The Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference held at the end of April featured a session with Rhodri Talfan Davies, the BBC’s Director of Nations. He spoke about the BBC’s storytelling and regional production, and was then questioned by the session’s chair — VLV Trustee, Classic FM presenter, and former BBC Radio 4 World Tonight presenter, Ritula Shah. Together, they explored challenges in TV production and co-production partnerships, tax credits and charter renewal, local radio, decentralisi...
Jun 29, 2025•29 min•Season 9Ep. 9
Miqdaad Versi, Director of Media Monitoring at the Muslim Council of Britain discusses the Centre for Media Monitoring's comprehensive report "BBC on Gaza-Israel: one story, double standards". We discuss the report's methodology and its use of AI to analyse over 35,000 pieces of BBC content over a year and examine its key findings, on the disproportionate coverage of Israeli deaths, fewer Palestinian interviews, inconsistent use of language and the suppression of genocide allegations. "We want t...
Jun 18, 2025•35 min•Season 9Ep. 8
Iain Dale is a broadcaster, political commentator, and presenter on LBC. We discuss his new short biography of Margaret Thatcher, written to introduce the former Prime Minister to a new generation. We explore her fraught relationship with the BBC, her influence on broadcasting policy, and what that legacy means today. We talk about the future of public service broadcasting, the BBC’s dominance, the rise of opinion-led channels like GB News, and whether the market can still deliver trusted journa...
Jun 09, 2025•32 min•Season 9Ep. 7
John Ware, veteran investigative journalist and former BBC Panorama reporter, with decades of experience covering complex and controversial subjects from the Troubles in Northern Ireland to antisemitism in British politics, discusses Gerry Adams’ defamation case against the BBC, the silence from parts of the Jewish community, BBC coverage of Gaza and the Middle East, the role of public service broadcasting, and the impact of agenda journalism. "The BBC’s coverage actually is quite timid” Listen ...
Jun 05, 2025•37 min•Season 9Ep. 6
Jonathan Thompson is Chief Executive of Everyone TV , the organisation that runs free television in the UK. In this episode Jonathan discusses the launch of the UK's newest streaming platform, Freely , which brings together live and on demand content from the UK's public service broadcasters. We explore what Freely offers, its accessibility, and its role in preserving public service broadcasting. We explore critical issues facing UK television: how to maintain content diversity, attract younger ...
May 28, 2025•25 min•Season 9Ep. 5
Dr. Tom Mills, Chair of the Media Reform Coalition and co-author of the report “Our Mutual Friend: The BBC in the Digital Age” , discusses a detailed proposal for the mutualisation of the BBC—an idea supported by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. He explains what it would mean for audiences to become active participants in the Corporation’s governance, how such a model could work in practice, and what it could offer in terms of accountability, representation, and resistance to political interference...
May 22, 2025•31 min•Season 9Ep. 4
Fresh from his BAFTA award, Patrick Spence, executive producer for Mr. Bates vs The Post Office discusses how the series was commissioned, why it was a success, how it was funded, the decline of certain TV drama genres, the crisis in the industry, the need of government support: levy vs tax breaks, the impact of tariffs, regional production, the streamers’ role and his upcoming project The Hack . “If I was offered Mr. Bates vs the Post Office now as a prospective development, I would not take it...
May 15, 2025•26 min•Season 9Ep. 3
Rozina Breen is the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and formerly head of news at BBC Five Live and BBC North. A speaker at the recent Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit, Rozina discusses the event, the growing challenges facing journalism under the Trump administration, the importance of local and regional journalism, the BBC and the role of partnerships, the importance of fact based reporting and why TBIJ is necessary. “” The fire has always...
May 09, 2025•34 min•Season 9Ep. 2
Jonathan Dimbleby is a veteran British broadcaster known for his long-form interviews on BBC and ITV, and as host of Radio 4’s Any Questions . In this episode, we discuss his latest book on World War II, the use of a journalistic background in writing history, challenging historical myths, the ‘special relationship’ between the US and Britain, the rise of populism and parallels between current political trends and historical threats to democracy, the critical role of public service broadcasting,...
Apr 23, 2025•37 min•Season 9Ep. 1
Nick Kent is the chief executive and creative director of Oxford Films, which made this week’s BBC Two documentary "Simon Schama: The Road to Auschwitz". We discuss the challenges making an impactful 60 minute documentary which explores the Holocaust's broader historical context, the role of language and visual imagery, ethical considerations in portraying the Holocaust and the importance of public service broadcasting. “We're living in a time when the BBC is in jeopardy, and what's at stake now...
Apr 11, 2025•33 min•Season 8Ep. 13
James Cridland is the editor of Podnews and a radio futurologist— a writer, consultant, and public speaker on radio’s future. We discuss the BBC’s Annual Plan, its financial challenges, the impending changes to BBC Sounds' international access, the intricate challenges of rights management, potential revenue streams, and the delicate balance between public service broadcasting and commercial imperatives. “The only change going on here is that we're getting rid of the BBC Sounds app, and you have...
Apr 01, 2025•29 min•Season 8Ep. 12
Kirsty Lang began her BBC career in 1986 and worked as the Central Europe correspondent for the BBC World Service and as a reporter on Newsnight . After a stint as The Sunday Times’ Paris correspondent, Kirsty went on to present Channel 4 News . Since 2002, she has been a stalwart of Radio 4, presenting Front Row , Last Word , and Round Britain Quiz . We discuss the BBC's financial squeeze, its plans to restrict international access to domestic radio services, the importance of BBC programming a...
Mar 27, 2025•32 min•Season 8Ep. 11
Prof Stewart Purvis is the former content regulator at Ofcom, a former Editor of Channel 4 News and ITN Chief Executive. As the Vice President of the Royal Television Society we discuss: the RTS Awards controversy withdrawing an award for Gaza journalists, Stewart’s experience reviewing BBC Middle East coverage and the fallout from the landmark GB News vs. Ofcom legal case and the ability of foreign governments to influence British broadcasting. "What's at stake is the future of broadcast journa...
Mar 17, 2025•26 min•Season 8Ep. 10
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown describes herself as a "lefty, liberal, anti-racist feminist, Muslim" who was born in Uganda and came to the UK in 1972. She is a journalist, columnist for The i Paper, and commentator. Yasmin is a strong advocate for human rights who supports Israel's right to exist while being critically engaged with its policies. On this week’s podcast we discuss the BBC’s handling of its withdrawn Gaza documentary, the challenges facing independent journalists in Gaza, the lack of critic...
Mar 13, 2025•33 min
Richard Ayre is the chair of the UK's independent press regulator, Impress. Before that, he spent about thirty-five years at the BBC as a former controller of editorial policy and deputy chief executive of BBC News, before becoming a member of the BBC Trust. Richard is also a former member of the OFCOM content board. In this week's episode, we discuss BBC's DG Tim Davie and Chair Samir Shah's appearance in front of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport's select committee: the fallout from t...
Mar 05, 2025•34 min•Season 8Ep. 8
Tony Hall was the Director-General of the BBC from 2013 to 2020, during which time the BBC's Royal Charter was last renewed. We discuss the differences between that charter renewal process and the current one, as well as the key issues surrounding the upcoming renewal: a long-term vision, a permanent charter, a new funding model, accountability, and engagement with licence fee payers. We also address the allegations of anti-Semitism within the BBC. "I have never seen fundamental anti-Semitism in...
Feb 25, 2025•28 min•Season 8Ep. 7
Dan Thomas is the Global Media Editor at the Financial Times who broke the story on Sky News’ strategy and newsroom overhaul. We discuss the strategic decisions facing all the major news organisations as they adapt to changing audience behaviours, regulation of social media, the future of all the public service broadcasters, BBC charter renewal, the BBC’s news operations in the US and digital switch over. “ Sky News have been on the on the sort of watch list, as it were, for some time. They've g...
Feb 13, 2025•31 min•Season 8Ep. 6
Rob Crilly is the Chief US Political Correspondent for The Daily Mail who has covered Donald Trump since his bid for the presidency in 2015. Part of the White House press corp and regularly travelling with the president, Rob offers unique insights into Trump’s personality, communication style, and the impact Trump has had on American politics and journalism. We discuss the challenges of covering the Trump presidency with his disregard for facts, the Trump’s administration’s efforts to sideline t...
Feb 04, 2025•34 min•Season 8Ep. 5
Peter Kosminsky, the renowned British film and television director who recently directed the much-acclaimed Wolf Hall , discusses his career journey—from being sacked by the BBC Plays department to finally becoming a successful documentary-maker and filmmaker. He describes the creative process behind Wolf Hall , the challenges British filmmakers face in securing funding from streaming services for projects focused on British subject matter, and his proposal for a UK cultural fund, financed by a ...
Jan 29, 2025•38 min•Season 8Ep. 4
Adjoa Andoh is one of Britain's most celebrated actors, with an extensive career spanning stage, screen, and radio. She has appeared in iconic TV series like Doctor Who and Netflix’s Bridgerton , as well as making her Hollywood debut in Clint Eastwood's Invictus . In this episode we discuss the importance of radio drama, concerns about the significant cuts to radio drama production, the potential impact on the creative industries eco system, and the value of public service broadcasting. "We're s...
Jan 24, 2025•28 min•Season 8Ep. 3
This week we’ll be hearing from some of our nation’s greatest actors Bill Nighy and Adjoa Andoh on why they think the BBC should reverse the proposed cut to BBC Radio 3's sole drama slot and why they are seeking reassurances that there will be no reduction in the amount of drama on Radio 4. Make sure you don’t miss out on this episode which will be published later this week. Listen to all our episodes here: https://podfollow.com/beebwatch To support our journalism and receive a weekly blog sign ...
Jan 20, 2025•26 sec
David Lloyd is a veteran of the local radio industry, with over 40 years of experience in roles at LBC, Virgin Radio, and the BBC. He also brings regulatory expertise from his time at the UK Radio Authority, now part of Ofcom. Today, he's a broadcaster and co-founder of Boom Radio, a relatively new UK station catering to baby boomers. In this episode, we discuss the state of BBC local radio, including the details of Lloyd's complaint about BBC Radio Devon's failure to adequately cover the 2024 r...
Jan 16, 2025•30 min•Season 8Ep. 2
David Elstein was the head of programming at BskyB, the director of programmes at Thames Television, before launching Channel 5 as its chief executive in 1997. Since then, he has chaired innumerable boards and organisations including the British Screen Advisory Council and Open Democracy . David was part of the last Conservative government's inquiry into the BBC’s future funding model, which was later scrapped by Labour. In this episode, we discuss the idea of ‘mutualisation’ of the BBC, the eff...
Jan 09, 2025•36 min•Season 8Ep. 1
Sir Richard Eyre, the renowned theatre and film director, who has served as a BBC Governor, shares his concerns over the cuts to radio drama programming, the broader challenges facing the BBC's cultural remit, the tensions between the BBC's public service mission and commercial pressures, and role of the BBC in nurturing and sustaining the UK's cultural landscape. "I would say the BBC is the most important cultural organisation in the world, and the Director-General of the BBC should be standing...
Dec 17, 2024•33 min•Season 7Ep. 16
Conservative MP, Dame Caroline Dinenage is the Chair of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee. We discuss the upcoming debates around the renewal of the BBC's charter, the crucial issues of the corporation's funding, impartiality, and role in public service broadcasting, as well as the future of the BBC World Service and the Greg Wallace revelations. “We're entering a winter period when there's a number of pensioners who've just had their winter fuel tax removed, when energy pr...
Dec 12, 2024•33 min•Season 7Ep. 15
Peter York is a cultural commentator, author, and former Style Editor of Harper's & Queen magazine. He is best known for co-authoring the iconic Official Sloane Ranger Handbook in the 1980s. More recently, Peter has shifted his focus to more serious topics, including co-authoring The War Against the BBC with Professor Patrick Barwise. This week, we discuss Peter’s latest book, A Dead Cat on Your Table, which delves into the world of "culture wars," the role of media personalities, influencer...
Dec 05, 2024•35 min•Season 7Ep. 14
Andrew Greystone, writer and broadcaster, has played a pivotal role in exposing the abuse committed by John Smythe within the Church of England. In this discussion, he addresses the ongoing debate around the assisted dying bill, the media's approach to religion in ethical discussions, and the decline of religious literacy among journalists. He also shares the story behind uncovering Smythe’s abuse, the Church of England’s response, and discloses further revelations are set to break next year. “I...
Nov 28, 2024•41 min•Season 7Ep. 13
Roger Mosey, a former Editorial Director of the BBC, Head of TV News, and Director of Sport, discusses his lecture to the Commonwealth Journalists Association on the challenges facing public service media, the mainstream media's lack of understanding of political landscapes in the UK and US, clickbait, interactivity and audience connections, as well as cuts and talent drain at the BBC. "The BBC’s Charter says it must engage the public to a very high standard with the issues of the day and inform...
Nov 22, 2024•30 min•Season 7Ep. 12
Professor Catherine Johnson from the University of Leeds discusses her role on the recently announced DCMS committee, which is examining the future of TV distribution. New research indicates that some viewers could be excluded from the general shift towards online viewership. We also explore the rise of YouTube, ways to ensure access to public service content, and how a household tax might work. “There is a ticking time bomb here, to be honest, in relation to digital terrestrial. So most other c...
Nov 14, 2024•28 min•Season 7Ep. 11
Steven Barnett, Professor of Communications at the University of Westminster, discusses BBC Chair Samir Shah's inaugural speech. We explore what devolving, democratising, and depoliticising means, loosening regulation, re-evaluating the roles and remits of other public service broadcasters, and alternative funding models. “I'm not sure a permanent charter is the way to go, but I think some kind of independent body to whom the responsibility is devolved for making funding decisions and for appoin...
Nov 08, 2024•29 min•Season 7Ep. 10
