Roger Bolton discusses listener reaction to programmes on BBC radio. This week, sports journalists have been kept particularly busy with speculation over Jose Mourinho's arrival as the new manager of Manchester United. But should the story have been headline news on BBC Radio 4? The Editor of the BBC Radio Newsroom, Richard Clark, responds to listeners' complaints. Radio 4's School Drama has earned a huge amount of praise - and also generated a degree of drama. The four-part series, starring Tom...
May 27, 2016•28 min
Roger Bolton hears listener concerns about the timing of Radio 4's World on the Move day during the EU Referendum, Soul Music brings back childhood memories and there's discussion about the end of What the Papers Say. On Monday, Radio 4 and BBC News dedicated a day to the topic of migration - World on the Move. Plenty of listeners welcomed the focus and admired the ambitious programming, including a special edition of the Today programme with Sarah Montague in Vietnam and a lunchtime address fro...
May 20, 2016•28 min
This week the government released its long-anticipated white paper setting out its views on how the BBC's charter should be reformed and implemented over the next eleven years. Listener discuss their questions and concerns with Roger Bolton and Colin Browne from the Voice of the Listener and Viewer - from how the 'distinctiveness' of the BBC will be measured to a welcome note from the government about on-air trails. Comedian David Baddiel speaks to Roger Bolton about his unusual Radio 4 panel sh...
May 13, 2016•28 min
The Archers' plot of Rob abusing Helen has been a source of constant discussion among the Ambridge faithful. Is it too painful to continue? Is it too important to lose? And, is the depiction of domestic abuse true to life? Polly Neate, CEO of Women's Aid, a charity that advised the programme makers on the reality of abuse, joins Roger Bolton to explain whether she feels that the storyline provides a believable picture of a coercive, controlling relationship. And at 5:30 on 18th March, Radio 4 Lo...
Mar 30, 2016•28 min
Roger Bolton asks if Desert Island Discs allowed itself to become too political when it invited nuclear scientist Dame Sue Ion to be a castaway. Dame Sue Ion has long been a campaigner for nuclear energy, and some listeners felt that the much loved Radio 4 stalwart Desert Island Discs was the wrong platform for her to talk about that political belief. Editor Rebecca Stratford joins Roger to discuss whether Kirsty Young should have posed stronger challenges to Dame Sue Ion on the subject, and how...
Mar 18, 2016•28 min
Roger Bolton asks if the BBC has had too much coverage of the US Presidential election - and if it is anti Donald Trump. The long process of selecting the next President of the United States is well underway, and some listeners are already bored stiff, while others are concerned that BBC reporters have lost their objectivity when it comes to unlikely Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. Roger Bolton puts listeners' concerns and questions to the BBC North America editor Jon Sopel. It's the second...
Mar 11, 2016•28 min
Roger Bolton discusses audience comments about The Bottom Line with Evan Davis, finds out about Radio 4's new comedy commissions, and hears listener reactions to an explicit drama. It's been ten years since Evan Davis started presenting The Bottom Line, Radio 4's business chat show which aimed to bring senior and expert voices from the City to a broader audience. Evan reflects on the programme with Roger Bolton and addresses listener concerns that the focus of the programme is too narrowly aimed...
Mar 04, 2016•28 min
Roger Bolton with listener questions and comments on the EU referendum coverage, BBC diversity, stultifying sport and the continued furore over Rob and Helen in The Archers. With the EU referendum date set and the battle between 'leave' and 'remain' set to dominate the headlines until June, the BBC's Chief Political Adviser Ric Bailey joins Feedback to address listeners' questions about how the referendum is being covered. Is the BBC biased on EU membership? Is the story being told too much as a...
Feb 26, 2016•28 min
Feedback returns with the BBC Radio issues that matter most to you - from the coverage of Junior Doctors' debate and David Bowie's death, to a tough listen in The Archers and a documentary that invites you to see with your ears. When David Bowie died, Radio 4's news programmes dedicated much of the day's coverage to the star. Many listeners felt the coverage was disproportionate. Jamie Angus, editor of the Today programme, speaks to presenter Roger Bolton to address complaints that the BBC let e...
Feb 19, 2016•28 min
On Wednesday James Naughtie made an emotional sign off on the Today programme as he left the presenter seat after 21 years. What were listeners' favourite Naughtie moments? We hear highlights from two decades of broadcasting, from discussion of Auberon Waugh's nipples to the famous Jeremy Hunt gaff. In the aftermath of the Scottish referendum, and the SNP's success in the general election, BBC Scotland is also having a debate around the extent of its own independence. A committee in Holyrood has...
Dec 18, 2015•28 min
Radio 4's forum for listener comment.
Dec 11, 2015•28 min
The British Government has just allocated £289 million to the World Service for the next five years, in a bid to promote UK soft power. But where will this money go, and what does this mean for the BBC's independence? Roger Bolton talks to the Director of the BBC World Service Group Francesca Unsworth. With the arrival of Advent came a Radio 3 Carol Service, performed by the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge. Some listeners were impressed by the new compositions alongside traditional favouri...
Dec 04, 2015•28 min
Roger Bolton airs audience views on BBC radio output, including a controversy in local radio, new funding for the World Service, and the fresh comedy duo The Pin. Earlier this month, presenter Iain Lee hosted a controversial discussion about Christianity and LGBT rights on his BBC Three Counties radio breakfast show. The heated interviews divided listeners and Iain Lee has now left the station. Campaigns across social media, led by fans and LGBT rights groups, have since demanded Iain Lee's rein...
Nov 27, 2015•28 min
On Friday 13th November, Paris became the site of Western Europe's deadliest terrorist attack in over ten years. From the immediate aftermath of the attacks through to the end of the weekend and into this week, the story received heavy coverage across all BBC Radio networks, with BBC Radio 5 Live dedicating a whole day to rolling news about Paris on Saturday. It was a major story, but was BBC Radio's response proportionate? We hear your reaction. As the fight over Britain's membership of the EU ...
Nov 20, 2015•28 min
High level scrutiny and the need for further savings shines a light on every corner of BBC. This week Roger Bolton is in Sheffield to find out what listeners think about their BBC local radio stations. He speaks to Sheffield listeners and hears how holding local figures to account, local knowledge, companionship and reflecting the local community are key to keeping listeners engaged. But across England, listening figures are in a slow decline. David Holdsworth, who is in charge of all 39 station...
Nov 13, 2015•28 min
Roger Bolton hears listeners' views on Vanessa Feltz's interview with a gay man awarded £7,500 by a judge in a landmark case. The man was said to have been a victim of discrimination that was purely non-verbal after he claimed he had been abused by a member of shop staff who used homophobic gestures at him over several months. Some listeners felt that the exchange went too far and forced the man into a distressing situation. Roger speaks to one such listener to debate the line between journalist...
Nov 06, 2015•28 min
With violence escalating in recent weeks between Israelis and Palestinians, the conflict is once again high on the news agenda. Coverage of the story is always scrutinised strongly and this week we'll hear from listeners who allege biased reporting about both sides. But can such a long-running and complex conflict be fairly covered in a forty second news bulletin? Roger Bolton speaks to Kevin Connolly, the BBC's Middle East Correspondent. When The Daily Mail's cartoonist Stanley "Mac" McMurtry a...
Oct 30, 2015•27 min
Actor Martin Jarvis pays homage to Arthur Miller, England Cricketer Vic Marks gives his verdict on The Archers' game, and Radio 4 drama goes underground and avant-garde. In recent weeks, BBC Radio has been host to a theatrical marathon celebrating the centenary of the birth of the great playwright Arthur Miller. With a wealth of plays, features and documentaries across Radio 3 and Radio 4, some critics called it overkill - but listeners couldn't get enough. Roger Bolton puts audience questions t...
Oct 23, 2015•28 min
When it comes to debate, how combative is too combative? When historian Niall Ferguson and novelist Jane Smiley appeared on Start the Week, a heated discussion took place about the nature of historical truth. But while a few listeners enjoyed the sparku exchange, it was too much for many. Two Feedback listeners hold their own debate, asking whether the exchange made for great radio or an argumentative mess. Roger Bolton is in the chair, but can he mediate? Last week saw BBC Radio 4 celebrating N...
Oct 16, 2015•28 min
Influential comedy producer John Lloyd speaks to Roger Bolton about radio satire, as one of his earliest programmes comes under scrutiny from listeners. When Radio 4 Extra rebroadcast a 1976 edition of the satirical programme News Huddlines, listeners were taken back to the days of Wilson, Callaghan and the rising star Margaret Thatcher. They were also exposed to an era with very different sensibilities about matters of race, gender and sexuality - and some listeners took offence. So should old ...
Oct 09, 2015•28 min
From walkouts to bias and booing, we're kicking off a brand new series of Feedback with the biggest stories in BBC Radio. All told by you. By far the most talked about man in the Feedback inbox (rivalled only by the villainous Rob from The Archers) is the newly-elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Many Feedback listeners say they think BBC Radio has been too quick to dismiss Mr Corbyn's style of politics and has a tendency to focus too much on what some see as trivial aspects of his leadership, ...
Oct 02, 2015•28 min
Quentin Letts' wry critique of the Met Office has had listeners contacting Feedback in droves. The programme was the first episode of a new series of What is the Point of...? and while a few felt the programme exercised a healthy scepticism about climate science, many more felt it allowed controversial opinions to go unchallenged. Roger Bolton hears some of the reaction. Earlier in the series, Feedback considered the BBC's coverage of migrants and heard concerns about the use of terms such as 'i...
Aug 11, 2015•28 min
Roger Bolton explores religious broadcasting on radio. As the UK becomes more spiritually diverse and increasingly secular, how should the BBC approach religious news and worship? Since its birth in the 1920s, the Corporation has always produced religious content, with programmes focussed primarily on Christian worship during the early days. Ninety years later, the religious makeup of the country is far more diverse and complex, so is the BBC keeping up with the times when it comes to spiritual ...
Jul 31, 2015•28 min
The Government has opened the public consultation period on the future of the BBC - but how much impact will your views have on their decision? The BBC Trust has also launched its own public consultation. Some Feedback listeners say they're confused about the process and what they're being consulted on. Roger Bolton sheds some light on the process. For the last three weeks, Radio 4's One to One interview has featured Selina Scott looking at the world of ghostly apparitions. The series has drawn ...
Jul 24, 2015•28 min
The debate over the future of the BBC continues, with the size, structure, funding and remit of the Corporation now up for discussion. As the Department of Culture, Media and Sport open their twelve week public consultation on the future of the Beeb, Feedback listeners speak to Roger Bolton about their views. Also, Feedback listeners celebrate some good news - the arrival of radio downloads. From this week, almost all radio content will be available for download onto smart phones and tablets via...
Jul 17, 2015•28 min
The Licence Fee and the future of the BBC. Director General Tony Hall has agreed to fund licences for the over 75s but says he's got a good deal for the corporation, citing the agreement that the Licence Fee will rise in line with inflation and those who only use catch-up services such as iPlayer may also need to buy a licence. Meanwhile, the Chair of the BBC Trust - your representative - was locked out of negotiations and others in the worlds of media and politics have been scathing about the l...
Jul 10, 2015•28 min
Roger Bolton looks at the battle for control of language. More than 120 MPs have written a letter to the BBC's Director General calling for an end to use of the name "Islamic State" in news reporting. David Cameron is among those calling for a change of terminology, saying that many Muslims recoil from the name. Radio 4 and World Service listeners tell us what they think the BBC should call the group and consider whether a change in terminology would weaken Islamic State, or weaken the BBC's imp...
Jul 03, 2015•28 min
What risks should journalists take to report stories? In this week's Feedback, Roger Bolton visits BBC journalists on a training course which aims to prepare them to report from dangerous conflict zones and hostile environments. Listeners have been pondering whether the risks are worth it in order to report the story to them. Roger brings the BBC's Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet together with senior BBC producer Stuart Hughes and Vaughan Smith, founder of the Frontline Club, to di...
Jun 26, 2015•28 min
Radio 4's forum for listener comment.
Jun 19, 2015•28 min
Has the BBC's impartiality been compromised in the lead up to the General Election? With less than two weeks to polling day, political leaders are near ever-present on the airwaves as they try to secure votes. BBC networks - including Radio 1, 5Live and Radio 4 - have been connecting party leaders directly to the public in a series of live debates. Listeners flocked to social media to comment as the programmes were broadcast - and some of their comments complained about biased presenters and aud...
Apr 24, 2015•28 min
