wake Up.Producer: Richard Hooper
14/10/20•27m 12s
YouTube and the reinvention of television
In this wide-ranging and exclusive interview, Ben McOwen Wilson, Managing Director of YouTube in the UK, reveals new trends seen during lockdown, how British creators became integral to their business, and why YouTube is heading for the living room.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard HooperPhoto credit: TOGETHER WE RISE: The Uncompromised story of GRM Daily, a YouTube Originals series
07/10/20•49m 33s
How conspiracy theories hijacked the news
Ahead of the first US presidential debate, right-wing commentators and Donald Trump's own campaign team, speculated that Joe Biden was using a hidden earpiece. Amol Rajan asks how conspiracy theories that previously only existed on the fringes of the internet now regularly cross over into mainstream media.Guests: Angie Drobnic Holan, editor in chief of PolitiFact, Professor Nancy L. Rosenblum, co-author of A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy, Mike Thompson, chief content director at WOSU in Ohio, and Marianna Spring, BBC reporter.Producer: Richard Hooper
30/09/20•28m 6s
Bake Off rises out of lockdown
Ian Katz, Channel 4’s director of programmes, explains how the new series of The Great British Bake Off made it to air, and discusses the wider questions for public service broadcasters during the pandemic. Also in the programme, why the FinCEN Files are a landmark for investigative journalism, and official recognition of “charitable journalism” in the UK.Guests: Ian Katz, Director of Programmes at Channel 4, Azeen Ghorayshi, science editor at BuzzFeed News, and Jonathan Heawood, executive director of the Public Interest News FoundationPresenter: Amol RajanProducer: Richard HooperStudio engineer: Donald MacDonald
23/09/20•28m 27s
The demographics of news
New research from Women in Journalism suggests that the UK's newsrooms are far from representative of society, with front page bylines and the airwaves dominated by white men. Amol Rajan looks at the data and how niche digital-only outlets are providing new job opportunities and attracting advertisers. Also in the programme, ten years of The i newspaper and a change in leadership at gal-dem.Guests: Eleanor Mills, chair of Women in Journalism, Oly Duff, editor of The i, and Liv Little, founder of gal-dem.Producer: Richard Hooper
Studio engineer: Giles Aspen
16/09/20•28m 9s
How Spotify reached No. 1
Spotify is the UK's most popular digital music service, according to estimates. In this special edition of The Media Show, Amol Rajan looks at the company's strategy so far and meets Tom Connaughton, Spotify's managing director in the UK.Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant producer: Natalia Fernandez
09/09/20•27m 32s
Charming the old Gray Lady
Under the leadership of Mark Thompson, the fortunes of The New York Times have been transformed. With over 6 million paying subscribers, "the Gray Lady" has become one of the most successful brands in journalism, expanding into podcasts and TV production. In this extended interview as he steps down as CEO, Mark Thompson discusses his strategy for the newspaper, reveals how he dealt with the tech giants, and gives his views on the future of the BBC and Channel 4.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
Studio engineer: Giles AspenPhoto credit: Jake Chessum
02/09/20•59m 14s
Tony Hall's Exit Interview
Tony Hall, the 16th Director-General of the BBC, on the crises and successes of his time in charge. In this extended interview, Hall considers editorial controversies, the rise of the tech giants in the UK television market, and government hostility towards the BBC.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
26/08/20•1h 5m
Our love-hate relationship with the tech giants
The tech giants receive a lot of bad press, have been accused of operating monopolies, and are even seen as security risks. So what attracts the billions of people who use TikTok, Facebook or Apple every day - often with huge enthusiasm? Plus Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, embarks on a public battle with Apple. And is Facebook too big to fail?Panel: Richard Waterworth, TikTok’s General Manager for the UK & Europe; Laura Edwards, TikTok star; Shona Ghosh, Senior Tech Editor for Business Insider; Oliver Baker, co-founder of Intelivita; Nikita Aggarwal from the Oxford Internet Institute. Presenter: Joe Tidy
Studio engineer: Nigel Dix
Producer: Hannah Sander(Picture credit: Laura Edwards)
19/08/20•38m 58s
June Sarpong: What is diversity?
In the wake of MeToo and the Black Lives Matter movement, the media world has been looking hard at who it portrays and how. The BBC created the position 'Director of Creative Diversity' to change minority representation. But how much change is needed - and who has to make way for these new, more diverse appointments?Panel: June Sarpong, BBC's Director of Creative Diversity; and Matthew Syed, Sunday Times columnist and author of Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Studio engineer: Giles Aspen
Producer: Hannah Sander
12/08/20•27m 59s
Succession and shakedown for Murdoch and TikTok
Intrigue and drama at two of the world’s most talked about media companies; James Murdoch has resigned from the family firm, and TikTok faces an ultimatum from President Trump. Also in the show, a new Ofcom report on media viewing trends during the lockdown, and how Condé Nast Traveller and Sunset + Vine have responded to the pandemic.Panel: Melinda Stevens, editor in chief at Condé Nast Traveller, Jeff Foulser, Executive Chairman of Sunset and Vine, Chris Williams, The Sunday Telegraph's business editor, and Yih-Choung Teh, Strategy and Research Group Director at OfcomPresenter: Amol Rajan
Studio engineer: Duncan Hannant
Producer: Richard Hooper
05/08/20•28m 7s
Whose truth is it anyway?
Amol Rajan on the thorny questions of free speech, impartiality and truth in newsrooms. Guests: Tom Rosenstiel, Executive Director of the American Press Institute; Rachel Corp, Editor of ITV News; Andrew Neil, Chairman of The Spectator; Nesrine Malik, columnist at The Guardian.Studio engineer: Giles Aspden
Producer: Hannah Sander(Photo: Jo Holland / BBC)
29/07/20•28m 10s
David vs Goliath
Amol Rajan on the TV channels and online services that have carved out a niche for themselves – away from the big broadcasters. Guests: Robert Llewellyn, CEO of Fully Charged, Sarah Cronin-Stanley, Managing Director of Talking Pictures TV, Nicky Ness, Director of Broadcasting & Entertainment at BFBS, and Andrew White, Senior Producer of Walks Around Britain.Studio engineer: Nigel Dix
Producer: Hannah Sander(Image: Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in Country Girl, broadcast on Talking Pictures TV)
22/07/20•27m 34s
Who cares about local news?
As job cuts are announced by Reach, the UK’s largest regional newspaper publisher, Amol Rajan looks at initiatives to fund local journalism. Also in the programme, is TikTok the new Huawei?Guests: Karin Goodwin, co-editor of The Ferret, Ian Carter, editorial director of the Illife Media Group, Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, Hugh Schofield, BBC correspondent in Paris, and Dr Tim Stevens, lecturer in global security at King's College London.Sound engineer: Nigel DixProducer: Richard Hooper
15/07/20•28m 6s
Fake news? Meet the fake journalists
The Daily Beast has published an investigation into a network of fake journalists that placed opinion pieces in dozens of real news outlets. All the articles were sympathetic to the foreign policy objectives of the United Arab Emirates and the "journalists" who wrote them were backed up by fictitious online personas. Amol Rajan is joined by Marc Owen Jones, an assistant professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, and Marianna Spring, BBC reporter covering disinformation and social media.Also in the programme, restarting TV production in a global pandemic, with Danielle Lux, CPL managing director, David Mortimer, STV Productions managing director, and Emeka Onono, director and executive producer of Trump in Tweets.Sound engineer: Tim Heffer
Producer: Richard Hooper
08/07/20•28m 1s
Times Radio launches and Twitch faces reckoning
One of the oldest media brands in the world, The Times, is now running a radio station. Meanwhile, one of the world’s newest - Twitch, the video game streaming platform owned by Amazon - is facing a crisis caused by old-fashioned misogyny. Amol Rajan is joined by Tim Levell, Programme Director of Times Radio, Miranda Sawyer, radio critic of The Observer, Frankie Ward, esports host and Twitch streamer, Cecilia D'Anastasio, journalist at Wired, and Chris Stokel-Walker, freelance journalist.Studio engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Richard Hooper
01/07/20•28m 6s
Rethinking advertising
How a global pandemic is changing the advertising industry. Amol Rajan is joined by Johnny Hornby, The&Partnership, Christopher Kenna, Brand Advance, Dino Myers-Lamptey, The Barber Shop and Lindsey Clay, Thinkbox.Sound engineer: Giles Aspen
Producer: Richard Hooper
24/06/20•27m 54s
Opinions on opinion
What role does opinion play in journalism? The editor of The Sunday Times claimed this week that some generations are far less tolerant of opinions they don’t agree with on the comment pages. Meanwhile the editor of a regional newspaper says the opinions of some readers have become so offensive during the pandemic, that the police have been called to investigate. Guests: Helen Dalby, editor in chief of The Chronicle and The Journal in Newcastle, Mark Walton, editor of The News in Portsmouth, Micha Frazer-Carroll, opinions editor of gal-dem, Alex Massie, columnist for The Times and Scotland editor of The Spectator, and Nic Newman, Reuters Institute for the Study of JournalismPresenter: Amol RajanStudio Engineer: Duncan HannantProducer: Richard Hooper
17/06/20•27m 59s
Who sets the news agenda?
Last week newspaper front pages were dominated by images from Black Lives Matter protests, until Thursday, when the Madeleine McCann case displaced them.
Campaigners said it was evidence of systemic racism in the British media, that editors judged an update on a white child, who went missing 13 years ago, to be more important than millions of black people protesting around the world. Is that true?Guests: Clive Myrie, BBC presenter, Moya Lothian-McLean, freelance journalist, Adam Cantwell-Corn, co-founder of The Bristol Cable, and Claire Wardle, Executive Director of First DraftPresenter: Amol RajanStudio engineer: Jackie MargerumProducer: Richard Hooper
10/06/20•28m 4s
Making news free to the world
Katharine Viner is editor in chief of The Guardian. In this extended interview with Amol Rajan she talks about her mission to build one of the world's leading "progressive news organisations", why The Guardian is "not a Labour paper" and reveals the backstory to their Dominic Cummings exclusive.Studio engineer: Gayl Gordon
Producer: Richard Hooper
03/06/20•35m 49s
Christiane Amanpour and a brief history of CNN
On 1 June 1980, the TV news industry was revolutionised by the launch of CNN, the world's first rolling news channel. Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international anchor, looks back on her own career and the reporting which has won her 11 Emmys, 4 Peabodys, and a slew of other awards. Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Studio Engineer: Tim Heffer
Producer: Richard Hooper
27/05/20•28m 1s
The drama of TV production
British TV companies produce some of the most popular shows in the world. But the lockdown has put a halt to it all. Andrea Catherwood asks how the industry restarts and what post coronavirus TV might look like.Guests: Andy Harries CEO Left Bank Pictures, Jonathan Hewes, CEO Pioneer Productions, and Manori Ravindran, International Editor of VarietyProducer: Richard HooperStudio engineer: Nigel DixImage credit: Scene from Netflix’s new series White Lines
20/05/20•27m 58s
How data journalists became the rock stars of news
Data journalists were until recently a niche part of the news industry, but the spread of coronavirus has meant their work is now regularly on the front page. How objective is data journalism and is it open to the same biases as any other type of reporting? Also, do journalists have a duty to lift the mood of the nation and look for good news stories? Or is that incompatible with journalism’s job of speaking truth to power?Guests: Beth Rigby, Sky News Political Editor, Jack Blanchard, editor Politico's London Playbook, Caelainn Barr, Editor of Data Projects at The Guardian, John Burn-Murdoch, Senior data-visualisation journalist at The Financial Times, and Tim Montgomerie, former comment editor of The Times and an advisor to the last government.Presenter: Andrea CatherwoodProducer: Richard HooperStudio engineer: Emma Harth
13/05/20•27m 44s
Why we're all playing video games
Participation in video gaming is at record levels as the world remains locked down. The sector was already worth more than the music and video industries combined - so where does video gaming go next and why do some analysts believe it is the future of not just entertainment, but the internet itself?Guests: Jason Kingsley, Rebellion CEO, Vic Hood, games journalist at TechRadar, Aoife Wilson, journalist at Eurogamer and presenter This Game Changed My Life on BBC Sounds, and Robin McCammon, Excel Esports CCO.Presenter: Joe TidyProducer: Richard HooperStudio Engineer: Donald MacDonald
06/05/20•27m 52s
Secrets of the Celebrity Interview
The set-piece interview with a famous face is a type of journalism that newspapers do uniquely well. Andrea Catherwood meets three masters of the art and asks how they get their interviewees to say things they often wish they hadn't.Guests: Charlotte Edwardes, columnist and feature writer for The Sunday Times, Hadley Freeman, columnist and feature writer for The Guardian, and Ginny Dougary, award-winning interviewer for newspapers all over the world.Producer: Richard HooperStudio Engineer: Tim Heffer
29/04/20•27m 38s
Liberalism, leading, and the lockdown
As the world faces an economic downturn worse than the Great Depression, there’s perhaps never been a better time to be running a magazine about global affairs called The Economist. The trouble is, many of the ideas that the newspaper - as it still calls itself - has championed since 1843 are now under attack. In this extended interview, Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist, talks about making the case for liberalism, her strategy for the publication and a previous career as an actual economist.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
Studio engineer: Duncan Hannant
22/04/20•47m 44s
The Rehabilitation of Channel 5
When Channel 5 launched in 1997, it promised to be "modern and mainstream". But it wasn't long before the schedule was filled with tacky game shows and even soft porn movies. The bad reputation stuck for years. Under the leadership of Ben Frow, Channel 5 has been transformed into RTS Channel of the Year, attracting upmarket viewers with documentaries about the National Trust and a Michael Palin travelogue. In this extended edition of The Media Show, Ben Frow tells Amol Rajan more about his strategy, and discusses his own career journey which began as a costume maker.Producer: Richard HooperPhoto: Still from the Channel 5 show, Michael Palin in North Korea
15/04/20•41m 53s
Keeping faith in the media
With places of worship closed because of coronavirus, some people of faith are turning to religious broadcasters. Amol Rajan asks what the role of religious media is and whether the pandemic now threatens their business model.Guests: Charmaine Noble-Mclean, executive director at Premier Christian Radio, Joseph Hayat, editor-in-chief British Muslim TV, Richard Ferrer, editor Jewish News, and Martin Bashir, BBC Religion EditorProducer: Richard Hooper
07/04/20•27m 41s
Keep Calm and Put Radio On
Radio stations have reported a huge surge in listeners since the start of the lock-down. Amol Rajan meets three presenters now helping to calm the nation.
Guests: Simon Mayo of Scala Radio, Linda McDermott of BBC Radio Merseyside, and Iain Lee of talkRADIO.
Producer: Richard Hooper
01/04/20•27m 51s
World locks down, media steps up
A global lock down means demand for media has never been higher - but making it has never been harder. Amol Rajan hears how TV producers and news providers are adapting. Also in the show, can esports fill the void left by the cancellation of live sport?Guests: Carrie Brown, Chair of the Football Writers' Association, John McVay, chief executive Pact, Paul McNamee, editor The Big Issue, Luke Lambourne, creator of Ultimate QuaranTeam and Leyton Orient FC media manager, and Shona Ghosh, UK tech editor Business Insider.Producer: Richard Hooper
25/03/20•28m 5s
Return of the expert
How good a job is the media doing at explaining the science behind what's going on with coronavirus? Are we hearing enough from the experts? The right experts? Or is the Westminster lobby still setting the news agenda? Amol Rajan is joined by Emily Wilson, editor of New Scientist, Gareth Mitchell, presenter and lecturer in Science Communication at Imperial College London, and Dr Ellie Cannon, GP and Mail on Sunday columnist. Also in the show, how the BBC is responding with Dan McGolpin, BBC Controller of iPlayer and Programming.
19/03/20•27m 46s
Panic and the truth
As the number of people infected with coronavirus rises rapidly in Europe and the US, can journalists ever report the situation without causing panic? In Italy the newspaper Corriere della Sera has been accused of endangering public health after it published a leak of a government order to lock down the north of the country, resulting in people fleeing the region before it was implemented. Should journalists ever withhold the truth?Also in the programme, how Good Housekeeping has become the biggest selling women's lifestyle magazine in the UK.Amol Rajan is joined by Jess Brammar, editor in chief HuffPost UK, Tom Phillips, editor Full Fact, Paul Nuki, global health security editor The Daily Telegraph, Gaby Huddart, editor in chief Good Housekeeping and Dany Mitzman, freelance journalist in Italy.Producer: Richard Hooper
11/03/20•28m 13s
The Barclay Brothers, bugs, and The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph has reportedly been put up for sale by its owners, Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay. But according to a High Court case, relatives of the brothers are now feuding. One side even alleges the other has been bugging their conversations in the Ritz Hotel in London. How might the dispute complicate the future direction of the newspaper?Also in the programme, as the BBC Local News Partnership scheme expands into BAME publications, is the news industry now dependent on subsidies?Amol Rajan is joined by Rithika Siddhartha, Associate Editor of Eastern Eye, Meera Selva, Director at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Will Gore, Head of Partnerships and Projects at the National Council for the Training of Journalists, Jane Martinson, Marjorie Deane Professor of Financial Journalism at City University and Alex Barker, Global Media Editor of the Financial Times.Producer: Richard Hooper
04/03/20•27m 53s
The new wave of political magazines
Magazine sales are up for some titles, with a resurgence of those that deal with news and current affairs. What's their secret? Also in the programme, why campaigners say CGTN, the English language news channel from China, should lose its Ofcom licence to broadcast in the UK.Amol Rajan is joined by Jason Cowley, editor The New Statesman, Rosie Blau, editor 1843, Christopher Montgomery, co-editor The Critic, and Peter Dahlin, director of Safeguard DefendersProducer: Richard Hooper
26/02/20•28m 5s
Fake news, strong views, Yorkshire and me
The Yorkshire Post is one of the oldest titles in the country and styles itself as “Yorkshire’s National Newspaper”. During the 2019 general election, the paper’s scoop about “the boy on the hospital floor” reached a huge audience and influenced the debate. But it also spawned a conspiracy theory. In this extended interview, editor James Mitchinson discusses his battle against fake news, his vision for The Yorkshire Post and why a childhood in the coalfields of North Notts fuels his passion for the region.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
19/02/20•26m 52s
The big money bet on podcasting
As Spotify buys The Ringer for a reported $250m, Amol Rajan asks if the podcasting gold rush will ever end.Guests: Steve Ackerman, Managing Director of Somethin' Else, Otegha Uwagba, host of In Good Company, Gerry Edwards, CEO of Podcast Radio, and Caroline Crampton, journalist and writer for Hot PodProducer: Richard Hooper
Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez
12/02/20•28m 14s
Has No 10 called time on media scrutiny?
Broadcasters have complained after Boris Johnson's "address to the nation" on the eve of Brexit was made by Downing Street's PR team and not recorded by journalists. Meanwhile, a group of political journalists walked out of Number 10 after senior reporters claimed they had been barred from an additional press briefing. Also in the programme, the government announces a public consultation on whether non-payment of the TV licence fee should remain a criminal offence.Amol Rajan is joined by Michael Crick, Mail Plus political correspondent, Jay Davies, Getty Images Director of News Photography and Claire Enders, founder of Enders Analysis.Producer: Richard HooperImage shows Boris Johnson banging a gong to mark the UK's departure from the EU, in a photo taken by Downing Street's official photographer at an event journalists were excluded from
05/02/20•28m 9s
Brexit's "done" - so what will the media talk about now?!
Brexit will be done on Friday, says Boris Johnson – and large parts of the media will need to find something else to talk about. Amol Rajan asks whether the polarised tone of much Brexit journalism has permanently changed the public’s appetite for news.Guests: Bénédicte Paviot, UK correspondent for France 24, James O'Brien, LBC presenter, Matina Stevis-Gridneff, Brussels correspondent for The New York Times, and Mick Booker, editor of The Sunday ExpressProducer: Richard Hooper
29/01/20•28m 1s
Reinventing TV Documentaries
Documentary making is undergoing a renaissance, with box set factual shows among the most popular on streaming services. Amol Rajan charts the evolution of the documentary with the help of Tom Mangold, whose latest film for the BBC is called Keeler, Profumo, Ward and Me, Leo Pearlman, managing partner at Fulwell 73 and executive producer of Auschwitz Untold: In Colour for Channel 4, and Justine Kershaw, creative director of Blink Films.Producer: Richard HooperImage: Still from Sunderland 'Til I Die, the Netflix documentary series produced by Fulwell 73
22/01/20•28m 23s
A right Royal PR disaster
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced that they are stepping down as senior members of the Royal family, a decision that is thought to have been partly motivated by negative press coverage they receive in the UK. Yet their plan and the manner in which it was revealed, has enraged sections of the press even further. Also in the show, why the boss of BritBox wants it to be "the biggest box of British box-sets".Amol Rajan is joined by Dan Wootton, Executive Editor at The Sun, Robert Hardman, the Daily Mail's Royal expert, Chloe Franses, founder of PR agency Franses, and Reemah Sakaan, BritBox group launch director for ITV SVOD.Producer: Richard Hooper
15/01/20•28m 11s
The man driving Jeremy Clarkson
Andy Wilman is executive producer of The Grand Tour, the Amazon Prime Video show featuring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Previously he was the creative force behind Top Gear, turning the programme into one of the BBC's most successful exports. Also on the show, Mark Ryan, executive director of the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas, talks about the Australian philanthropic venture with over £50m to invest in journalism. And Latika Bourke, journalist with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, on how the bushfire emergency might prompt a change in how the Australian media reports climate change.Producer: Richard Hooper
08/01/20•28m 9s
The British drama boom
The UK's traditional TV channels might be losing viewers to Netflix and Amazon, but when it comes to the actual shows we're all streaming, British producers are responsible for many of them. In this special edition of The Media Show, Amol Rajan asks how long will the drama boom last? Guests: Kate Harwood, managing director of Euston Films, Jason Kingsley, co-founder of Rebellion, Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, and Rhianna Dhillon, film and TV criticProducer: Richard Hooper
Assistant Producer: Natalia FernandezPhoto credit: Baghdad Central, the new Channel 4 thriller produced by Euston Films.
01/01/20•28m 0s
Ian Hislop's review of the year in media
Private Eye editor on making jokes about Boris Johnson, Prince Andrew and Greta Thunberg
22/12/19•27m 44s
Delete the media?
Most British journalists reporting on politics were shocked by the scale of the Conservative victory. Why did the result take them by surprise and what influence did the media actually have on voters?Amol Rajan is joined by Piers Morgan, ITV presenter, Hannah Chapman, editor of The Northern Echo, Alison Rowat, Senior Politics Writer at The Herald, Oli Dugmore, Head of News and Politics at JOE, and Professor Dominic Wring, Loughborough University.Producer: Richard Hooper
18/12/19•27m 50s
Ronan Farrow's Battle to Report
Ronan Farrow is hailed as one of the greatest reporters of his generation. For his ground-breaking New Yorker investigation into Harvey Weinstein, he shared a Pulitzer Prize with Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey of The New York Times. Now Farrow has told the story of how he battled to get the allegations published in a new book, Catch and Kill.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
11/12/19•28m 3s
Will Amazon deliver a revolution in sports media?
Amazon has the rights to broadcast the Premier League in December, the first time matches have not been "televised" on a traditional TV channel. Is this the start of a revolution in live sports broadcasting, or a one-off marketing stunt by Amazon to attract Christmas shoppers to its Prime service? Also in the show, how TikTok is changing its virtual gifts policy after a BBC investigation.Guests: Jake Humphrey, co-founder Whisper Films, Minal Modha, consumer lead Ampere Analysis, Kait Borsay, sports presenter and host of The Offside Rule podcast, and Joe Tidy, BBC Cyber-security reporter.
Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
04/12/19•28m 8s
The media's criminal obsession
A new Channel 4 show What Makes a Murderer has been made with the assistance of a convicted criminal. Tony Sales co-founded the production company Underworld TV to make programmes about the criminal world. Also capitalising on demand for true crime stories is Bauer Media, who earlier this year launched the magazine Crime Monthly. How are the political parties using the media to get their election messages out? Newsquest, one of the UK's largest regional publishers, has written to the Electoral Commission accusing the Liberal Democrats of designing a campaign leaflet that looks like a regular local newspaper. Last week, the Daily Mirror said that its reporter was denied accreditation to travel on Boris Johnson's campaign bus. Guests: Julia Davis, editor-in-chief of Crime Monthly, Tony Sales, co-founder of Underworld TV, Katie French, editor of The Basingstoke Gazette, James Mitchinson, editor of The Yorkshire Post, and Alison Phillips, editor of The Daily MirrorPresenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard HooperPhoto: Channel 4's What Makes A Murderer?
27/11/19•27m 49s
Trust me, I'm a journalist
Dorothy Byrne, Head of News and Current Affairs for Channel 4 and author of Trust Me, I'm Not A Politician, on the role journalism can play in restoring public trust in politicians. Also, an exclusive interview with Steve Hatch, Facebook's boss in Northern Europe, on the company's readiness for the general election. And Shona Ghosh, UK Tech Editor at Business Insider, on whether Google Stadia will become "the Netflix of gaming".Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
20/11/19•28m 10s
Facebook's Steve Hatch on paying tax and political ads
Exclusive interview with Facebook's boss in Northern Europe
20/11/19•17m 6s
The NYT and The FT
Amol Rajan is joined by Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times and Lionel Barber, editor of The Financial Times. Mr Barber announced this week that he is standing down and will be replaced in January by Roula Khalaf, the first female editor of the FT since it was founded in 1888.Producer: Richard Hooper
13/11/19•27m 48s
Making The Mouse Roar: Disney CEO Bob Iger
As CEO of Disney since 2005, Bob Iger has transformed the company with the acquisition of entertainment brands like Marvel, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox.In this UK exclusive interview, Bob Iger talks about his life and career, from working as a weatherman to becoming one of the most powerful figures in global media. Iger’s autobiography is called The Ride Of A Lifetime.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard HooperThis programme includes a clip of Michael Eisner presenting on The Disney Channel (September 1990), a clip from The Lion King (1994) directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, a clip of the late Roy E. Disney speaking in a promotional video for his Save Disney campaign (2005), and a clip from the trailer for Toy Story (1995) directed by John Lasseter.
01/11/19•52m 19s
The journalists who took down Harvey Weinstein
In January, in a court in Manhattan, Harvey Weinstein will stand trial for the rape and sexual assault of two women. The movie producer denies the charges - just as he has denied allegations by more than 80 other women.Weinstein’s reckoning has come about largely because of the diligence of two journalists at The New York Times. Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s investigation in 2017 triggered not only Weinstein’s downfall but ignited the global #MeToo movement. Their reporting won them the Pulitzer Prize and they have now told their story in a new book, She Said.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Natalia Fernandez
30/10/19•28m 6s
Kay Burley does breakfast
Kay Burley has worked for Sky News since it launched in 1989. Now she has a new role as presenter of its breakfast show.Also in the programme, Clive Tyldesley, the football commentator, says the British media have failed the public with its Brexit reporting and claims sports journalists would have done a better job. Andrea Catherwood is joined by Kay Burley, Zing Tsjeng, VICE UK executive editor, Dino Sofos, editor of BBC Brexitcast, and Clive Tyldesley.Producer: Richard Hooper
23/10/19•28m 12s
How do you report from a repressive regime?
China and Russia are featuring prominently in the two biggest international news stories at the moment in Hong Kong and Syria. We have two top journalists just back from these places to talk about reporting from inside repressive regimes
And, it’s being called the biggest media event of the year so far - it's created a black hole of information and no one is quite sure what will happen next. No not Brexit - but Fortnite - the massively popular game had its end of season finale on Saturday. Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Maire Devine
Editor: Eleanor Garland
16/10/19•28m 8s
Do machines make the rights choices for children?
Algorithms are increasingly making choices for young people, from recommending new TV shows to the friends they meet. But when machines are so intelligent that they can make all these decisions, who is actually responsible?Andrea Catherwood hosts a debate at the BBC Blue Room annual conference with Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, Dr Nejra van Zalk, lecturer in psychology at Imperial College London, Hanna Adan, documentary maker and Neil Lawrence, DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge.Producers: Richard Hooper and Bill Thompson for the BBC Blue Room
09/10/19•27m 31s
The BBC's Impartiality Crisis
The BBC is engulfed in a row about its handling of a complaint against Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty. Krishnan Guru-Murthy of Channel 4 News and Chris Banatvala, formerly Director of Standards at OFCOM and a member of The Sky News Board, discuss.Luke Hyams, Head of YouTube Originals EMEA, on their new strategy of using their YouTuber stars to front original factual programmes. Minal Modha of Ampere Analysis explains what this might mean for the future of TV.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper
02/10/19•28m 9s
Who Wants to Be a Peaky Blinder?
Steven Knight is best known as the creator of Peaky Blinders, the BBC gangster drama. But his career hits also include Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - one of the world’s most successful game shows - and an Oscar nomination for Dirty Pretty Things. He tells Jim Waterson about his new show for Apple TV+, plans for a film studio in Birmingham and why Snoop Dogg loves Peaky Blinders.Producer: Richard Hooper
25/09/19•27m 57s
Is opinion the future of journalism?
LBC is gaining listeners thanks to a strategy of employing highly opinionated presenters. What can other news outlets learn from its success? And is the concept of the impartial journalist now outdated? Also in the show, a new initiative to create an international set of standards for journalism and the controller of the TV channel Dave.Andrea Catherwood is joined by Shelagh Fogarty, LBC presenter, Sarah Sands, editor of Radio 4's Today programme and contributor to the book Today: A History of Our World Through 60 Years of Conversations and Controversies, Scott Yates, Reporters Without Borders, and Luke Hales, Dave channel director.Producer: Richard Hooper
18/09/19•34m 7s
Why we're all watching Britain's nerdiest channel
BBC Parliament is enjoying record ratings as viewers tune in for the latest episode of British political drama. Meanwhile, some MPs have been defying rules and convention by filming proceedings in the House of Commons using their phones, and posting it on social media. Peter Knowles, Controller of BBC Parliament, and Emily Ashton, Senior Political Correspondent at BuzzFeed UK, discuss why Parliament has gone viral.Also in the show, the inside story of the Channel 5 documentary Suicidal and how the producers considered their duty of care to the programme's participants. David Dehaney is Creative Director at Proper Content and Lorna Fraser is Executive Lead at the Media Advisory Service of Samaritans.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper
11/09/19•28m 6s
How to cover chaos
The rules of politics have gone out the window and momentous political events are happening, it seems, every hour. So how do journalists and TV producers make sense of it for the rest of us? Andrea Catherwood is joined by Nicolai Gentchev, Director of Current Affairs at Mentorn Media, Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor of The Telegraph and Ayesha Hazarika, Diary Editor of The Evening Standard. Also in the show, Dylan Jones, editor in chief of British GQ.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper
04/09/19•28m 6s
"Hey Media Show, tell me about smart speakers"
Around 20% of UK households now own a smart speaker manufactured by the likes of Google and Amazon. But have we really thought through the consequences of letting big tech companies into our homes in such an intimate fashion? In this special edition of The Media Show, Madhumita Murgia looks at privacy concerns around the devices and asks whether they represent the next chapter of the internet.Guests: Emma Kendrew, AI and Intelligent Automation Lead at Accenture, Jen Heape, Co-Founder of Vixen Labs, and Mukul Devichand, Executive Editor at BBC Voice + AIPresenter: Madhumita Murgia
Producer: Richard Hooper
28/08/19•27m 11s
Why advertisers are blacklisting news
Digital advertisers are maintaining blacklists of news topics they disapprove of. Some brands have even added keywords associated with President Trump to their list, meaning publishers are effectively facing a boycott of regular news stories by advertisers.Also in the programme, the Irish government is proposing to replace the country's TV licence fee with a new "device independent broadcasting charge". Critics say any household with a smart phone or laptop would have to pay it, regardless of whether they actually watch RTÉ programmes. And Fun Kids, the digital radio station for children, has launched a podcast network.Julian Worricker is joined by Dee Forbes, Director-General of RTÉ, Laura Slattery, journalist at The Irish Times, Lee Moulding, Integral Ad Science, Shona Ghosh, Senior Tech Reporter at Business Insider, and Matt Deegan, Fun Kids station manager.
21/08/19•27m 48s
Taking care of reality TV guests
The broadcasting watchdog Ofcom is proposing new safeguarding rules for reality or unscripted television and radio shows. It says that “due care must be taken over the welfare, well-being and dignity of participants in programmes." In addition, “participants must not be caused unjustified distress or anxiety by taking part in programmes or by the broadcast of those programmes."Ofcom is currently inviting feedback on these proposals - but what counts as "unjustified distress and anxiety"? After the deaths of three reality show participants, is an overhaul of safeguarding long overdue? Or might tighter rules drive up costs, drive production overseas or block vulnerable people from getting the media platform they want - perhaps to combat stigma or highlight an important issue? And don't we enjoy watching members of the public rise to stressful challenges? Presenter Naga Munchetty - herself a Strictly Come Dancing veteran - hears from:
Jonathan Stadlen, managing director of production company Knickerbockerglory,
Dr Penny Brown, consultant in forensic psychiatry at King's College London and a mental capacity assessor for TV productions,
Steve Regan, who used to oversee Big Brother and is a former entertainment commissioner for Channel 5,
And Rosie Williams (pictured), who was a contestant on last year's Love Island.Presenter: Naga Munchetty
Producer: Paul Waters
14/08/19•27m 57s
Hunting spies and exposing lies
Eliot Higgins is the founder of Bellingcat, the team of open-source investigators behind a series of extraordinary scoops. Their investigations into Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and the Salisbury poisoning case have made headlines around the world. In this extended edition of The Media Show, Eliot Higgins tells Amol Rajan how his online hobby of analysing social media videos from the Syrian conflict led to the creation of Bellingcat and a new career in open-source journalism.Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez
07/08/19•36m 7s
Changing the game of sports journalism
The Athletic is a subscription website without adverts, known for its highly detailed coverage of US sports teams. It is now launching in the UK in August and has poached some of the country's most popular football writers. Julian Worricker is joined by Taylor Patterson of The Athletic, journalist Daniel Storey, and Minal Modha of Ampere Analysis to discuss the possible impact on sports journalism.Also in the show, how the radio industry is making slow progress on solving its diversity problem with Vikki Cook, Ofcom's Director of Content and Policy, and Nels Abbey, former media executive and author of Think Like A White Man.Presenter: Julian Worricker
Producer: Paul Waters
31/07/19•28m 3s
The power of the columnist
As Boris Johnson swaps his newspaper column for Downing Street, how much power do columnists really have? We convene a master class with three big name press pundits - Matthew Parris of The Times and Radio 4, Janet Street-Porter of The Independent and I-paper, and Sarah Vine of The Daily Mail.Also, what lessons can the media learn from the collapsed VIP sex abuse case, now that the alleged victim Carl Beech has been convicted of multiple counts of perverting the course of justice and fraud? Have efforts to reform police contact with journalists undermined transparency?Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Paul Waters
24/07/19•28m 11s
Tommy Robinson and the rules of journalism
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, has been jailed for contempt of court for his coverage of a sex abuse trial. Separately, journalist Isabel Oakeshott has grabbed headlines with her story about what the former British ambassador to the United States, Sir Kim Darroch, thought of Donald Trump, based on leaked secret diplomatic cables. So what is Tommy Robinson actually guilty of? And why does he get jail time, whilst the publication of diplomatic documents - and a potential breach of the Official Secrets Act - is celebrated?We hear from media law trainer David Banks, award-winning Buzzfeed UK senior reporter Emily Dugan, The Sun columnist Trevor Kavanagh and BBC Home Affairs Correspondent Dominic Casciani.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Paul Waters
17/07/19•28m 17s
Inside Wimbledon
Wimbledon claims to reach over a billion viewers globally. With up to 18 matches taking place simultaneously, televising the tournament is the world's biggest annual broadcast operation. In this special edition of The Media Show, Eleanor Oldroyd goes behind the scenes at Wimbledon and meets the engineers, commentators and journalists who make it happen.Producer: Richard Hooper
10/07/19•27m 33s
Who's watching the BBC?
The BBC has published its Annual Report and it raises some very big questions for the corporation. Is it still independent? Some of the BBC's biggest headaches detailed within the report, all arise because of government demands. And who's actually using BBC services? The report reveals how many young people are no longer watching much BBC television at all. Amol Rajan is joined by Ed Vaizey MP and former Culture Minister, Clare Sumner, BBC Director of Policy, Nick Brown, director of Neal Street Productions, Lucas Green, Head of Content at Banijay Group and Jim Waterson, The Guardian's Media Editor.Producer: Richard Hooper
03/07/19•28m 3s
The lure of the obvious
From Brexit to Trump, why do so many journalists keep getting it wrong? Helen Lewis, staff writer at The Atlantic, believes political journalism has been distorted by "the seductive power of the conventional narrative". Also in the programme, the rise of the "unnewsed", the large number of people who no longer pay for news or read trusted sources, and 25 years of the magazine Attitude.Amol Rajan is joined by Helen Lewis, Polly Curtis, Editor and Partner at Tortoise and visiting fellow at the Reuter’s Institute for the Study of Journalism, Fraser Nelson, editor of The Spectator, and Cliff Joannou, Editor in Chief of Attitude.Producer: Richard Hooper
26/06/19•28m 1s
How the media sells us gender equality
The Advertising Standards Authority has introduced new rules that ban "harmful gender stereotypes" from adverts. Meanwhile, ITV has announced that it will no longer commission comedy shows with all-male writers' rooms.Amol Rajan is joined by Aline Santos, Unilever's Head of Global Marketing, Guy Parker, chief executive of the Advertising Standards Authority, Charlotte Hugh, Senior Creative at Dark Horses and co-founder of Badass Gal, and Lynne Parker, founder of Funny Women.Producer: Richard Hooper
19/06/19•23m 58s
Sex, drugs and TV debates
Most of us will not play a role in electing the next Prime Minister. Leadership of the Conservative party will be decided by its members. So how is the media holding to account, on our behalf, the candidates? Andrea Catherwood is joined by Emily Maitlis, who will be hosting one of the BBC's candidate debates, Katy Balls, The Spectator's deputy political editor, and Katherine Forster of The Sunday Times.Also in the show, Michael Barbaro, host of The Daily podcast, Nic Newman, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and Caroline Abrahams, Age UK's Charity Director on its petition demanding that the government funds free TV licences for the over 75s.Producer: Richard Hooper
12/06/19•28m 15s
The Daily's Michael Barbaro
How The New York Times grew one of the world's most popular podcasts
12/06/19•14m 50s
Chernobyl: the story of TV's highest rated show
Chernobyl is the HBO and Sky mini-series that the Internet Movie Database currently ranks as the greatest ever TV show. Zai Bennett, Sky's Director of Programmes, explains how he commissioned the dramatisation of the 1986 nuclear disaster.Also, Claire Lewis on her show 63 Up, Trevor Birney, one of the Belfast investigative journalists arrested after a whistle-blower leaked secret documents that revealed the suspects in the unsolved Loughinisland massacre, and Chris Williams, The Daily Telegraph Deputy Business Editor and author of The Battle For Sky.Producer: Richard Hooper
05/06/19•35m 36s
Why seeing isn't believing
Nancy Pelosi is a huge figure in US politics. She's Speaker of the House of Representatives - the first woman to hold the position - and as a Democrat, she's a frequent target for supporters of President Trump. Last week, a video of her which had been manipulated to make her sound drunk, was shared widely on social media. Does the video mark the start of a new era of fake news? Andrea Catherwood is joined by Craig Silverman, BuzzFeed News Media Editor, and Hazel Baker, Head of UGC Newsgathering at Reuters.Also in the show, the changing world of travel journalism. Simon Calder of The Independent, blogger Chloe Gunning, and Michael Keating, joint CEO of Ink, a company that produces dozens of travel magazines, discuss how journalists help us decide where to go on holiday.Producer: Richard Hooper
29/05/19•34m 50s
Spies, lies and videotape
German newspapers have published a secret recording of Heinz-Christian Strache, the Austrian vice-chancellor, offering government contracts to a woman he believed to be the niece of a Russian oligarch. But the source of the video is unknown and the journalists involved are accused of furthering the agenda of the leaker, ahead of the European Parliament elections. Bethany Bell, the BBC's Vienna correspondent, explains.Also, how the European elections are being reported in the UK and the latest Rajar results.Amol Rajan is joined by Adam Boulton, Sky News presenter, Stefanie Bolzen, Die Welt's UK correspondent, Miranda Sawyer, radio critic for The Observer, and Francis Currie, Content Director of Wireless Group.Producer: Richard Hooper
22/05/19•27m 49s
The Story of Netflix with Ted Sarandos
Ted Sarandos is Chief Content Officer at Netflix, making him the man in charge of the reported $15 billion it has to spend on new shows in 2019 alone. In this extended interview, Sarandos talks about his childhood spent watching "a reckless amount of TV", and explains the strategy that turned Netflix from a DVD rental service into one of the world's most valuable companies.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
15/05/19•27m 52s
How to win followers and influence people
News UK, owner of many British media outlets including The Times and talkSPORT, has formed a marketing agency that uses social media influencers. The Fifth will also offer advertisers access to some of News UK's own journalists. Also in the show, relaunching The Face and a history of YouTube.Amol Rajan is joined by Oliver Lewis, managing director of The Fifth, Emily Lavinia, influencer, Chris Stokel-Walker, author of YouTubers, and Stuart Brumfitt, editor of The Face. Producer: Richard Hooper
08/05/19•28m 7s
Interrogating the producer of Line of Duty
Do you know your AC12 from your AC3 and your OCG from you UCO? If you do, you’ll be a fan of Line of Duty. It's one of the BBC's most popular dramas and Priscilla Parish is executive producer.Also in the show, as civil servants hunt for the Whitehall insider who gave top secret information to The Daily Telegraph, advice from two of the country's best investigative reporters on leaking to journalists. And how The Big Issue is responding to the growing popularity of cashless payments.Andrea Catherwood is joined by Priscilla Parish, executive producer at World Productions, Paul McNamee, editor of The Big Issue, Jane Bradley, investigations correspondent for BuzzFeed, and Meirion Jones, Investigations Editor for The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.Producer: Richard Hooper
01/05/19•28m 6s
Remembering Lyra McKee
Lyra McKee was a 29 year old investigative journalist shot dead while observing rioting in Londonderry. Lyra's friend Peter Geoghegan, co-founder of The Ferret, talks about her work.Also on the show, Amol Rajan is joined by Jo Elvin, editor of You magazine, Cate Sevilla, former editor in chief of The Pool, and Olivia Crellin, co-founder of PressPad.Producer: Richard Hooper
24/04/19•28m 49s
The Political Interview
When journalists and politicians go head-to-head it can be entertaining for the public, and sometimes career-ending for the interviewee. But what do political interviews actually teach us? To discuss the art of the political interview, Amol is joined by the BBC’s Andrew Marr, Rachel Sylvester of The Times and Iain Dale of LBC.Producer: Richard Hooper
17/04/19•28m 8s
Journalism's class ceiling
Julie Etchingham presents ITV's Tonight programme and News at Ten. Alison Phillips is editor of The Daily Mirror. They discuss the state of journalism today and why social class might now be the biggest barrier for young reporters trying to emulate their careers.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
10/04/19•28m 1s
Why everyone wants a news channel
Why are so many states funding a news channel? China, Russia and Turkey are just some of the countries spending huge amounts of money on global news channels that broadcast in English. What sort of content are they producing, who is watching and should we be concerned? Amol Rajan discusses the relationship between soft power and broadcasting with:
Jamie Angus, director of BBC World Service Group, which broadcasts in over 40 languages to a huge audience of 346 million people a week
Meera Selva , a director at the Reuters Institute for study of Journalism at Oxford University
And Tim Miller, Executive Producer at the Turkish state broadcaster TRT World. Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Steven Williams
03/04/19•27m 55s
Attenborough's Netflix adventure
Alastair Fothergill is one of the most respected producers in natural history television. At the BBC he was the brains behind hits like The Blue Planet and Planet Earth. Now, as co-founder of Silverback Films, he's taken Sir David Attenborough to Netflix for new series Our Planet. Also in the show, will Apple's move into services like TV streaming and banking be a success? Reed Albergotti of The Washington Post and Madhumita Murgia of the FT discuss.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
27/03/19•28m 2s
HuffPost's Lydia Polgreen
HuffPost is the global news publisher owned by Verizon, the US media company. Lydia Polgreen, its editor-in-chief discusses business and editorial strategy. Also in the show, Madhav Chinnappa, Google's Director of News Ecosystem Development and David Austin, CEO of the British Board of Film Classification.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
20/03/19•27m 5s
Who cares what the papers say?
The leader column has long been a feature of newspapers. But the editor of The Herald, the Scottish broadsheet, has now ended daily leaders, believing that readers can make up their own mind on an issue. Could this set a precedent for other newspapers to follow? Also in the show, two editors discuss making a magazine for their very particular audiences.Amol is joined by Anna Bassi, editor in chief of The Week Junior, Hattie Brett, editor of Grazia, Katherine Rushton, the Daily Mail's media and technology editor, and Sonia Sodha of The Observer.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
13/03/19•28m 17s
Investigating Michael Jackson
Leaving Neverland is a Channel 4 and HBO documentary which alleges Michael Jackson was a paedophile. The director, Dan Reed, explains how he made the film and persuaded men who, as children, had been befriended by Jackson to tell their story.Also in the show, reporting anti-Semitism in the Labour Party and producing a newspaper for the Jewish community.Amol Rajan is joined by Dan Reed, director of Leaving Neverland; Liz Bates, Yorkshire Post Westminster correspondent; and Richard Ferrer, editor of Jewish News.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
06/03/19•28m 10s
Commercial radio tunes out of local
Global, the UK's largest commercial radio company, has announced it will launch national breakfast shows on Capital, Heart and Smooth radio. The new programmes, produced in London, will replace local shows and lead to studio closures and job losses. Does the move mark the end of local commercial radio? Amol is joined by Phil Riley, former chief executive of Chrysalis Radio, and Gill Hind, COO of Enders Analysis.Also in the programme, the BBC launches a new channel just for Scotland. Steve Carson, head of the BBC Scotland channel, Bobby Hain, STV Managing Director of Broadcast and journalist Lesley Riddoch discuss.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
27/02/19•28m 18s
How to combat fake news?
The Culture Select Committee’s final report into fake news and disinformation has heavily criticised the practices of tech firms like Facebook. Amol Rajan discusses its findings with Labour MP and member of the the Select Committee, Ian Lucas, Dex Torricke-Barton, former executive at both Google and Facebook and Stephen Lepitak, Editor of the tech and marketing website The Drum. Plus several senior French journalists have been suspended for allegedly coordinating online harassment of female journalists through a private Facebook group. We talk to the editor of La Liberation and French journalist Agnes Poirier. Producer - Steven Williams
Editor - Maire Devine
20/02/19•28m 6s
The Cairncross Conundrum
Demand for news is higher than ever but fewer people are prepared to pay for it. The government asked former journalist Dame Frances Cairncross to conduct a review into the sustainability of high-quality journalism.Amol Rajan is joined by Dame Frances Cairncross, Wolfgang Blau, president of Condé Nast International, Professor Jane Martinson, Daniel Ionescu, managing editor of The Lincolnite and Lincolnshire Reporter, and Paul Staines, publisher of Guido Fawkes.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
13/02/19•28m 12s
Spotify's big move on radio
Spotify has announced that it plans to spend $500m this year buying podcast companies. Daniel Ek, the founder and CEO of Spotify, says that "audio - not just music" will be its future and is looking to entice radio listeners to the platform.Also in the show, a new strategy for BBC local radio and "the podcast for older people". Amol is joined by Nick Quah, creator of the Hot Pod newsletter, Peter Kafka, executive editor Recode, Chris Burns, BBC head of local radio, Judith Holder, co-host of Older and Wider, and Pippa Sawyer, Wycombe Sound.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
06/02/19•28m 12s
The great TV piracy scandal
Saudi Arabia is accused of operating the BeoutQ satellite TV channel which illegally broadcasts sporting events, the rights of which are actually owned by the Qatari company beIN. David Sugden is a director of the beIN Media Group and says the operation is now an "industrial scale theft". Abdirahim Saeed from BBC Monitoring explains how the media has been drawn into the wider dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.Also in the show, Amol is joined by Shona Ghosh, senior tech reporter at Business Insider, and David Flynn, co-founder of Youngest Media which is producing the new ITV game show, Small Fortune.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
30/01/19•28m 11s
BONUS Dame Pippa Harris on Call The Midwife and the TV industry
An extended interview with the producer of some of TV's most popular dramas.Photo credit: James Gourley / BAFTA
23/01/19•15m 48s
BONUS Do we need another classical music radio station?
Bauer Media's Steve Parkinson explains the strategy behind Scala Radio
23/01/19•6m 29s
BONUS Facebook's Steve Hatch apologises for distressing content about suicide on Instagram
The father of a teenager who took her own life says Instagram "helped kill my daughter"
23/01/19•11m 10s
How Call The Midwife became a global hit
Dame Pippa Harris is Chair of BAFTA and the co-founder of Neal Street Productions, the team behind Call The Midwife. Also in the programme, the launch of a new classical music radio station and Freeview goes mobile.Amol Rajan is joined by Dame Pippa Harris, Jonathan Thompson, CEO of Digital UK, Gillian Reynolds, radio critic and Steve Parkinson, Group Managing Director for Bauer Media's national radio stations.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
23/01/19•28m 6s
BONUS Matthew Chance, CNN Senior International Correspondent
CNN's man in Moscow on the world news events that have shaped his career
16/01/19•17m 8s
Who needs fact-checkers?
Facebook has contracted a UK charity to help stop fake news. But does the growth of professional fact-checkers undermine real journalists? Also in the show, how foreign media are reporting Brexit.Amol is joined by Will Moy, director of Full Fact, Diana Zimmermann, ZDF’s UK and Ireland correspondent, Joy Reid, TVNZ 1 News Europe correspondent, and Matthew Chance, CNN's Senior International Correspondent.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
16/01/19•28m 10s
Making a show for Netflix
Jamie Campbell is co-founder of the production company Eleven, creators of the new Netflix show Sex Education. He describes his experience working with the streaming giant and discusses his own career in television. Also in the programme, Nic Newman of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, who gives his predictions for the news industry in 2019, and Daisy Wyatt, assistant editor of the i newspaper.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
09/01/19•28m 12s
The Art of Public Relations
How do you organise a publicity stunt, how do you deal with being doorstepped and what do you do if you think your reputation has been trampled on by an errant journalist? Andrea Catherwood speaks to a panel of experts from PR and journalism who shed light on the art of public relations. Guests:
Alan Edwards is the founder of the Outside Agency which has looked after many celebrities from the world of music and entertainment including the Rolling Stones, The Spice Girls and David Beckham.
Keren Haynes is a former TV journalist who runs PR company Shout! Communications
Ian Gregory is Managing director of Abzed which has represented clients from the fracking industry, e-cigarettes and grouse shooting.
Polly Curtis is the Former Editor in Chief of Huff Post UK.
Producer: Steven Williams
02/01/19•28m 8s
The Great British Radio Breakfast
In this special edition of The Media Show, Amol Rajan charts the history of breakfast radio and finds out how it became one of the most competitive markets in media. Listen out for archive of some of your favourite breakfast presenters and hear the secrets behind today's hit shows.Amol is joined by Dave Berry from Absolute Radio, Jo Russell from Gem, Andy Parfitt, former BBC Radio 1 controller and David Lloyd, radio consultant and historian.Producer: Richard Hooper
26/12/18•27m 57s
Fast and slow journalism
Amol Rajan is joined by Tom Kerr, editor of the Racing Post, Rob Orchard, founder of Delayed Gratification, and Ranj Begley, managing director of Readly UK, a magazine app.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
19/12/18•24m 8s
Football, racism and the media
Will a new EU copyright law prevent Youtubers from broadcasting? Amol talks to technology reporter Kate Russell and media lawyer Christina Michelos.
Yath Gangakumaran, Formula 1 director of strategy on what the sport is doing to address its aging audience and football writer Darren Lewis and Times columnist Matthew Syed discuss the media role in the Raheem Sterling story.
12/12/18•28m 19s
The Media Show Revolutions: Radio
As part of our series of audience events exploring the media revolution, how the radio industry is being disrupted by new technology. From podcasts to music streaming, the choice of what to listen to has never been greater - but where will the revolution go next?Amol Rajan is joined in the BBC Radio Theatre by Scott Taunton, CEO Wireless Group, Gill Hind, Enders Analysis, Helen Zaltzman, The Allusionist, and Helen Thorn, Scummy Mummies. Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
05/12/18•28m 10s
Can Canada save journalism?
The Canadian government has unveiled a £350 million package of tax breaks for the news industry. One of the initiatives will see consumers being able to claim back a portion of the cost of a news subscription. Critics say that state subsidy threatens the core principle of journalistic independence.Also in the show, political debates on TV, including the proposed Brexit showdown between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn.Amol Rajan is joined by Adam Boulton, presenter of All Out Politics on Sky News, Jo Tanner, co-founder of iNHouse Communications, Susan Krashinsky Robertson, marketing and media reporter at The Globe and Mail, and Erin Millar, founder of The Discourse.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
28/11/18•28m 12s
Sir Harold Evans
A legend of Fleet Street on his career and the art of concise writing
28/11/18•17m 51s
How Brexit became a media pantomime
Has the UK media's obsession with certain colourful politicians distorted how it reports Brexit? Also in the show, Facebook's Community News Project, a new initiative to fund local reporters.Andrea Catherwood is joined by Nick Wrenn, Facebook's head of news partnerships, Chris Williams, Daily Telegraph deputy business editor, Maria Breslin, Reach senior editor, Andrew Pierce, Daily Mail columnist, and Jack Blanchard, Politico's London Playbook This programme was not transmitted live due to technical difficulties.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant Producer: Steven Williams
21/11/18•28m 7s
BONUS News Xchange 2018 debate
Amol is joined in Edinburgh by CNN, the FT, CBS News, Deutsche Welle, and Facebook
16/11/18•56m 27s
Global perspectives on the news business
In a special edition of the show recorded in Edinburgh at the 2018 News Xchange conference, Amol is joined by Nahlah Ayed, CBC foreign correspondent, Phil Chetwynd, AFP global editor-in-chief and Iman Rappetti, eNCA presenter.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant Producer: Steven Williams
14/11/18•27m 49s
Why Channel 4 is on the move
Channel 4 has announced that it will open a new headquarters in Leeds. Alex Mahon, Channel 4 CEO, discusses this and her wider strategy. Also in the show, Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Unilever, one of the world's biggest advertisers. Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
07/11/18•28m 12s
Who'd be a journalist?
Despite a popular perception that journalism is an industry in decline, The National Council for the Training of Journalists has published research that claims the number of people calling themselves journalists has actually increased since 2012. So where are they working?Also in the show, the BBC has launched Sounds, a new app that it hopes will entice more younger people to listen to the BBC, and The Overtake, a news website "from outside the middle-class media bubble".Amol Rajan is joined by Joanne Butcher, NCTJ chief executive, Bob Shennan, BBC Director of Radio and Music, Robyn Vinter, editor of The Overtake, and Hussein Kesvani, journalist and podcaster.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
31/10/18•28m 16s
The Evolution of Sports Broadcasting
Is streaming changing the way we watch sport? Amol Rajan is joined by Simon Denyer, Chief Executive of DAZN Group and Richard Broughton an expert in sports broadcasting from Ampere Analysis.
Also in the show Yvonne Thompson, the new boss of The Radio Academy on why the radio industry must diversify or die, Jane Graham writer and former BBC radio producer and Geoffrey Robertson, QC on why Non Disclosure Agreements threaten freedom of speech.
24/10/18•28m 11s
BONUS James Harding, Tortoise Media
Former editor of The Times and director of BBC News on his new "slow news" venture
17/10/18•21m 0s
Dark ads and slow news
Facebook has announced new rules on political advertising in the UK; you'll need to prove your identity and location, and each ad will carry a message saying who paid for it. Sam Jeffers is co-founder of Who Targets Me, an organisation that tracks political ads.James Harding, the former Director of BBC News, explains Tortoise, his "slow news" venture which promises "open journalism” and a “different kind of newsroom”.And Claire Beale, global editor-in-chief of Campaign, on her magazine's 50th anniversary and new trends in advertising.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
17/10/18•27m 56s
Dangers of speaking truth to power
Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is missing after a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. His criticism of the Saudi monarchy is alleged to have made him a target. Andrea Catherwood is joined by Robert Mahoney, Deputy Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists and Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed from the LSE Middle East Centre. Also in the programme, as Spotify celebrates 10 years, where next for music streaming? Eamonn Forde is a journalist who writes about the music business for Music Ally, Laura Snapes is deputy music editor of The Guardian, and John Mulvey is editor of Mojo.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper
10/10/18•28m 0s
BONUS Bob Bakish, Viacom CEO
Boss of the US conglomerate on dealing with Netflix - and his favourite Channel 5 shows
10/10/18•5m 28s
May's Media Strategy
A group of UK broadcasters claim Theresa May is avoiding doing interviews with them, an allegation her press chief denies. What is the Prime Minister's media strategy? Amol Rajan is joined by Katy Balls of The Spectator and Stefanie Bolzen from Die Welt. Also in the show, Rob Stringer, CEO Sony Music and Georgia Brown, Director of European Originals for Amazon's Prime Video service.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
03/10/18•29m 29s
BONUS Rob Stringer, Sony Music CEO
A giant of the record industry talks about music's shift to digital and his own career
03/10/18•19m 50s
How journalism exposed an atrocity
In July 2018 a horrifying video began to circulate on social media. It showed two women and two young children being led away at gunpoint and then executed by a group of Cameroonian soldiers. The Cameroon government initially dismissed the video as "fake news" but an investigation by BBC Africa Eye has now uncovered the truth. Also in the programme, BBC Two has launched a new set of idents in a bid to "refresh the channel".Amol Rajan is joined by Aliaume Leroy, BBC Africa Eye investigator, Dr Claire Wardle, Research Fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, Patrick Holland, BBC Two controller, and Manori Ravindran, editor of Television Business International.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
26/09/18•28m 20s
The marriage of tech and TV
Stephen Lambert, CEO of Studio Lambert, the production company behind Channel 4's The Circle, and David Abraham, CEO Wonderhood Studios, discuss change and disruption in the TV industry.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
19/09/18•28m 21s
The battle for teatime
Mark Austin, the former ITN journalist, discusses his new role as anchor of The News Hour, Sky News' attempt to win the battle for teatime news audiences. Also in the show, a new university degree that teaches students both journalism and public relations, and the BBC has hinted that free TV licences for the over 75s may end. Andrea Catherwood is joined by Mark Austin, Keren Haynes, co-founder of Shout Communications, Sara Eyre, lecturer Salford University, Jane Martinson, journalist, and the MPs John Whittingdale and Ian Lucas.
13/09/18•27m 58s
Outrage in the age of Twitter
The New Yorker has cancelled an interview with Steve Bannon, President Trump's former strategist, after an online backlash. Meanwhile, The Economist says its own invitation for Bannon to participate in a festival still stands, arguing that "the future of open societies will not be secured by like-minded people speaking to each other in an echo chamber". At a time of enormous commercial pressure for magazines, is it now common sense to avoid controversy? Or should editors accept that on occasion, causing offence is part of the job?Amol Rajan is joined by Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist editor in chief, Sarah Golding, chief executive of ad agency The & Partnership, and Matthew Wright, journalist and presenter of a new show on talkRADIO.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
05/09/18•28m 14s
The secrets of Social success
Louise Pentland has built an audience of millions via social platforms like YouTube and Instagram. What does her success tell us about the future of television and advertising? Also in the show, Kathryn Jacob OBE, CEO of Pearl and Dean, Simon Walker, CEO of Marquee TV and Shona Ghosh, senior technology reporter at Business Insider UK.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
29/08/18•28m 7s
Print is dead. Long live print
The Metro is only UK national paper to increase its circulation and the TLS has also seen a significant rise in its readers this year. How are they bucking the trend? Also - the new sports streaming service to launch in the UK. Amol Rajan is joined by Ted Young, editor of Metro, Stig Abell, editor of the TLS, Matthew Moore from the Times,Marc Watson CEO of Eleven Sports and Rebecca Penty from Bloomberg News. Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Steven Williams.
22/08/18•28m 5s
The BBC will not appeal Cliff Richard case
The BBC has announced it will not appeal the judgement of the High Court that its coverage of a police raid on Sir Cliff Richard violated his privacy.
Where does this leave journalism - and the senior figures at the BBC whose errors led to this expensive failure?
Amol Rajan is joined by the BBC's Director of Editorial Policy David Jordan and Angela Haggerty, columnist from The Sunday Herald. Also in the programme Jim Waterson, Guardian Media editor, Daniel Gadher, Senior Analyst at Ampere Analysis and Gady Epstein, from the Economist in New York discuss New TV, a $1bn venture which is trying to outsmart Netflix, and the plan by more than 100 American newspapers to counter President Trump's repeated attack on the media.
15/08/18•28m 24s
Big tech deletes Alex Jones
YouTube, Facebook and Apple are among the tech platforms to have deleted content from InfoWars, the media company owned by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The platforms cite hate speech as a reason for their action. Jones accuses them of collusion and unfair censorship. Amol Rajan is joined by Emily Bell, Director at The Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia and Brendan O'Neill, editor of Spiked. Also in the programme, Benjamin Cohen, CEO of PinkNews, on their new partnership with Snapchat and Rob Burley, editor of Live Political Programmes at the BBC on the forthcoming launch of Politics Live.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
08/08/18•28m 16s
Is campaigner-funded journalism really journalism?
Who can afford investigative journalism? And should we care about who pays for it? This week Unearthed, the journalism team of Greenpeace, revealed a sting operation against The Institute for Economic Affairs, the right wing think tank. An undercover reporter recorded the IEA's director suggesting that it could help potential donors meet British government ministers. The Guardian ran the story on its front page. Are Unearthed's reporters journalists or activists? Jane Martinson is joined by Damian Kahya, Head of News and Investigations for Unearthed, Claire Newell, Investigations Editor at The Telegraph, and John Sweeney, a veteran of many BBC investigations. Also in the programme, Dame Frances Cairncross, chair of a government review and public consultation into the "sustainability of high-quality journalism" and Caitlin Webb, local democracy reporter in Maidstone.Presenter: Jane Martinson
Producer: Richard Hooper.
02/08/18•28m 2s
Plotting the future of history on TV
The historian Dan Snow claims that traditional TV channels have neglected history programmes and has launched HistoryHit.TV, a new subscription service. Also in the show, Virgin Media in a dispute over how much to pay for UKTV channels and what the rise of closed social networks means for journalists.Amol Rajan is joined by Dan Snow, Manori Ravindran, Broadcast magazine, David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, Steve North, UKTV genre general manager for comedy and entertainment, and Mark Frankel, BBC Social Media Editor.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
25/07/18•44m 38s
Privacy, liberty and Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard has won an initial £210,000 in damages from the BBC after a judge ruled that coverage of a police raid on his home in 2014 was a "very serious invasion" of his privacy. The BBC says that "in retrospect, there are things we would have done differently" but claim the case marks a "significant shift" against press freedom. Amol Rajan is joined by Susan Aslan, partner at ACK Media Law and James Mitchinson, editor of The Yorkshire Post.Also in the programme, Mark Thompson, CEO The New York Times Company and Justin B. Smith, CEO Bloomberg Media.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
18/07/18•28m 19s
Will the BBC ever solve its pay problem?
The BBC has published its Annual Report which includes a list of its highest paid stars. The top 12 earners are all men despite the outcry that followed last year's list which showed a wide pay gap between men and women. Amol Rajan is joined by Ken MacQuarrie, BBC Director of Nations and Regions.Also, in the show Kay Madati, Twitter Vice President and Global Head of Content Partnerships, Cait FitzSimons, 5 News editor, and Chris Williams, The Daily Telegraph's Deputy business editor.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
11/07/18•28m 20s
How to win in sports journalism
England's World Cup success is a boon for the media but where's the line between journalist and fan? Amol Rajan is joined by Jess Brammar, Head of News at Huff Post UK, Nick Harris, The Mail on Sunday's Chief Sports Correspondent, Daniel Storey, Deputy Editor at Football 365, and Shona Ghosh, Senior Tech Reporter at Business Insider.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
04/07/18•28m 4s
Seymour Hersh - extended interview
Seymour Hersh is considered to be one of America's greatest investigative journalists
27/06/18•11m 2s
What makes a reporter?
What does it take to be a reporter - and how should editors get the best out of them? Amol Rajan is joined by Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author of "Reporter: A Memoir", Emma Tucker is Deputy Editor of The Times, and Alex Bilmes is Editor-in-Chief of Esquire.Please note, an additional interview with Seymour Hersh will be found in The Media Show podcast.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
27/06/18•28m 11s
The Media Show Revolutions: News
In the first of a series of programmes exploring the media revolution, how the news industry is changing. Amol Rajan is joined by Fran Unsworth, the BBC's Director of News and Current Affairs, Peter Heneghan from social media company LADBible and Madhumita Murgia, European Tech Correspondent of the FT, and a live audience in the BBC Radio Theatre.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
20/06/18•28m 32s
How to keep your exclusive, exclusive
The Observer and The Sunday Times both ran front pages alleging Russian links to Arron Banks, the businessman who helped fund the Leave.EU campaign. The scoops were based on emails belonging to Mr Banks and his colleague Andy Wigmore. Mr Banks has called claims of a conspiracy with Russian officials "absurd". The journalist behind The Observer's version of the story explains to The Media Show how the story also ended up in The Sunday Times. Also in the programme, why are there still so many men on the airwaves?Andrea Catherwood is joined by Carole Cadwalladr of The Observer, Professor Lis Howell of City University, Vikki Cook, Ofcom's Director of Standards and Audience Protection and Rachel Corp, acting editor of ITV News.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper.
13/06/18•28m 2s
Why isn't all TV like Love Island?
Amol Rajan is joined by Sarah Tyekiff, Head of Non-Scripted Programming at Lime Pictures and a former ITV producer of Love Island, Lord Puttnam, Richard Halton, CEO of YouView, Margi Murphy, Tech Reporter at The Daily Telegraph, and Cynthia O'Murchu of the FT.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
06/06/18•27m 55s
The staged death of a Russian journalist
Amol Rajan is joined by Ben Smith, BuzzFeed editor in chief, Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 News International Editor, and Les Hinton, former publisher of the Wall Street Journal and author of The Bootle Boy.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
01/06/18•43m 43s
The Evolution of Radio
Digital radio has become more popular than listening over FM and AM in the UK for the first time. Meanwhile, technology companies like Amazon and Spotify are increasing their investment in original podcasts and music programming. What does the drift to digital mean for traditional radio broadcasters? Also, as the Grenfell Tower inquiry begins taking public evidence, did the tragedy also represent a failure of journalism?Amol Rajan is joined by Paul Keenan, CEO Bauer Media UK and European Radio, Maeve McClenaghan, host of The Tip Off podcast, Emma Maier, editor Inside Housing, and Aliya Ram, FT European Technology correspondent.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
23/05/18•28m 12s
Rise of the media robots
Why media companies are investing in artificial intelligence. Also in the programme, reporting the Royal wedding and Killing Eve, the BBC drama that is screening in the US before the UK. Anne McElvoy is joined by Ellen Barry, New York Times Chief International Correspondent, Nathaniel Barling, CEO Knowhere News, Sally Woodward Gentle, co-founder of Sid Gentle Films, and Tabatha Goldstaub, co-founder CognitionX.Presenter: Anne McElvoy
Producer: Richard Hooper.
16/05/18•27m 52s
Journalism fights back!
The publishers finding new markets for news. Andrea Catherwood is joined by Tim Dixon, editor of The Paper for Honiton, Jasper Jackson, digital editor for the New Statesman, Nick Petche, Yahoo's UK editor in chief, and Jane Martinson, media journalist.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper.
10/05/18•28m 6s
Silicon Valley v Westminster
Mark Zuckerberg has been threatened with a summons by Parliament if he fails to accept an invitation to answer questions from the DCMS select committee. Also on the show, The Book of Man, a new publisher that aims to "redefine masculinity", why ITV is rebooting Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and a new arbitration scheme for people wronged by newspapers.Amol Rajan is joined by Damian Collins MP, Martin Robinson, CEO The Book Of Man, Shona Ghosh, Business Insider UK senior tech reporter, Charlotte Dewar, IPSO director of operations, and Chris Curtis, editor of Broadcast magazine.Please note, an extended interview with Damian Collins is available in The Media Show Podcast.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
02/05/18•37m 33s
When a story becomes big news
The Guardian had been reporting on residency problems faced by some Caribbean-born UK residents for 6 months before the story was picked up by other media outlets, triggering a crisis for the government. Also, The Daphne Project, a new initiative to continue the work of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese journalist murdered last year in a car bomb, and Sky News' Cristina Nicolotti Squires on running a rolling news channel.Andrea Catherwood is joined by Cristina Nicolotti Squires, Sky News Director of Content, Amelia Gentleman, The Guardian, Stephen Grey, Reuters special correspondent and member of The Daphne Project, and George Ruddock, The Voice managing editor.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper.
25/04/18•39m 49s
The ethics of reporting from Syria
How journalists work in a war-zone. Amol Rajan is joined by Robert Fisk, The Independent's Middle East correspondent, and Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East Editor.Also on the programme, Jane Featherstone founder of Sister Pictures discusses her new BBC One drama The Split and her career in television, Elizabeth Ammon, cricket reporter at The Times, on the BBC's loss of radio rights to some test matches, and Dino Myers-Lamptey, UK Managing Director at MullenLowe Mediahub, on advertising and Sir Martin Sorrell's retirement.Please note, an extended interview with Jane Featherstone is available in The Media Show podcast.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
18/04/18•38m 23s
The Age of Zuckerberg
How the media lives in the shadow of big tech: Amol Rajan is joined by Farrah Storr, Cosmopolitan editor, Terri White, editor in chief Empire and Pilot TV magazine, Madhumita Murgia, FT European Tech correspondent and Melanie Stokes, managing director of Kindle Entertainment.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
11/04/18•46m 32s
How Porno conquered podcasts
Once synonymous with the kitchen table, podcasts are now big business. The likes of Spotify and Amazon all produce their own podcasts and some advertisers see popular podcasts as a better investment than traditional radio. Andrea Catherwood is joined by Jamie Morton and James Cooper from My Dad Wrote A Porno, Caroline Crampton of the New Statesman, Imriel Morgan presenter of the Wanna Be podcast, and Ben Chapman, Head of Digital for BBC Radio. Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper.
04/04/18•28m 5s
BONUS Richard Gingras of Google News and Mark Thompson of The New York Times
Google has launched a new feature called Subscribe with Google that will allow users to buy subscriptions from participating news sites. Could this appease publishers who blame Google and other tech companies for a huge loss in advertising revenue? Amol meets Richard Gingras, Vice President of Google News and Mark Thompson, CEO of The New York Times Company.
29/03/18•8m 46s
Who owns our data?
Internet users everywhere are worried about their personal data. There are concerns that a few companies have become extremely rich off the back of it. But just how worried should we be? Also today, the BBC has published its annual plan, setting out priorities for the next 12 months.Amol Rajan is joined by Ken MacQuarrie, the BBC's Director of Nations and Regions, Alexandra Suich Bass, The Economist's US Technology Editor, Megan Lucero who leads The Bureau Local at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and Ivana Bartoletti, a data and privacy campaigner.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
28/03/18•28m 4s
How Carole Cadwalladr exposed Facebook
Carole Cadwalladr is The Observer journalist whose reporting on Cambridge Analytica triggered a crisis at Facebook. She tells Andrea Catherwood how she got the story. Also in the programme, James Harding, the former BBC Director of News, and Justine Picardie, editor of Harper's Bazaar.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper.
21/03/18•44m 59s
George Osborne and the economics of free news
The editor of The Evening Standard explains his business strategy. Also, will Russian media companies face sanction from the UK government? Amol Rajan is joined by George Osborne, editor of The Evening Standard, Anne Applebaum, Washington Post columnist and LSE Professor, Paul Sylvester, Absolute Radio's Content Director and Lisa Smosarski, Stylist magazine editor-in-chief.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
14/03/18•42m 22s
Reporting the case of the Russian spy
A former Russian double agent and his daughter were found unconscious in the centre of Salisbury; how should journalists approach a high profile story when few facts are known? Also, Sir Martin Sorrell makes his predictions for the media industry.Amol Rajan is joined by John Micklethwait, Bloomberg News editor-in-chief, Dorothy Byrne, Channel 4 Head of News and Current Affairs, Heidi Blake, BuzzFeed News Investigations Editor and Lindsey Clay, ThinkBox CEOPresenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
07/03/18•49m 33s
The importance of being social
Why political parties and advertisers crave influence on social media. Amol Rajan is joined by Isabel Hardman, assistant editor of The Spectator, Craig Elder, digital strategist, Harry Hugo, co-founder of The Goat Agency, Sam Barcroft, CEO of Barcroft Media and Jim Waterson, BuzzFeed News political editor.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
28/02/18•41m 24s
Is Jeremy Corbyn at war with the press?
Jeremy Corbyn has called claims in some newspapers about his involvement with a Czech diplomat in the 1980s "nonsense" and has released a video message telling the press "change is coming". Amol Rajan is joined by Trevor Kavanagh, political columnist of The Sun, Paul Mason, journalist, and Christina Michalos, barrister at 5RB chambers. Also in the show, Louisa Compton, editor of the BBC Victoria Derbyshire programme, discusses its role in uncovering sexual abuse in football.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
21/02/18•53m 31s
Trinity Mirror CEO Simon Fox on buying the Express, Star and OK
Trinity Mirror CEO Simon Fox on taking over the Express, Star and OK magazine.Times deputy editor Emma Tucker on how it put together its Oxfam abuse scoop and how the newspaper's business model accommodates investigative journalism.Sports lawyer Simon Leaf from Mishcon de Reya on Sky and BT Sport bidding billions of pounds for the right to show Premier League games. The price is down on the last round, but will Facebook, Amazon or Netflix swoop for one of the two remaining packages of matches?Executive Producer Simon Ford on how Channel 4's 24 Hours in Police Custody secured access to some of policing's most sensitive areas.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Paul Waters.
14/02/18•40m 29s
Matt Hancock's manifesto
The government has ordered a review of how it could help Britain's newspaper industry. Amol Rajan is joined by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Henry Faure Walker, Newsquest CEO, Emma Youle, investigations journalist at Archant, Kate Russell, technology journalist, and Alon Aviram, co-founder of The Bristol Cable.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant producer: Eleanor Kifvel.
07/02/18•34m 35s
BBC's problem with pay
The BBC has admitted to overpaying some male journalists compared to their female colleagues. How will it fix the problem and is it endemic in the media?Amol Rajan is joined by Peter Salmon, Endemol Shine's Chief Creative Officer, Jonathan Munro, BBC Head of Newsgathering, Professor Lis Howell of City University, Steve Anderson, former ITV controller of News and Current Affairs and Jane Martinson, former head of media at The Guardian.An extended interview with Peter Salmon about his career is included in the podcast edition of this programme.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
31/01/18•46m 18s
Murdoch fights back
Rupert Murdoch has proposed that Facebook pay a "carriage fee" to publishers in exchange for distributing their news articles. Amol Rajan is joined by the former Culture Minister John Whittingdale, Krishnan Guru-Murthy of Channel 4 News, Eleanor Mills of The Sunday Times, Mark Di Stefano of BuzzFeed, and Brian Fung of the Washington Post.The podcast version of this programme contains an extended interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
24/01/18•43m 4s
Facebook's algorithm change and why you should care
Facebook has announced it will change how its news feed works. Posts from friends and family will take priority over content from media companies. Adweek has called it "the digital equivalent of a nuclear bomb on the media industry". Andrea Catherwood is joined by Niall McGarry founder of JOE Media and Piers North, Trinity Mirror's Head of Digital.Also in the programme, Emma Scott, CEO of Beano Studios on 80 years of The Beano, and Professor Brian Cathcart, founder of Hacked Off and Gary Shipton, Deputy Editor in Chief at Johnston Press discuss calls for further press regulation.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant producer: Eleanor Kifvel.
17/01/18•28m 0s
When journalists burn their sources
What can journalism learn from Fire and Fury, Michael Wolff's blockbuster account of life inside President Trump's White House? How does a reporter persuade the rich and powerful to let them into their world - and when they've got what they wanted, is it ever OK to burn their sources on the way out? Also, why the tech giants are now taking the digital detox trend very seriously.Andrea Catherwood is joined by Polly Curtis, HuffPost UK editor in chief, Maija Palmer, social media journalist at The Financial Times, Camilla Long of The Sunday Times, Patrick Forbes, documentary maker, and lawyer and writer Arwa Mahdawi.Producer: Richard Hooper.
10/01/18•33m 18s
The battle for Christmas
Christmas has traditionally been a big event for broadcasters. But this year, how did British TV channels perform in the age of Netflix and Amazon? Also in the programme, a look-ahead to some of the big media stories coming up in 2018 including the government's decision on moving Channel 4.Julian Worricker is joined by Justin Sampson, Chief Executive of BARB, Clare Enders, founder of Enders Analysis, Nick North, BBC Director of Audiences, Cat Lewis, CEO of Nine Lives Media, and John Fairley, former managing director of Yorkshire Tyne Tees Television.Presenter: Julian Worricker
Producer: Richard Hooper and Paul WatersPicture shows Brendan O'Carroll in Mrs Brown's Boys, one of Christmas Day's most watched shows.
03/01/18•27m 57s
Who wants to be a TV format millionaire?
British TV producers are responsible for some of the world's most popular shows. What is the secret to creating a hit format? Amol Rajan gets advice from Richard Osman, creative director of Endemol UK, Karen Smith, co-devisor of Strictly Come Dancing and Paul Smith who was part of the team behind Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Robin Hilton is a partner at the law firm Sheridans and John McVay is Chief Executive of Pact.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant producer: Eleanor KifvelPicture shows Richard Osman and Amol Rajan.
27/12/17•28m 9s
Peston's Brexit confession and BBC religious coverage
Robert Peston found fame for his string of scoops during the financial crisis of 2007. In his new book WTF he admits to how he voted in the EU referendum but insists his impartiality as ITV Political Editor has not been compromised.The BBC has announced substantial changes to the way it covers religion and says it should do more to reflect non-Christian life. Stephen Pollard is editor of The Jewish Chronicle, Aaqil Ahmed is the former head of religion at the BBC, Nisha Parti is producer of The Boy with the Topknot, and Justin Brierley presents on Premier Christian Radio.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
20/12/17•39m 49s
End of the Age of Murdoch?
Walt Disney is rumoured to be finalising a $60bn takeover of the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox. Brian Wieser is an analyst for Pivotal Research Group and Matthew Garrahan is the FT's global media editor.The publicist Max Clifford has died - what is left of the culture of celebrity journalism that he did so much to create? Rosie Nixon is editor in chief of HELLO! and Camilla Wright is the co-founder and editor of Popbitch.Buzzfeed has announced job cuts in the UK. James Ball was a special correspondent for Buzzfeed.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
13/12/17•33m 26s
The Guardian's Kath Viner, Spin doctors v broadcasters, Channel 4 News editor Ben De Pear
Katharine Viner, the editor-in-chief of Guardian News and Media, discusses the newspaper's financial and digital future with Media Show presenter Amol Rajan.Also - we lift the lid on the intimate and sometimes fraught relationship between political party directors of communication and spin doctors on the one hand, and political programmes and broadcasters on the other. Each side needs the other, but what happens when their interests do not coincide? We gain an insight into the rows, manipulation and behind-the-scenes deals from three insiders:
Sue Inglish, the former head of political programmes for BBC News
Tom Baldwin, who was director of communications for then Labour leader Ed Miliband
Ben de Pear, editor of Channel 4 NewsPresenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Paul Waters.
06/12/17•39m 26s
The Royal Family and critical journalism
Prince Harry is getting married and newspapers have devoted dozens of pages to the story. But do British journalists abandon their principles when it comes to the Monarchy? Charles Anson was the Queen's press secretary, Emily Andrews is Royal correspondent for The Sun, Tim Ewart was ITN's Royal Editor and Tim Montgomerie is the founder of UnHerd.The Financial Times is now reaching a record number of paying subscribers. FT editor Lionel Barber explains his strategy.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
29/11/17•52m 44s
The power of the crowd
Paperchase has apologised for a promotion offered in the Daily Mail. The stationery retailer backtracked after being targeted on social media by campaigners. Stop Funding Hate believes that an advertising boycott can change the editorial stance of newspapers they disagree with. Amol Rajan is joined by Owen Jones, Johnny Hornby, founder of The&Partnership, Christian May, editor of the newspaper City AM, and Jane Martinson of The Guardian.Donald Trelford was the editor of The Observer from 1975 to 1993. His new autobiography is called Shouting In The Street.Mashable has reportedly been sold for $50m, just a fifth of how much it was valued at last year. Buzzfeed and Vice are also expected to miss revenue targets for the year. As advertisers now concentrate their spending on Google and Facebook, do some digital publishers have an unsustainable business model? Will consolidation in the industry mean reduced choice for consumers?Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
22/11/17•40m 22s
Russia and the information wars
Vladimir Putin has been accused by the UK government of weaponising information to sow discord in the West. Amol Rajan is joined by Dmitry Linnik, former London bureau chief of Voice of Russia, James Nixey, head of Russia programme at Chatham House and Carole Cadwalladr of The Guardian.Jeremy Thompson was one of Sky News' biggest stars until his retirement last year. Now he's written his memoir, Breaking News.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
15/11/17•37m 8s
Scoops from Paradise
The Paradise Papers are 13.4 million leaked financial documents. A German newspaper got hold of them and then farmed out the legwork to a global network of almost 100 publishers to investigate. Is scoop by collective the future for journalism? Gerard Ryle is the director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and James Oliver is a producer for BBC Panorama. George Trefgarne is a former Economics Editor at The Daily Telegraph and now runs a financial PR company.A group of female journalists have set up The Second Source in response to the problem of sexual harassment in the media industry. Ros Urwin is a co-founder and also a senior feature writer at The Evening Standard.IMPRESS is the UK's official press regulator and Jonathan Heawood is its chief executive.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
08/11/17•28m 0s
How BuzzFeed exposed Kevin Spacey
Netflix have suspended filming of their hit TV series House of Cards. The decision follows allegations now engulfing the show's lead actor Kevin Spacey. Marisa Carrol is BuzzFeed's deputy national editor. Matthew Garrahan is the FT's global media editor.Refinery29 is a digital publisher targeting millennial women and has been valued at $500m. Kate Ward is the executive responsible for Refinery29's expansion into Europe.If the allegations of impropriety by members of parliament now filling the front pages really were an open secret, did Westminster's journalists turn a blind eye? How effective is the Lobby at holding power to account? Heather Brooke was the investigative reporter who exposed the expenses scandal, Paul Staines blogs as Guido Fawkes, and Michael White is The Guardian's former political editor.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper.
02/11/17•27m 55s
How to save regional newspapers
Johnston Press is one of the UK's largest publishers, whose titles include The Scotsman, Yorkshire Post and the i. Chief executive Ashley Highfield discusses his strategy with Amol Rajan.As part of what it calls an experiment, Facebook has changed what type of story appears in the News Feed for some of its users. Publishers have complained that the only way of now reaching users' main feed is by paying for the privilege. Filip Struharik is an editor at the Slovakian publication Dennik N and Lynsey Barber is City A.M.'s tech editor.For the first time the ASA has upheld a complaint against an advert that appeared on Snapchat. The ruling comes at a difficult time for Snap with the company struggling to sell its much hyped smart Spectacles and missing advertising targets. What's the future for the company once valued at $25bn? Tim Armoo is CEO of Fanbytes and Lucy Rohr is The Economist's Snapchat editor.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
25/10/17•27m 52s
Malta journalist murdered: Daphne Caruana Galizia
Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated by a car bomb this week. She was renowned for challenging corruption on the island. We hear about her work and the risks faced by investigative journalists in Malta and elsewhere - and the impact this attack may have on other reporters. We hear from people who knew Daphne - Frederik Obermaier of the worldwide Panama Papers investigation into corruption and Saviour Balzan of Malta Today.Which? magazine is celebrating 60 years of consumer journalism, but how relevant is it today, as free-to-access reviews by ordinary consumers have become such a feature of online shopping? Richard Headland, Editor in Chief of Which? and Katie Morley, the Telegraph's Consumer Affairs Editor, both join us.Crimewatch axed: Did you see it? Do you know someone who has an axe and has been behaving suspiciously?
After 33 years, the BBC's long-running crimebusting evening TV series is no more, so how are police communicating and engaging with the public in the post-Crimewatch era. Nick Cloke of Dorset Police tells us.Tinder journalism: The use of online dating sites like Tinder to gather information for journalistic purposes.
We hear from pioneering Tinder journalist Kevin McElwee on the ethics of engineering online encounters when you're really only after one thing - and it's not a date.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Paul Waters.
18/10/17•28m 17s
Could the media have exposed Harvey Weinstein earlier?
The Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein stands accused of years of sexual misconduct. Weinstein denies all allegations of non-consensual sex. But could he have been exposed earlier? Was the media complicit in protecting him? Gabriel Sherman is a Vanity Fair special correspondent, Meirion Jones is from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and Alan Collins is a partner at the law firm Hugh James.A local TV channel for every city was the grand plan of the former culture secretary Jeremy Hunt. Four years since the first of them came on air, is anyone watching? Jamie Conway is the CEO of Made Television and media analyst Ray Snoddy is a long term follower of the project.Shortlist is the magazine handed out for no charge in city centres and railway stations up and down the country. It was launched 10 years ago this month and has expanded into a range of other titles. Ella Dolphin is CEO of Shortlist Media.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
11/10/17•27m 58s
Celebrities and interview copy control
Clare Balding has denied claims that she demanded approval of a Saga Magazine interview.
05/10/17•27m 47s
What's wrong with the BBC?
In the inaugural Steve Hewlett Lecture at the Royal Television Society, Nick Robinson argues how the BBC should respond to the popularity of hyper-partisan news sources. Anoosh Chakelian is a senior writer at the New Statesman and Alex Wickham blogs as Media Guido.Twitter has announced that it is increasing the number of characters allowed in a Tweet. It used to be 140 - in line with old fashioned SMS text messages - but now it is going to experiment with 280 characters. Piers Morgan thinks it is a bad move whilst technology journalist Kate Bevan explains the business rationale.BT Sport has become a serious rival to Sky in the market for live sport. Amol visits its giant studio in East London and meets Simon Green, Head of BT Sport.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant Producer: Amy Irvine.
28/09/17•28m 9s
Is Twitter turning journalists into vultures?
Theresa May has called for tech firms to do more to tackle online extremism. Meanwhile in Germany new legislation is due to come into force next month that will mean the likes of Google and Facebook facing huge fines of up to 50m euros if they fail to remove extremist content. Markus Beckedahl is a prominent free speech campaigner and founder of the Netzpolitik blog.Sam Baker edited some of Britain's biggest magazines - Just Seventeen, Cosmopolitan and Red - but then in 2015 jumped ship. She co-founded The Pool, an entirely digital publication, which today is experiencing steady growth.The incident at Parsons Green prompted accusations that some journalists were behaving like "vultures". Members of the public who had posted photos and video from the scene soon found themselves swamped with requests from journalists. Steve Jones is the Press Association's Social Media Editor and Kaya Burgess is a reporter at The Times.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
20/09/17•24m 0s
RTS Cambridge Convention special
How does the UK retain its position as one of the world's leading producers of TV? A special edition of The Media Show recorded at the Royal Television Society's Cambridge Convention. Amol Rajan is joined by Sophie Turner Laing, CEO of Endemol Shine, Wayne Garvie, Chief Creative Officer, International Production at Sony Pictures, Theresa Wise, RTS Chief Executive and Katherine Rushton, Media and Technology Editor at the Daily Mail.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant Producer: Tim Allen.
13/09/17•27m 37s
Coleen Rooney and the paparazzi, Classic FM at 25, Panorama secret filming
Coleen Rooney has appealed for photographers to stop following her in the wake of her husband's drink driving arrest. George Bamby, a paparazzi photographer and Susan Aslan, partner at ACK Media Law discuss the issues.Classic FM celebrates 25 years on air this week. Sam Jackson, the network's managing editor, explains its appeal.BBC Panorama has broadcast disturbing footage from inside the Brook House Immigration Removal Centre at Gatwick Airport. Callum Tulley is the whistleblower who filmed it and Joe Plomin is the Panorama producer.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant Producer: Tim Allen.
06/09/17•28m 13s
30/08/2017
As tensions continue to mount on the Korean peninsula, is now the right time for the BBC to be launching a new radio service aimed at North Koreans? Jamie Angus is Deputy Director of the BBC World Service Group, Dr Leslie Vinjamuri is Director of the Centre on Conflict, Rights and Justice at SOAS and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House and Tania Branigan is The Guardian's foreign leader writer.Oliver Cummins Hylton is the winner of the first Steve Hewlett Bursary, an initiative founded in Steve's memory by The Royal Television Society, The Media Society and his friends and family.There is speculation that Amazon could be preparing a bid for Premier League broadcast rights. But seasoned media analyst Mathew Horsman of Mediatique thinks the scenario is highly unlikely.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant producer: Tim Allen.
30/08/17•27m 55s
23/08/2017
Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, claims that Facebook has "dire controls" over who can buy adverts and that as a consequence his brand is regularly used as bait by scam firms. Facebook says that misleading ads are strictly prohibited from its platform and is constantly working to detect them.Evolve Politics has applied to join the lobby of Westminster journalists. Could the admission of the "hyper partisan" site shake up political reporting? Matt Turner is senior editor at Evolve Politics, Tom Newton Dunn is political editor of The Sun, and Carole Walker is a former BBC lobby correspondentWill Young, the singer and actor, has launched a podcast with his friend Chris Sweeney. Homo Sapiens is described as "like Woman's Hour but for LGBTQ+ people".Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant producer: Tim Allen.
23/08/17•36m 52s
Test Match Special and Josh Krichefski of MediaCom UK
If you're a company or a brand who wants to reach millions of people, you can go to the likes of Google and Facebook and they'll do it for you. So what's the point of a media agency these days? For decades, big brands have been paying these firms huge sums to place them in all the right places. Josh Krichefski is CEO of the UK's largest, MediaCom, with clients such as Sky, DFS, and Tesco.As Test Match Special celebrates 60 years on air, The Media Show goes behind the scenes at one of the world's longest running radio programmes. Amol meets TMS producer Adam Mountford, engineer Mike Page, and a host of much-loved voices.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.
16/08/17•33m 51s
Media titan John Malone, newspapers 'ripping' content, and online moderation
John Malone has been called the "swamp alligator", the "cable cowboy" and "Darth Vader". He's worth several billion dollars and he's one of the few people to put one over Rupert Murdoch. But you've probably never heard of him. Well, John Malone is buying up more and more of UK television. So it's time we got to know him better. Matthew Garrahan is the global media editor of the Financial Times and has met the media mogul. He tells us what John Malone is up to.National newspaper online sites are being accused of copying and rewriting each other's work - as process known as "ripping" - rather than coming up with original stories. We hear from Dominic Ponsford, editor of the Press Gazette, freelance journalist Marie Le Conte and Christian Broughton, editor of the Independent nwespaper.Social media platforms, especially Facebook and YouTube, are criticised for distributing content deemed to be offensive. Whether it's images of violence or bullying, or examples of hate speech or extremist propaganda, the process of moderating what's acceptable really matters. There's evidence that it's getting harder to keep up with the sheer volume of material. Some members of Youtube's Trusted Flagger programme - volunteers who monitor content on the video-sharing website - say there is a large backlog of complaints, specifically about child protection. So how are these sites moderated? And who does it? We hear from two experts who have closely studied the field and spoken to online moderators - Tarleton Gillespie, a principal researcher in this area at Microsoft Research New England, and Sarah Roberts assistant professor with the Department of Information Studies at the University of California.Presenter: Julian Worricker
Producer: Paul Waters.
09/08/17•28m 10s