

The Media Show
BBC Radio 4
Social media, anti-social media, breaking news, faking news: this is the programme about a revolution in media.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 3, 2021 • 27min
Discovery on their shift to streaming
American streaming services dominate our viewing, even though many of their programmes are British-made. Discovery International's CEO tells Amol Rajan why streaming is now such a vital part of their strategy. Plus executive producer and director Julie Anne Robinson on making Netflix's Bridgerton, an American version of a British period drama devised by Hollywood "super-producer" Shonda Rhimes.Guests: JB Perrette, Discovery International president and CEO; Julie Anne Robinson, executive producer and director, Bridgerton; Manori Ravindran, International Editor at Variety.Studio engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah Sander

Jan 27, 2021 • 49min
"We're never doing an anti-immigrant story again"
Daily Express editor Gary Jones is Labour-voting, backed Remain, and wants his paper to reflect multicultural Britain. He tells Amol Rajan how he effected a complete change of direction at the tabloid, once known for its dodgy weather forecasts and anti-immigrant stance. Plus, why he gave Prime Minister Boris Johnson a beanie hat - and working at the News of the World under a young Piers Morgan.Guest: Gary Jones, Editor-in-Chief at the Daily Express.Studio engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah Sander

Jan 20, 2021 • 27min
Reporting the war on coronavirus
If we are "at war" with coronavirus, where do journalists find the frontline? Or are more distanced, factual pieces better at keeping people informed? Also in the programme, as Joe Biden becomes US President, what does that mean for free speech, combative news stations and the tech platforms?Guests: Laura Donnelly, Health Editor at The Telegraph; Sarah Boseley, Health Editor at The Guardian; Clive Myrie, BBC presenter and foreign correspondent; Glenn Greenwald, author and journalist.Studio engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Amol Rajan

Jan 13, 2021 • 27min
Free Speech vs the Internet
In the past week, President Trump has been deleted from Twitter, and suspended from Facebook - and now YouTube. Parler, a free speech network, has been forced offline after first Google and Apple, then Amazon, refused to host it. Is this grand de-platforming of Trump and his supporters the right thing to do? And if so, who should have the power to control how we speak online?Guests: Amy Peikoff, Chief Policy Officer at Parler; Glenn Greenwald, author and journalist; Danielle Citron, professor of law at University of Virginia, Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan, Europe Tech Correspondent at the Financial Times; Robert Moore, ITV News Washington Correspondent; Sophie Alexander, ITV News Washington Producer.Studio Engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Amol Rajan

Jan 6, 2021 • 27min
How video games became the lockdown playground
Schools are shut across the UK and screens are the only route children have to teachers. So which bits of the media are stepping up to keep kids informed and entertained? Plus the launch of The Oldham Times, a new daily print newspaper; and we drill down into why YouTube banned - and later reinstated - TalkRadio.Guests: Lydia Winters, Chief Storyteller at Mojang, makers of Minecraft; David Statter, Adopt Me!, Chris Stokel-Walker, author of YouTubers; Marianna Spring, BBC Disinformation Reporter; Steve Thompson, editor of The Oldham Times; Jodi Birkett, technology, media and telecommunications partner at DeloitteStudio engineer: Tim HefferProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Joe Tidy

Dec 30, 2020 • 28min
Jane Tranter, super-producer
Jane Tranter is the super-producer behind shows like His Dark Materials, Succession, and the Emmy Award winning The Night Of. As co-founder of Bad Wolf, the Cardiff based production company, she has been credited with revitalising the Welsh TV industry. In this big interview, Jane Tranter discusses her career and gives the story behind some of her biggest hits.Studio Engineer: Donald MacDonaldPresenter: Amol RajanProducer: Hannah Sander

Dec 23, 2020 • 50min
Johnny Depp and the libel trial of the century
It’s been a big year for media lawyers. There's been the Johnny Depp libel trial, Harry and Meghan suing The Mail on Sunday, and the newsroom drama over Barnard Castle. Amol Rajan reunites the lawyers from both sides of the Depp case to debate press behaviour. Also in the programme, the backstory to the Mail's famous front page demanding justice for Stephen Lawrence, and how The Guardian came to trust Julian Assange as a source.Guests: Jenny Afia, Partner at Schillings; Louis Charalambous, head of the Media Content and Disputes Team at Simons Muirhead & Burton; Gill Phillips, Director of Editorial Legal Services for The Guardian; Eddie Young, former legal adviser to Associated Newspapers and contributor to Mail+ podcast The Murder That Shamed Britain.Producer: Hannah Sander

Dec 16, 2020 • 28min
Who's winning in sports media?
This is a bumper week for sports media. New rights deals are up for grabs, while a packed football calendar means logistical headaches for broadcasters. So why might Amazon want to get involved? And the traditional media on how they - and the freelancers who work for them - adapted to months without live sport.Guests: Alex Green, Sport MD for Amazon Prime Video; Kathryn Anastasi, Head of Live Sport at talkSPORT; Daniel Storey, freelance sports writer and broadcaster; Minal Modha, Consumer Lead at Ampere Analysis.Studio Engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah SanderPresenter: Amol Rajan

Dec 9, 2020 • 28min
British TV and the threat from tech
This week Ofcom, the media regulator, warned that traditional broadcasting is "at risk" without "radical shake-up". But at risk of what, and what kind of shake-up does the regulator have in mind? Meanwhile, Ofcom is about to take on the massive task of regulating “online harm”, including social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram. But is a British regulator really able to police the internet? In her first major interview, Melanie Dawes, the new CEO of Ofcom, explains her strategy to Amol Rajan.Producer: Hannah Sander

Dec 2, 2020 • 28min
Reporting the vaccine
The UK has approved a coronavirus vaccine and will start rolling it out. But what role does the media play in reporting the science, and perhaps even encouraging readers to take up the vaccine? Also in the programme, the government has announced a new Digital Markets Unit, a regulator of sorts that will look at Facebook and Google.Guests: Fiona Godlee, editor of the British Medical Journal, Laura Collins, editor of the Yorkshire Evening Post, Felicity Cross, deputy news editor of the Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday, and Philip Marsden, professor of law at the College of Europe.Studio engineer: John BolandProducer: Hannah Sander