This week, our look at how the election is being covered across BBC radio takes us to 5Live for the launch of their #FridayTakeover. Each week, the station is selecting one key politician to face individual listener questions. Stephen Mawhinney, the station's Head of News, explains how the nature of a political interview changes when led by the public while presenter Nicky Campbell discusses the balance between handing the reins over to listeners and knowing when to regain control. The recent Tr...
Apr 17, 2015•27 min
The Easter weekend is a prime opportunity for regular radio presenters to take a step out of the spotlight and into the sun for some rest and relaxation. But their stand-in presenters can be left to face the disappointment of an audience devoted to their favourite host. What are the challenges facing stand-ins and how do they overcome them? Lewis Carnie, the head of Radio 2 programmes, discusses how Sara Cox and Zoe Ball have filled in for leading men Chris Evans and Ken Bruce. The spring breaks...
Apr 10, 2015•28 min
It's five weeks to Polling Day. As part of our investigation into how different BBC networks are covering the election, Roger Bolton talks to the political team of Radio 1's Newsbeat. Young listeners ask editor Louisa Compton how the coverage will be tailored to the age and interests of the Radio 1 audience. And what effect did the sounds of a glacier, a football crowd and a dawn chorus have on our listeners? Sound recordist Chris Watson produced a series of audio postcards - each Exploring the ...
Apr 03, 2015•28 min
Roger Bolton goes behind the scenes at BBC Westminster to see how they're gearing up for the 2015 General Election. He talks to Katy Searle, the Editor of Political News about the pressures on journalists, while Deputy Political Editor James Landale reveals how he got a headline story from Prime Minister David Cameron. And changes to the layout of the BBC news website have dismayed some Feedback listeners who feel they are being force fed certain stories. Robin Pembrooke, the General Manager for...
Mar 27, 2015•28 min
On this week's programme with Roger Bolton: the BBC's Moscow Correspondent Sarah Rainsford on reporting from Putin's Russia, the Trust's review of BBC music radio and Radio 4's Listeners' Elections. It's less than 50 days to go until this year's General Election and BBC Newsrooms are delving into the big issues of the economy and immigration. But now, Radio 4 wants to break down the election issues that matter most to its audience. The station is launching 'The Listener's Election'. It calls for...
Mar 20, 2015•28 min
After a year and half in the driving seat for Radio 4's beloved radio soap opera The Archers, editor Sean O'Connor has created controversy amongst some dedicated listeners - with debate over a number of cast changes and the playing out of a Biblical flood over a week of programmes. This week, Sean O'Connor came into the Feedback studio to answer listeners' questions and comments. C2C, the Country Music Festival, was held in London last weekend bringing the sounds of Nashville to a UK audience. T...
Mar 13, 2015•28 min
Is there a formula to successful comedy on Radio 4? Before leaving her post as Commissioning Editor of Comedy on Radio 4 and 4Extra, Caroline Raphael talks about her 17 years in the job and reveals which hugely successful comedy almost didn't make it to air because the Controller of Radio 4 at the time turned it down. Also, the debate over the licence fee has been ignited by a report from the Commons Media Select Committee. It suggests replacing the licence fee with a universal levy for all hous...
Mar 06, 2015•28 min
Next week sees the last ever episode of Radio 4's long running investigative series Face the Facts. Radio 4 says it's part of an ongoing effort to cut costs. Presenter John Waite recounts his most memorable moments during his 30 years on the frontline of investigative journalism. The Green Party was hoping to launch their election campaign in a blaze of positive publicity earlier this week. But after leader Natalie Bennett experienced what she called an "excruciating mind blank" in an interview,...
Feb 27, 2015•28 min
The allied bombing of Dresden was one of the most controversial episodes of the Second World War - but was Radio 4's coverage of the 70th Anniversary too one-sided? The editor of Radio 4's Today programme, Jamie Angus, discusses how the BBC reflected on this historic event with a senior lecturer in War and Media at King's College London, Dr Peter Busch. And the story behind how the BBC obtained a startling piece of audio from the shootings in Copenhagen. Toby Castle was duty editor in the BBC Ne...
Feb 20, 2015•28 min
Almost an entire day on Radio 4 was taken over by a dramatic airing of War and Peace at the start of the year. For some listeners it was a joy that kept them glued to their radios - for others it was a rude interruption to the schedule. Radio 4's Commissioning Editor for Drama, Jeremy Howe, explains why the network decided to broadcast wall-to-wall Tolstoy at the expense of regular programmes. Also, the BBC's Director General Tony Hall has weighed into the ongoing debate about changes to The Arc...
Feb 13, 2015•24 min
Gwyneth Williams is in her fifth year as the controller of Radio 4 and has made her mark with various radical changes - including bringing a former Eastenders' producer to The Archers, cutting 12 minutes from You and Yours and bringing visualisation to a variety of Radio 4 programming. For the final episode of this series, Feedback listeners speak directly to the Controller and give their views on the network. Loyal Archers Addicts ask how much free rein the editor should have when many listener...
Dec 19, 2014•28 min
Roger Bolton talks to investigative journalist Tom Mangold about The Silent Conspiracy, a programme he first began working on 35 years ago. The programme concerned Jeremy Thorpe, the charismatic leader of the Liberal Party between 1967 and 1976. Thorpe's political career was overshadowed by scandal when he was accused of conspiring to murder Norman Scott - a man who claimed to have been his lover at a time when homosexuality was illegal. He was acquitted of conspiracy to murder but soon withdrew...
Dec 12, 2014•28 min
What do you really think of Radios 4 and 5 and their extra bits? The BBC Trust wants listeners' input for a major review it's conducting. But will your views change anything? Trustee Elan Closs Stephens tells Roger Bolton why reviews like this matter. Radio 4's World War 1 drama Home Front is set to run for four years and a total of approximately 600 episodes. Roger goes on a behind-the-scenes tour of the epic production and puts listeners' questions talks to the series editor Jessica Droomgoole...
Dec 07, 2014•28 min
The BBC World Service is now funded by the licence fee which means the UK public is now paying for a service that many rarely use. Roger Bolton talks to the service's outgoing director, Peter Horrocks, about the challenges facing his successor. Radio 4's PM programme continues to keep its audience up to date with Michael Buerk's progress on I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. Many listeners love these light-hearted jungle moments; many others feel they have no place in a serious news programme....
Nov 28, 2014•28 min
Since August, listeners to Radio 4's You and Yours have had their daily diet of consumer and social affairs cut by 12 minutes - in the first place to make way for the opening salvoes of Radio 4's 600-part World War 1 drama Home Front. Since then a number of mixed programmes have occupied the slot - with mixed responses from Feedback listeners. Are these bite-size portions the future of radio? The Commissioning Editor, Mohit Bakaya, explains his thinking for the future of the slot. How does the B...
Nov 21, 2014•28 min
BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat has been found in breach of both Ofcom and BBC Editorial Guidelines for its broadcast of an interview with a member of ISIS. The item was considered inappropriate under BBC standards for Impartiality and Harm and Offence. Richard Ayre, the Chairman of the BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee, explains the ruling. Radio 1's iPlayer video channel launched this week. It's the station's latest effort to engage with the smartphone generation. The BBC's Head of Visual Radio g...
Nov 14, 2014•28 min
Dramatic storylines and racy relationships are continuing to cause a stir among Archers fans. Now the actor who plays the sausage king Tom Archer has been deposed, some listeners are threatening to switch off altogether. There were 103 episodes of Hancock's Half Hour recorded in the 1950s. However, 20 episodes are missing from the BBC archives. Now, five of them have been brought back to life in new recordings of the original scripts. Giving a voice to the many voices of Kenneth Williams is acto...
Nov 07, 2014•28 min
Russell Brand was invited onto Radio 4's Start the Week to join a discussion on Revolution. But was he out of place on the panel of experts? Some listeners saw it as little more than blatant promotion of his latest book. The programme's editor, Rebecca Stratford, explains the thinking behind her decision. Surround sound has long been enhancing mainstream cinema, and it's now made an appearance in BBC radio drama. And you don't need a 5.1 surround sound speaker set to hear it. So how does it work...
Oct 31, 2014•28 min
Lord Heseltine has been criticised for his use of the word 'handicapped' on Radio 4's Any Questions. But should Jonathan Dimbleby or the programme's producers have stepped in to correct him? Radio 4's Peter White, who's also the BBC's Disability Affairs Correspondent, gives his take on the evolution of terminology -and the minefield of words to avoid. Moral Maze presenter Michael Buerk also came under fire this week for his choice of words in a live on-air trail. He was promoting this week's deb...
Oct 24, 2014•28 min
Have political interviews become a monotonous drone on your radio? Newsnight Editor Ian Katz believes most are simply "boring-snoring". 5 live Breakfast presenter Nicky Campbell and Today's John Humphrys fought their corner in a Masterclass at this year's Radio Festival in Salford on "The Art of the Political Interview." Three Feedback listeners also went along and put their questions to Radio 4's Grand Inquisitor. Roger Bolton also talks to Desert Island Discs' Kirsty Young about how she gets h...
Oct 17, 2014•27 min
Good news. You now have 30 day to catch up on radio programmes using iPlayer. Andrew Scott, the General Manager of radio and music for BBC Future Media joins Roger Bolton to discuss the changes. Musician, writer, broadcaster - Jarvis Cocker can seemingly turn his hand to anything. But can he combine his intimate late-night delivery of Radio 4 programme Wireless Nights with the full force of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra? Kate Taylor takes us behind the scenes at the rehearsal to meet Jarvis alo...
Oct 10, 2014•28 min
Has a summer of tough foreign news had you switching off the radio? The Editor of the Today programme, Jamie Angus, talks to Roger Bolton about his plans to bring a greater range of approaches to telling international stories. The aim is to give audiences a broader view of life in countries which are more often in the news for conflict or disaster - but is it sugar-coating the news for listeners? Mud-slinging or mediation? What's the best way to debate? Many Feedback listeners tell us they want ...
Oct 03, 2014•28 min
On 4th August 1914 Britain entered World War I. The BBC marked the date with a variety of programmes exploring the history of the conflict and by broadcasting commemorative ceremonies. Many listeners were moved by the coverage, others questioned whether it was too jingoistic, while some wonder whether the level of analysis is sustainable for the next four years. Also this week, Roger Bolton meets his teenage crush - Carol Tregorran from The Archers, played by film star Eleanor Bron. Carol hasn't...
Aug 08, 2014•28 min
Listeners' views on the BBC's coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continue to dominate our inbox. There are allegations of bias on both sides - the BBC coverage is accused of being too pro-Palestinian and too pro-Israeli. But how easy is it to accurately report the conflict on the ground from within Gaza? Roger Bolton speaks to the BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet. Also this week, should history stay in the past? John Humphrys and Melvyn Bragg have gone head-to-head o...
Aug 01, 2014•28 min
Last weekend many radio listeners were looking forward to catching up on all the programmes they'd missed during the week using the BBC iPlayer. But they found programmes were mysteriously unavailable. In some cases they remained so until Monday afternoon. What went wrong and should the BBC have done more to communicate about the problem? Roger Bolton speaks to the BBC's Mark Friend, the Controller for Radio and Music Multiplatform. The panellists on this week's Moral Maze had no problems commun...
Jul 25, 2014•28 min
On Thursday, the BBC announced 415 jobs losses from its news department. The job cuts are to save money after the last licence fee agreement left the BBC needing to find £800 million in efficiency savings. But what do the cuts mean for radio news? Roger Bolton asks the BBC's Director of News, James Harding. And amid accusations of bias on both sides, Roger speaks to the World News Editor, Andrew Roy, about whether the BBC is sufficiently impartial in its coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict. Als...
Jul 18, 2014•27 min
The editor of The World at One answers listeners' complaints about his programme's interview with the actor Nigel Havers, there's Radio 4's new comedy series about cancer survivors, and the dos and don'ts of eating on the radio. Feedback received many emails this week from listeners who question The World at One's decision to interview actor Nigel Havers about the integrity of his aunt Baroness Butler Sloss and her appointment to lead a government inquiry into child sex abuse. Was it a case of c...
Jul 11, 2014•28 min
This week on Feedback, Roger Bolton discusses accusations of false balance in the BBC's climate change reporting with BBC Trustee Alison Hastings. Also in the programme, if the BBC director general Tony Hall has made a commitment to more female presenters on radio; two of 5Live's top women - Victoria Derbyshire and Sheila Fogarty - are leaving and are being replaced by men. Is Radio Bloke making a comeback? Plus I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and the art of innuendo and why Any Questions presenter J...
Jul 04, 2014•28 min
Lots of emails this week from listeners angered by BBC radio's lack of coverage of what was claimed to be a 50,000-strong demonstration against the coalition's cuts - even though it started just outside Broadcasting House. Was it, you wondered, evidence that the corporation's news coverage isn't as impartial as it claims? Also under discussion - the "N word". Is it ever acceptable to use it on the air? Roger talks to the producer of Radio 4's Archive on 4 documentary A History of the N Word and ...
Jun 27, 2014•28 min
Fans of Radio 2's Alex Lester, the self-professed Dark Lord, are in open revolt at the news that he's being moved from his midweek early morning slot to the weekend. They're also angry that his old slot is to be filled with repeats. In the first programme of the new series, Roger Bolton talks to BBC Radio 2 Controller Bob Shennan about his decision to reduce the station's live broadcasting through the night. Also, is the BBC responsible for some of UKIP's recent successes by giving the party too...
Jun 20, 2014•28 min
