Is it possible to give listeners access to the riches of the BBC archive - without releasing material that was deemed acceptable when it was made but is offensive now? As you voice concerns about Orwellian attitudes, Roger ask David Jordon, director of Editorial Policy and standards what the rules are. And following a furore in the press Roger finds out if it's really no longer acceptable to use the terms AD and BC, instead of CE and BCE, on the airwaves? We celebrate the 50th birthday of In Tou...
Sep 30, 2011•28 min
Does light music still have a place on the BBC? As listeners voice their doubts, Radio 2 controller Bob Shennan explains his decision to end Alan Titchmarsh's programme Melodies for You. As Americana also comes to an end over on Radio 4, Roger recalls controller Gwyneth Williams' reasons for the change and hears your reaction to the comedy which replaces it. The sounds of the past transport Roger back in time as he visits the new BBC Archive building, and hears about an ambitious project to make...
Sep 23, 2011•28 min
Listeners' champion Roger Bolton returns with a new series of Feedback in which conflict inevitably plays its part. From seemingly wall-to-wall coverage of 9/11 to changes to the Radio 3 schedule, Roger hears your views. Got eight hours plus to spare next week? Roger finds out more about the making of Russian wartime epic "Life and Fate" which takes up all of Radio 4's drama slots next week (apart from The Archers) and he finds out how you will be listening. We'll also be asking if the BBC's new...
Sep 16, 2011•28 min
The controller of Radio 4 Gwyneth Williams takes questions directly from listeners on her recently announced plans to shake-up the schedule. Listeners tackle her on the controversial decision to cut afternoon readings from three to just one a week from next April. She also defends the axing of On The Ropes and The Choice and explains why more news is needed at lunchtime. Andy Parfitt, the controller of Radio 1 tells Roger Bolton why he is leaving the station after 13 years at the helm. And this ...
Jul 29, 2011•28 min
Roger Bolton gives a Feedback listener an access all areas backstage pass to the Today programme. Francesca Fenn talks to Sarah Montague, Charlotte Green and John Humphrys. Roger puts your queries to Ceri Thomas the editor of Today including length of items, gender balance and Murdoch overkill. A Feedback listener has a miserable Sunday night listening to Pick of the Week. And will the "visualisation of radio" mean early retirement for those with "a good face for radio"? Plus the World Service's...
Jul 22, 2011•28 min
Have BBC journalists overindulged in the Murdoch meltdown? Roger Bolton puts your thoughts to Mary Hockaday the head of the BBC newsroom. What's your reaction to changes to the Radio 4 schedule? More news and more comedy? Roger finds out what's in store. And "watching" the radio - more networks are wheeling in the cameras to get their guests and presenters on screen as well as on air. But why? Contact the Feedback team to let Roger know what you'd like him to tackle this series about anything yo...
Jul 15, 2011•28 min
Was the Today programme interview with boxer David Haye below the belt? Many listeners felt robustness strayed unnecessarily into rudeness. Listeners query whether the fashion sense of Christine Lagarde, the new Head of the IMF, would have been scrutinised as it was on Radio 4's Profile if she was a man. And Lord Patten uses his first public lecture to announce the streamlining of the BBC complaints procedure, and substantial cuts in the pay and perks offered to the corporation's executives. Con...
Jul 08, 2011•28 min
The BBC complaints system needs an overhaul says an influential House of Lords Committee. Frustrated listeners agree. Roger visits the BBC Weather Centre to find out where north ends and south begins and to find out what a "sandwich of weather" is. Should forecasts substitute detail for metaphor? Hundreds of listeners have contributed to PM's Privacy Commission which is drawing a line between public interest and personal intrusion. Roger interviews the programme editor to find out how useful lis...
Jul 01, 2011•28 min
What is the secret of making children's radio - which children actually want to listen to? As listeners young and old object to the loss of much of BBC children's on-air programming, Roger Bolton asks Paul Smith, Head of Editorial Standards for BBC Audio & Music, if the BBC has given up trying to find an answer. Gregory Watson, Managing Director of children's station Fun Kids and Susan Stranks of the National Campaign for Children's Radio add their views to the debate. Does BBC 6 Music reall...
Jun 24, 2011•28 min
Roger Bolton encounters a sticky problem on You and Yours after listeners question the validity of a nine minute report on a doughnut manufacturer. You and Yours editor Andrew Smith defends the decision. Radio 3 devotee Chris Newman joins Roger for a behind the scenes visit to a live broadcast and find out some of the unexpected things that can go wrong during a performance. And 25,000 of you submitted your Desert Island Discs - so why were only five listeners' stories featured in a special prog...
Jun 17, 2011•28 min
Radio 5Live has been accused by its commercial rival as being too focused on footie and being weak on news. Some listeners agree and the BBC Trust says more clarity is needed. Roger asks Adrian Van Klaveren, the controller of Radio 5Live to answer your criticisms. Is there a one-size fits all to Today programme interviews? Father Ted creator Graham Linehan wonders why there are "no positions possible except diametrically opposed ones". Many of you back him up. And the endless search for new come...
Jun 10, 2011•28 min
Is local radio in England worth its £110 million budget? Roger returns to his home county of Cumbria to speak to listeners there about why their local BBC radio station is one of the most popular in the country. And you wanted to hear more from Sharon Shoesmith, the former director of Haringey children's services. Maybe you would have if it was someone other than John Humphrys interviewing her on The Today programme. How many children listen to the radio in the middle of the night? None we hope,...
Jun 03, 2011•28 min
The Moral Maze prides itself on robust discussion, but many listeners thought this week's programme was more about bad manners than reasoned argument. Did they go too far? Or is all fair in love and debate? Could Chris Evans be the saviour of children's radio? Quite possibly, judging by the massive response to his short story competition, 500 Words. Ahead of next week's announcement of the winners, executive producer Helen Thomas reveals what it is about the Radio 2 Breakfast Show that appeals t...
May 27, 2011•28 min
Too many repeats, schedule changes and the loss of much of the children's programming. Fans of the former BBC Radio 7 lament its loss and challenge the station's head of programming Mary Kalemkerian over the changes she's made to the station that's now called Radio 4 Extra. Incest, murder and trench warfare - is Book at Bedtime too dour? Radio 4 commissioning editor Caroline Raphael explains how books are chosen for the late night slot and hears your pleas to let listeners know details of music ...
May 20, 2011•28 min
If the pips are always late on DAB radio, how will we know what the real time is when we all switch over to digital? Roger Bolton talks to Rupert Brun, the BBC's head of technology who says - actually - we won't. Some listeners question Jenni Murray's use of language during her recent stand-up routine for Comic Relief - the Woman's Hour presenter reveals why she abandoned PC in favour of street slang. Sir Michael Lyons is coming to the end of a turbulent four years as the chairman of the BBC Tru...
Mar 25, 2011•28 min
In the week that the fate of the Asian Network is being reconsidered, Roger Bolton talks to controller Andy Parfitt about the station's future. Parfitt also heads Radio 1, and three young listeners join the interview to quiz him on the network's approach to celebrity presenters and listening on digital. Is it ever possible to have too much of a good thing? Archers fans will have the opportunity to find out, following the announcement that the spin-off Ambridge Extra will be launching on the digi...
Mar 18, 2011•28 min
This week Lord Patten, the new chairman of the BBC Trust, faced a grilling from a parliamentary select committee. Did he impress? Roger Bolton asks Jocelyn Hay of the Voice of the Listener and Viewer and the chairman of that committee John Whittingdale MP for their assessment. Twelve-year-old schoolboy Jojo Baidoo, beat the stage school darlings to become the leading man in this week's Book at Bedtime on Radio 4. BBC Radio 7 is poised to relaunch as BBC Radio 4 Extra, offering among other things...
Mar 13, 2011•28 min
Roger Bolton turns up at Hardeep Singh Kohli's flat to ask some personal questions - including who gave him his first kiss? At the end of this month, millions of fans of the BBC Hindi Service will no longer be able to listen on shortwave. Roger speaks to Rifat Jawaid, editor of language programmes at the BBC Asian Network, about his Indian family's passion for the service. And many of you have trouble understanding speech when it's accompanied by background music. So why do producers persist in ...
Mar 04, 2011•28 min
The candid confessional of an alcoholic doctor gripped listeners of Victoria Derbyshire's 5Live phone in last week. Lots of people praised the presenter's "sensitive handling" as listener "Rachel" talked about her long term battle with drink and depression. But what steps are taken to ensure that candid confessional is not just mass entertainment? Roger Bolton talks to Louisa Compton, daytime editor of 5Live. How many BBC journalists does it take to report a revolution? Too many, say many Feedba...
Feb 25, 2011•28 min
Roger Bolton visits in Salford with Feedback listeners Heather Howarth and Delphine Price to explore the Media City UK development. He asks them if moving more programmes to BBC North will make them more representative of northern life and whether they actually care where their programmes come from. And down the road in Manchester, Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie are preparing to shift their popular evening banter on Radio 2 to an afternoon slot on 6 Music. Roger talks to the station's control...
Feb 18, 2011•28 min
Radio 4 is being encouraged to reach beyond its largely white, better off, southern audience by the BBC Trust. But you say don't change a thing. Roger Bolton unpicks the BBC Trust's report on Radio's 3, 4 and 7. Listener Sasha Lubetkin visits the British Museum and the BBC's pronunciation unit to find out more about the BBC's role as defender of the English language. Are The Archers getting too cosy with the Palace? Producer: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4....
Feb 11, 2011•28 min
Peter Horrocks, the BBC's director of global news, talks through the implications of massive cuts to the World Service. Plus your concerns about changes to music programming nationally and locally as Radio 2 moves Stuart Maconie and Mark Radcliffe across to 6 Music to make way for Jo Whiley. Are there too many American voices on Radio 4? And you suggest alternative futures for Nigel Pargetter in The Archers. Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on...
Feb 04, 2011•28 min
Roger Bolton returns with a new series. Radio 4's new controller gives her first broadcast interview to Feedback and reveals her plans for the network - new programmes, new voices and a "new layer of creativity". And as hundreds of Feedback listeners mourn the passing of Nigel Pargetter - two avid Archers listeners take a tour of the Archers studio and put your questions to the programme's editor Vanessa Whitburn. Plus news of dramatic cuts at the World Service where five language services are t...
Jan 28, 2011•28 min
The BBC is the subject of its own news bulletins yet again. Roger speaks to the BBC's deputy director of news to find out how BBC radio reacts to stories about the Corporation. After a tense week in the Dontenville household, Radio 4 nut Heather and her Radio 1 loving stepdaughter Jenni reveal how they got on after a week of listening to each other's stations. The BBC Trust is looking for new members for its Regional Audience Councils - it could be you! Email the team: [email protected] Produce...
Dec 03, 2010•28 min
Aspiring comedian Richard Hanrahan desperate to break into BBC radio pitches his talents directly to the woman who can say yes.... Or ... er no thanks. Praise for 'Atching Tan' - a play about, written by and acted by travellers. All information can be found online. If you hate digital radio you'll be dreading 2015 - Tim Davie, the BBC's head of radio, tries to reassure you. And a Radio 4 fan and her Radio 1 loving step-daughter swap stations for a week. Email the team: [email protected] Produce...
Nov 26, 2010•28 min
Roger Bolton asks Archers actor Ryan Kelly, who plays Jazzer McCreary in The Archers, if his character is a stereotype of a drunken Scottish ne'er do well. Check out the new Archers website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/the-archers/ A listener takes your gripes about the iPlayer revamp to the top - and demands straight answers. And reporting from Rangoon last weekend - why were some reporters named while others remained anonymous. Jon Williams, the BBC's head of World News has the answer...
Nov 19, 2010•28 min
Presented by Roger Bolton. This week, Justin Webb explains why he wants to toughen up his act. But listeners say please don't as they rather enjoyed it when The Today programme was taken off the air by the recent national Union of Journalists' strike. It was replaced by gentler programmes including an audio essay about The Wash. The novelist Joanna Trollope makes a plea for more adventurous drama on BBC Radio. And should the BBC make people in the rest of the world pay for listening to its domes...
Nov 12, 2010•28 min
Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations. Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place for listeners to air their views on the things heard on BBC Radio. Email the team: [email protected] Producer: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
Nov 05, 2010•28 min
Roger Bolton asks whether this was the best week for the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to wash up on Kirsty Young's Desert Island Discs. As Peggy learns to cut and paste on The Archers, Roger examines the BBC's role in Government backed education campaigns. And after Richard Herring's endorsement - listeners are desperate to know how to get hold of this season's must have Radio 4 hoodie. Email the team: [email protected] Producer: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4....
Oct 29, 2010•28 min
Roger Bolton challenges the Chairman of the BBC Trust over the new licence fee deal. How well will new editorial guidelines safeguard the impartiality of radio reporting? A History of the World in 100 objects - it's all over but was it worth it? Do Desert Island Discs castaways have to take a religious book with them? And cuts overkill - how a trail for Radio 4 coverage invaded the airways at the wrong time. Email the team: [email protected] Producer: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BB...
Oct 22, 2010•28 min
