The Media Show

Alongside fighting in Ukraine, an "information war" is playing out. While Western media on the ground are describing a brutal war, Russian media offers a very different narrative. Journalists are not even allowed to describe the situation in Ukraine as a "war". So how will the latest crackdown on independent Russian media affect what people in the country see? And what does that mean for the future of this conflict?Guests: Ivan Kolpakov, Editor-in-Chief at Meduza; Olga Malchevska, Journalist at the BBC Ukrainian service; Professor Samuel Greene, Director of the Russia Institute at King’s College, London; Luke Harding, Senior International Correspondent at The Guardian; Roland Oliphant, Senior Foreign Correspondent at The Telegraph; Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor at Channel 4 News. Producer: Hannah SanderStudio Engineer: Tim HefferPresenter: Ros Atkins

What are the limits of free media? The Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is calling on regulator Ofcom to consider action against Russian "propaganda" in the UK, shining a spotlight on TV channel RT. Elsewhere in the UK, the Supreme Court has stopped Bloomberg from publishing an investigation, on privacy grounds. Some have condemned this as threat to journalists’ ability to investigate. So when should a state or the law intervene in press freedom? Guests: Erika Solomon, Berlin Correspondent at the Financial Times; David Merritt, Senior Executive Editor at Bloomberg News; Hugh Tomlinson QC; Francis Scarr, BBC Monitoring journalist in Moscow; Chris Curtis, Editor-in-Chief at Broadcast Magazine.Studio engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Ros Atkins

How much power do our newspapers really have? John Witherow has been at the heart of Fleet Street for decades, He is one of the longest-serving national newspaper editors, first at the Sunday Times and now The Times, exposing cash for honours, abuse in Rotherham and corruption at Oxfam. But what role has his paper played in exposing the Partygate scandal that could bring down the Prime Minister? And what does this tell us about the relationship between the press and those running the country?Guest: John Witherow, Editor of The TimesProducers: Hannah Sander and Emily FinchPresenter: Katie Razzall

Open-source investigators forensically analyse digital evidence - social media posts, eyewitness videos, satellite imagery - to find the truth behind news events. Their techniques are now increasingly used by investigative journalists to achieve big impact. An investigation by The New York Times into civilian deaths from air and drone strikes has resulted in a policy change by the US military. Also in the programme - in the west it's headlined as "the Ukraine crisis", but how is the situation being reported in Russian and Ukrainian media?Guests: Alexa Koenig, Executive Director, Human Rights Center, Haley Willis, Visual Investigations Reporter, The New York Times, Benjamin Strick, Investigations Director, Centre for Information Resilience, Alison Killing, Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting, and Francis Scarr, Senior Digital Journalist, BBC Monitoring in Moscow.Presenter: Katie RazzallStudio engineer: Tim HefferAssistant producer: Emily FinchEditor: Richard Hooper

One of the world's most popular podcasters has given Spotify a headache. Some critics and musicians claim that Joe Rogan is promoting COVID misinformation in his podcasts, which are exclusive to Spotify after a reported $100m deal in 2020. So how did Spotify - originally a music streaming service - become embroiled in a free speech debate? Also in the programme, BBC Three returns as a traditional TV channel, six years after the BBC decided it should be online only. Guests: Elizabeth Dwoskin, Silicon Valley Correspondent at the Washington Post; Jake Kanter Media Correspondent at The Times; Rosanna Pound-Woods, producer of The Catch Up on BBC Three; Batya Ungar-Sargon, Deputy Opinion Editor, Newsweek; Marianna Spring, BBC Disinformation ReporterStudio engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Ros Atkins

A major trial will take place this year in the US. Elshafee El Sheikh is accused of being a member of the Islamic State group, and of being one of the notorious IS Beatles, so named by their hostages because of their British accents - and accused of torturing and beheading journalists and aid workers. ITV News’ Rohit Kachroo secured interviews with El Sheikh and another of these men before they were transferred to US custody. Those interviews are expected to form part of the trial. So what are the ethics of interviewing suspected members of a terrorist group? Is it ever OK to give what amounts to publicity to people accused of such serious crimes? And how do you even go about doing it? Guest: Rohit Kachroo, Global Security Editor at ITV News.Studio engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Katie Razzall(Picture credit: ITV News)

The Prime Minister is under intense scrutiny, with political journalists reporting on backbencher unrest and a fiery PMQs. But is there really a government media strategy called "Operation Red Meat", using headline-grabbing policies to distract the media? Should we worry about the apparent cosy relationship between those in government setting these policies – and those in Fleet Street reporting on them? And amidst all this - what does the new BBC licence fee deal mean for the industry? Guests: Helen Lewis, staff writer at The Atlantic; Laura Hughes, political commentator at the Financial Times; Joey Jones, former spokesman for Theresa May, and former Deputy Political Editor at Sky News; Phil Riley, Chief Executive of Boom Radio.Studio engineer: Donald MacDonaldProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Katie Razzall

A bold new media start-up plans to create from scratch a news provider that will rival the likes of CNN, the New York Times and the BBC. The people behind it are Justin Smith, boss of Bloomberg Media, and Ben Smith, former editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News and media columnist at the New York Times. And with those two at the helm, journalists around the world are paying attention... But what does this new company tell us about the state of global journalism, the aftermath of the Trump years and declining trust in the news?Guest: Ben Smith, former editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed NewsStudio engineer: Duncan Hannant Producer: Hannah Sander Editor: Richard Hooper Presenter: Ros Atkins

A year on from the storming of the US Capitol and the media is still coming to terms with what happened. Some US news outlets have been accused of "obsessing over" the scenes on 6 January 2021. Others have condemned parts of the media for "normalising" the violence. So how can these divisions be healed? And in the week that several political figures were banned from Twitter, what role do the tech giants now play in our democracy?Guests: David Folkenflik, Media Correspondent at NPR; Robert Costa, Political Reporter at the Washington Post and co-author of Peril; Susan Ferrechio, Chief Congressional Correspondent at the Washington Examiner; Chris Stokel-Walker, tech journalist; Zing Tsjeng, Editor-in-Chief at Vice UK Studio engineer: Donald MacDonaldProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Ros Atkins

Their voices resound in living rooms across the country, but how much do we really know about the people who talk between the programmes? From impeccable composure to a catchy turn of phrase, there’s a lot that goes into good continuity. So what does the future hold for this familiar feature of TV and radio – is it set to go the same way as teletext or the Red Button?Guests: Duncan Newmarch, announcer for BBC One and BBC Two; Andrea Fox, ITV announcer; Jeanna Gallagher, announcer for Channel 4 and Film 4; Jane Steel, announcer and newsreader for BBC Radio 4; David Allan, former announcer on BBC Television.Producer: Dan HardoonPresenter: Katie RazzallStudio engineer: John BolandEditor: Richard Hooper