Is the BBC impartial? What does impartiality really mean? Questions posed in the latest review by the BBC Trust. The Breadth of Opinion report is part of the Trust's rolling programme of impartiality reviews and looks at how the BBC covers immigration, Europe, and religion - three areas listeners regularly write to Feedback about. We speak to the review's author, Stuart Prebble, to find out whether the BBC is living up to its impartial reputation. Also, the acting editor of The Archers, Julie Be...
Jul 05, 2013•28 min
Is any discussion too adult for Radio 4? When the Moral Maze took on the subject of internet pornography, Feedback listeners were diametrically opposed on whether the discussion went too far. Roger Bolton talks to Moral Maze producer Phil Pegum about how and why he chose to tackle the subject, live on air, and when he has to intervene to rein in contributors. Plus, Jazzer from The Archers and acting Archers editor Julie Beckett discuss the controversial outburst that has been the most talked abo...
Jun 28, 2013•28 min
This week Quentin Cooper presented his last edition of Radio 4's long-running science programme Material World. The Editor of BBC Radio Science, Deborah Cohen tells Roger why it was time for a change. In the wake of our interview with BBC Trustee Richard Ayre about the BBC's loss of £98.2 million, we air your views on the decision to bring in outside investigators at further cost. There was another story about BBC finances this week. But you might not have heard it. Listeners were surprised that...
Jun 21, 2013•28 min
It's a year since the BBC introduced an improved complaints procedure. And the BBC Trust, which exists to protect the licence fee payers' interests, has just reported back on the new system. Their public consultation shows that most people now think the system is working well. But some Feedback listeners still think there's room for improvement. Roger Bolton speaks to BBC Trustee Richard Ayre, who is in charge of reviewing the complaints procedure. And Richard Ayre gives the BBC Trust's view on ...
Jun 14, 2013•28 min
In the last of the current series of Feedback, Roger Bolton is joined by Gwyneth Williams, the Controller of Radio 4. She responds to listener questions on topics ranging from the coverage of Baroness Thatcher's funeral to Paul and Lillian's love affair in The Archers. Earlier this week the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, was interviewed by John Humphrys about UK borrowing figures - but the interview took a personal turn at the end when Mr Osborne was quizzed on his tears during Mar...
Apr 26, 2013•28 min
The measles outbreak in South Wales has been near the top of the national news agenda for weeks. Time was that, whenever the MMR jab was mentioned, so too was the alleged connection to autism. Now, BBC reports state baldly that any suggested link has been "totally discredited". Are they right to be so categoric? Roger discusses the issue with the BBC's Medical Correspondent Fergus Walsh. What makes for a good "quizzer"? We go behind the scenes with Rufus Stilgoe as he prepares for his first appe...
Apr 19, 2013•28 min
Over the top eulogising or overly critical? In this week's Feedback, listeners are divided over the BBC's coverage of the death of Margaret Thatcher. We talk to the Head of the BBC Newsroom, Mary Hockaday. And do you need to know what's on BBC One when you're listening to Radio 4? We put your frustrations about the latest high-profile cross-TV and radio campaigns - BBC One's The Village and Radio 4's Front Row - to the Director of Marketing and Audiences for BBC Radio, Neil Caldicott. Following ...
Apr 12, 2013•28 min
Does Radio 4 need to replenish its audience with an injection of young blood? Roger talks to the station's Network Manager Denis Nowlan about attracting new audiences and gets the views of age-aware Feedback listeners. And for many concert goers, the most taxing decision during the interval is whether to have a G&T or a glass of wine. But for Radio 3 producers, there's a tricky balance to be struck between entertaining the audience in the stalls and the listeners at home. We talk to Radio 3'...
Apr 05, 2013•28 min
Confusion, frustration, abdication and revolution in this week's Feedback. Vanessa Whitburn the longest-serving editor of The Archers is leaving after 22 years. She tells Roger about bullying from listeners, hints at plans for the Ambridge murder that never was and confesses that she often keeps quiet about her job for fear of being hijacked at social events. Also this week, Radio 4 listeners have been treated to a series of five "playful and surprising audio interventions" - three-minute creati...
Apr 02, 2013•28 min
Do BBC reporters know their Higgs boson from their Bunsen burner? Many of you think BBC science reporting is woefully inaccurate. Roger Bolton talks to David Shukman, a year into his role as the BBC Science Editor, to find out what steps the BBC is taking to equip reporters with scientific knowhow. Last week the Crown Prosecution Service published its first ever study into false allegations of rape and domestic violence, which said that such claims are a very small percentage of the overall figu...
Mar 22, 2013•28 min
This week in Feedback, we ask when music should be censored by the BBC. After a listener spotted that Oliver's Army by Elvis Costello had the 'n' word cut out abruptly during a 6Music show, we decided to look into how and why music is edited for offensive language. Roger Bolton visits Radio 1 and 1Xtra to meet DJ Trevor Nelson and Head of Music George Ergatoudis. George explains how they fulfil listener demand for the more controversial hip hop, rap, and pop songs, without offending the audience...
Mar 15, 2013•28 min
In Feedback this week, you ask: where are all the right-wing comedians? Left-wing comic Jeremy Hardy returned to airwaves last week with his series of lectures 'Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation'. Never one to be shy about his political views, Jeremy had many of you laughing but others felt the joke just wasn't funny anymore and called for balance on the network. Roger puts your points to Caroline Raphael, commissioning editor for Radio 4 Comedy, and asks her whether she is actively looking for ...
Mar 08, 2013•28 min
This week in Feedback, we ask whether listeners should be warned about strong language before it is broadcast. Many of you have written to us with your views on potentially offensive language, some in support of the realism swearing can provide, others saying there is no place for it on the wireless. But when Radio 4's Six o'clock news chose to broadcast a racially abusive term, it prompted you to ask why some programmes carry warnings ahead of transmission when others don't, and whether it is a...
Mar 01, 2013•28 min
Scaremongering or top notch investigative journalism? We hear your views on the BBC's horsemeat coverage. Roger Bolton asks Sheila Dillon, food journalist and presenter of BBC Radio 4's Food Programme, and Jeremy Hayes, the editor of Farming Today and the Food Programme to address your questions and finds out about their approach to covering this complex story. Also in this week's Feedback, is it ok to make jokes about Jimmy Savile on the BBC anymore, whether they are new jokes or from the BBC a...
Feb 22, 2013•28 min
Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations. Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you. Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
Feb 15, 2013•28 min
Is BBC Radio 4 dancing to the tune of the McCartney family? Many of you wrote to Feedback with complaints after You and Yours welcomed Mary McCartney, daughter of Linda and Sir Paul McCartney, onto the programme to discuss the re-launch of the family's vegetarian food brand - just a few days after Sir Paul joined Sheila Dillon on the Food Programme for an extended interview about his life in food. Was this advertising? Roger speaks to BBC Radio 4's compliance editor Roger Mahony about the rules....
Feb 08, 2013•28 min
BBC Radio 2 has just announced record audience figures, but is the network satisfying all its listeners? Following changes to Sunday Half Hour, a new presenter for the Folk programme and a clutch of technical difficulties, Roger Bolton puts your concerns to Controller Bob Shennan. Also, Roger speaks to the Head of the BBC's Newsroom, Mary Hockaday, to get her views on the story that won't go away - the gender imbalance on air. With other major broadcasters signing up to a pledge to give female p...
Feb 01, 2013•27 min
Why aren't there more female experts on BBC Radio programmes? Feedback puts your questions and comments to Philip Sellars, Editor of Documentaries at Radio 4, and Deborah Cohen, Editor of the Radio Science Unit. And we report from the BBC Academy's Women Experts Training Day, asking women themselves what they think is holding them back. Too fast - and you're furious. We hear from listeners who scrambled to buy tickets to CarFest - the festival brainchild of Radio 2's Chris Evans - only to have t...
Jan 25, 2013•28 min
The BBC is a commercial free zone so why do so many guests on BBC radio shows always seem to be plugging something? One Feedback listener tackles the BBC's Director of Editorial Policy and Standards, David Jordan, on the issue. And are there enough female voices on the radio? Many of you don't think so. Earlier this week Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams acknowledged criticism that certain programmes were skewed overwhelmingly towards men. You highlight some of the worst offenders. Also, how s...
Jan 18, 2013•28 min
As the New Year chimes beckoned in 2013, many Feedback listeners bemoan the loss of some of the most well-known and well-loved voices on BBC Radio - from presenters to continuity, across the networks. In their place is a swathe of new talent. We welcome in the New Year with your views on the changes. Also, reporting climate change. This week, many listeners to bulletins in the Today programme contacted Feedback via Twitter and email to say they were dismayed by the reporting of Met Office resear...
Jan 11, 2013•28 min
Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations. Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. In a week when the BBC's own troubles have filled the schedules, what do you think of the way the Corporation has covered its crisis? Have programmes like Today, Call You and Yours and the Media Show restored your faith in the BBC's journalism or indulged in pointless navel-gazing? Also, Feedback goes to the Radio Festival in S...
Nov 16, 2012•28 min
Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. Can the future of radio really be digital when only 5% of the UK's 34 million vehicles have digital car radios? Earlier this week the Drive 2 Digital conference aimed to spread D-Love about digital on the move, but Feedback listeners still have questions. Roger invites one listener to join Tim Davie, the BBC's Director of Audio and Music, and Ford of Britain's Steve Humbles to find out more about ...
Nov 09, 2012•28 min
Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations. Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you. Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
Nov 02, 2012•27 min
Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you. Are radio programmes about prisoners too sympathetic? In this week's Feedback, Roger meets two programme makers to discuss your questions on the rights and wrongs of radio about prisons. Rex Bloomstein is the presenter and co-producer of Radio 4's Dying Inside, which looked at the experiences of the growing number of older prisoners, over 40% o...
Oct 26, 2012•28 min
Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you. If the Prime Minister hasn't given a speech yet, why report on it? When a politician speaks, what does he really mean? In this week's Feedback, Roger Bolton gets a lesson in political code-breaking from chief political correspondent Ben Wright. Ben takes us behind the scenes at BBC Westminster and answers your questions about the dark art of po...
Oct 19, 2012•28 min
Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations. Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you. Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
Oct 12, 2012•24 min
This week saw the end of the Labour Party Conference in Manchester - but not before an interview with Ed Miliband on the Today programme prompted a flurry of angry emails to the Feedback inbox. For many listeners, Evan Davis's technique proved infuriating. Talking over his interviewee, interrupting, grandstanding and answering his own questions, were some of the complaints. We get a response from the Today programme and also glean insight on the art of the political interview from Radio 4's Week...
Oct 05, 2012•28 min
Is an apology really an apology if you keep repeating the original offence? No it isn't, say many Feedback listeners. After security correspondent Frank Gardner told the Today programme about remarks made to him by the Queen, the BBC has apologised for a breach of confidence. But in this week's Feedback, listeners explain why they feel that by reporting the story, the BBC is in fact repeating the mistake. Many, if not most listeners find it hard to hear a programme if speech is competing with mu...
Sep 28, 2012•28 min
Serious news or tabloid tittle-tattle? Some Feedback listeners feel those photos of the Duchess of Cambridge got too much coverage on Radio 4's news output. Roger put your concerns to Mary Hockaday, Head of the BBC Multimedia Newsroom. And the BBC's new Director General George Entwistle, barely settled behind his desk, finds Feedback knocking at the door with a bulging volume of listener comments and suggestions. Mr Entwistle has already announced that he holds the audience closest to his heart,...
Sep 21, 2012•28 min
Were the Olympic and Paralympic Games just a crazy summer fling? Or will the enthusiasm of the audience have a lasting impact on the way BBC 5Live covers sport, particularly minority sport? Roger Bolton puts your questions to 5Live controller Adrian Van Klaveren. Roger also meets Breakfast presenter Rachel Burden, editor Scott Solder and 5Live's Head of News Steve Mawhinney to discuss what difference the move to Salford has made to the sound of the programme. As Chris Moyles leaves the Radio 1 B...
Sep 14, 2012•28 min
