New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet on covering Donald Trump, the future of newspapers and making digital pay. Impress becomes the first officially recognised UK press regulator. But could it open the floodgates to costly libel suits against non-members and threaten the future of local newspapers? We hear from Impress chief executive officer Jonathan Heawood and Sir Alan Moses, the chair of rival regulator IPSO (Independent Press Standards Organisation). US telecoms giant AT&T and en...
Oct 26, 2016•29 min
Yesterday MPs debated the Draft BBC Charter, former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale joins us to discuss his concerns about the recent appointment of James Purnell as Director of Radio. Have we reached peak Twitter? The last of the companies believed to be interested in buying the social network has said it's no longer interested. We speak to Emily Bell, Director of the Tow Centre for Journalism and Jamie Gavin MD of inPress online about how Twitter's commercial value sits with its growing in...
Oct 19, 2016•29 min
Steve Hewlett talks to Sir Joseph Pilling about his review of press regulator, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. And, to discuss the report we're joined by Trevor Kavanagh, former political editor of the Sun and board member of IPSO and Brian Cathcart. Clare Enders, founder of Enders Analysis joins us to looks ahead at what awaits Sky when it delivers its latest financial figures this Thursday. And, Will Young has left Strictly Come Dancing this week. Dan Wootton of The Sun gives us ...
Oct 12, 2016•29 min
Craig Oliver was a senior editorial figure at the BBC before he was was David Cameron's Director of Communications. He discusses how he thinks he BBC covered the referendum campaign. Sally Philips's son has Down's syndrome and tonight she presents a TV documentary looking at the possible impact of prenatal testing. She says that "this is a film that asks what kind of society we want to live in and who should be allowed to live in it". We are joined by Guardian columnist Hadley Freeman and Patric...
Oct 05, 2016•28 min
Andrea Catherwood looks at the journalism behind the Daily Telegraph's ten month undercover investigation into Sam Allardyce which led to him leaving his job as England manager. We discuss the key issues with Matthew Syed, Roy Greenslade and Michael Crick. Are online distribution platforms like Facebook and Google unfairly benefiting from the original journalism of news organisations? Emily Bell talks about the challenges and opportunities facing traditional media and modern tech companies. And ...
Sep 29, 2016•28 min
Steve Hewlett speaks to Bal Samra, BBC Commercial Director about putting TV shows out to competitive tender - and how the BBC works with independent producers after losing Bake Off. From the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader to Brexit and beyond to the rise of 'anti-politics' - the political landscape has been all change. So, how can the media better engage with and explain what's going on? Adam Boulton, presenter of Sky's new All Out Politics programme and Helen Lewis, Deputy Editor of...
Sep 22, 2016•28 min
Andrea Catherwood talks to former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale about the hunt for a new Chair of the BBC Board following Rona Fairhead's decision to step down. We get reaction to the latest report on phone hacking. The Commons Privileges Committee has looked at evidence given in 2012 on phone hacking. We hear from Les Hinton, the former News International Chairman, the Labour MP Chris Bryant and Steven Barnett, professor of communications and the university of Westminster and a board memb...
Sep 14, 2016•28 min
Steve Hewlett talks to ITN's CEO John Hardie about his strategy to boost ITN productions and the future of ITN News. Was the Sunday Mirror's story making allegations about Keith Vaz in the public interest? We hear from Joan Smith, journalist and human rights campaigner and Evan Harris of Hacked Off about what they make of the editorial judgements behind the decision to publish. The Daily Telegraph's radio critic, Gillian Reynolds is a loyal listener to The Archers. She's gripped by the Helen Tit...
Sep 07, 2016•28 min
Steve Hewlett talks to Mark Thompson, President and CEO of the New York Times and former Director General of the BBC, about his new book 'Enough Said'. Mark Thompson argues that something has gone wrong with political language and it's making it harder to have serious public debates about important issues. As the man who has run three major media organisations what does he think needs to change? Autumn is nearly upon us and as the seasons change, so do TV programmes we'll be watching. From the X...
Aug 31, 2016•28 min
The start of this summer witnessed some of the most significant political events in recent history, with media headlines about Brexit dominating every news bulletin. However, the news agenda quickly switched to the Olympics and the dominance of the British team. So was this switch justified, or does it highlight an imbalance in news coverage? Joining Paddy O'Connell to discuss is Rod Liddle, Associate Editor of the Spectator and Peter Hitchens columnist for the Mail on Sunday. The issue of diver...
Aug 25, 2016•28 min
New York Times media columnist, Jim Rutenberg, has described how journalists who disagree with Donald Trump now face a dilemma in terms of their impartiality. "The American press has all but abandoned impartiality when it comes to the Republican's wildest claims", he writes. It's a similar problem to the one that faced broadcasters in the UK, especially the BBC, who were accused of 'false balance' during coverage of the EU referendum. Steve Hewlett speaks to Jim Rutenberg, and Emily Bell from Co...
Aug 17, 2016•28 min
The BBC Trust has published an independent impartiality review looking at the BBC's reporting of statistics in its news and current affairs. It's found that the BBC needs to do more to challenge conventional wisdom and misleading claims, help audiences understand the weight of evidence, and be braver in interpreting and explaining rival statistics. We speak to independent author of the report and former UK National Statistician Dame Jil Matheson. Plus, FT columnist Tim Harford and investigative ...
Aug 10, 2016•28 min
Following the recent spate of terrorist attacks in France and Germany, and widespread reporting on these atrocities, some media outlets, including the French daily newspaper Le Monde, have decided to not publish the names or pictures of perpetrators. One of the organisations choosing to not publish details is French networked Europe1 Radio. Andrea Catherwood speaks to managing editor Nicolas Escoulan to hear why they've made that decision. Plus Jo Groebel, an academic and media consultant in Ger...
Aug 03, 2016•28 min
Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with over 27 million customers worldwide. It's also the owner of Virgin Media, the largest cable company in the UK and Ireland, with 5.6 million customers. On a recent visit to London, its CEO Mike Fries spoke to Steve Hewlett about the strength of the business in the UK market, the impact of Brexit and whether they'd ever consider buying ITV. Guardian Media Group (GMG), the owner of The Guardian and Observer newspaper...
Jul 27, 2016•28 min
Dramatic events in Turkey are leading to a crackdown on journalists and coverage. Turkey's media regulation body has revoked the licences of 24 radio and TV channels accused of links to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, the man accused by the government of directing the coup. A list has also been circulating on a pro government account on twitter which names around 70 journalists which the government allegedly wishes to detain. Steve Hewlett speak to Yavuz Baydar, writer for the Arab Weekly and M...
Jul 20, 2016•28 min
One of the most senior women in media gives her first interview. The BBC's new Deputy Director General Anne Bulford talks Top Gear, top executives' pay and how the broadcaster plans to make hundreds of millions of pounds in savings. Sir Cliff Richard says he will sue the BBC and South Yorkshire Police over TV coverage of the raid on his home in 2014 in connection with historical sex abuse allegations. After 22 months without being arrested or charged, Sir Cliff was told that the case had been di...
Jul 13, 2016•28 min
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Jul 06, 2016•28 min
The EU referendum has been a defining political moment in the UK's history. For top political journalists, it's presented its own set of challenges - balancing claims, giving parity to arguments, and staying across the latest lines from all parties has been key for reporters on TV and radio. Steve Hewlett talks to three broadcast journalists who've been on the coal face during this campaign; Allegra Stratton, National Editor for ITV News, Faisal Islam, Political Editor for Sky News, and Channel ...
Jun 29, 2016•29 min
With only one day to go until the vote on the EU referendum, The Mirror newspaper has declared its support for the Remain campaign. It means all the country's newspapers have now declared their position in the debate. Andrea Catherwood discusses whether newspaper editorials still have the influence they once did with Lloyd Embley, Editor of the Daily and Sunday Mirror, and Trevor Kavanagh, Political columnist at The Sun, which has backed the Leave campaign. Whilst the popular talent show America...
Jun 22, 2016•28 min
Sherlock, Doctor Who and Dad's Army fans in the UK can buy and download episodes of their favourite programmes - as well as many other "lost gems from the BBC archive" - after the broadcaster launched a new online service: the BBC Store. The site features around 7,000 hours worth of content with more to come over the next year. BBC Worldwide - the commercial arm of the BBC - is behind Store. Steve speaks to CEO Tim Davie about the revenue Store will bring in, and asks him how important exploitin...
Jun 22, 2016•28 min
The International News Safety Institute is launching a survey into the psychological impact on journalists covering the migrant crisis, following anecdotal evidence that some journalists are finding it is taking a high emotional toll on them. INSI Director Hannah Storm discusses the challenges of reporting the crisis, and Steve Hewlett is also joined by Channel 4 News International Editor Lindsey Hilsum, who has spent decades reporting around the world on conflicts and who, more recently,has bee...
Jun 15, 2016•28 min
The Archbishop of Canterbury is calling on the BBC to give religion the same prominence as politics, sport or drama. In a speech at the Sandford St Martin awards for religious broadcasting, The Most Rev Justin Welby will suggest that the Corporation's charter include protection for religious programming. Also at the ceremony, Dame Joan Bakewell will receive a special award in recognition of a 'commitment to religious and ethical broadcasting'. She joins Steve Hewlett in the studio. Nigel Farage ...
Jun 08, 2016•28 min
The creation of the commercial production division of the BBC, BBC Studios, will lead to 100 per cent competition between in house and independent producers; BBC producers will be free to pitch to other broadcasters, and external producers can compete for more content on the BBC. Mark Linsey has recently been appointed as Director of BBC Studios. He talks to Steve Hewlett about how the new model will benefit the market, when tendering out will begin, and why he thinks it will mean better value f...
Jun 01, 2016•29 min
How has the media been covering the EU referendum debate? Is the press bias towards leave, Reuters report thinks so. If it is bias, is that making a difference? Does the press set the broadcasters agenda? Why are we seeing so few women in the debate and have the public really engaged with the referendum campaign so far, what difference might the upcoming debates make? Draft media guidelines published by the College of Policing impose a number of new controls on police contact with journalists. T...
May 25, 2016•28 min
The BBC has announced it's scaling back and closing a range of online services - including BBC Food and Newsbeat websites - in order to save £15m. The proposed closure of the BBC Food website quickly drew widespread criticism and an online petition against the move raised over 100,000 signatures in one day. James Harding, Director of BBC News & Current Affairs, joins Steve Hewlett to explain the changes. David Puttnam, whose credits include the Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire, has spent the l...
May 18, 2016•28 min
As the government's long-awaited White Paper on the future of the BBC is published, Steve Hewlett talks to the leading players about what it actually says. Will it mark the end of the BBC as we know it? Or has all the hype been misplaced? Steve speaks to Culture Secretary John Whittingdale, before asking a panel of experts what these plans really mean for the future of the corporation. He's joined by former Culture Secretary Dame Tessa Jowell; Michael Grade, who was chairman of the BBC from 2004...
May 12, 2016•43 min
The former Chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, says that the independence of the BBC is at risk from parts of the government. Lord Patten, also the former Chairman of the Conservative Party, tells The Media Show that the Culture Secretary John Whittingdale is part of a "juvenile ideological fringe who, if given half a chance, will do the BBC real damage." We hear Lord Patten's own proposals for reforming BBC governance while safeguarding its freedom from political interference. When Robert P...
May 04, 2016•28 min
The jury at the new inquests into the deaths of fans at Hillsborough has this week concluded that they played no part in the tragedy. The press coverage following the event in 1989 included damning headlines about fans' behaviour, including that they'd stolen from the dead and urinated on police. Bob Westerdale, now sports editor at the Star Newspaper in Sheffield, was working as a crime reporter on the newspaper at the time and went down to the Hillsborough stadium on that tragic day. He talks ...
Apr 27, 2016•29 min
A new report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism suggests that with steadily shrinking news audiences, TV news can expect to experience a disruptive period similar to that faced by the newspapers a decade ago. Joining Andrea to explore the declining viewership, the significance of the threat and how TV news might respond in the future is one of the report authors and former editor of BBC news Richard Sambrook, and Ben de Pear editor of Channel 4 news. Plus John McAndrew Executiv...
Apr 20, 2016•28 min
Culture Secretary John Whittingdale is facing calls to withdraw from involvement in regulation of the press following the disclosure that he had a relationship with a prostitute. Four newspapers knew he'd had a relationship with a woman who he later found out was a sex worker, but they didn't publish the story. Steve Hewlett talks to one of the journalists who had been investigating the claims - former political correspondent of the Independent James Cusick, and asks him his views about why he t...
Apr 14, 2016•28 min
