

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

Dec 18, 2019 • 28min
Delete the media?
Most British journalists reporting on politics were shocked by the scale of the Conservative victory. Why did the result take them by surprise and what influence did the media actually have on voters?Amol Rajan is joined by Piers Morgan, ITV presenter, Hannah Chapman, editor of The Northern Echo, Alison Rowat, Senior Politics Writer at The Herald, Oli Dugmore, Head of News and Politics at JOE, and Professor Dominic Wring, Loughborough University.Producer: Richard Hooper

Dec 11, 2019 • 28min
Ronan Farrow's Battle to Report
Ronan Farrow is hailed as one of the greatest reporters of his generation. For his ground-breaking New Yorker investigation into Harvey Weinstein, he shared a Pulitzer Prize with Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey of The New York Times. Now Farrow has told the story of how he battled to get the allegations published in a new book, Catch and Kill.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper

Dec 4, 2019 • 28min
Will Amazon deliver a revolution in sports media?
Amazon has the rights to broadcast the Premier League in December, the first time matches have not been "televised" on a traditional TV channel. Is this the start of a revolution in live sports broadcasting, or a one-off marketing stunt by Amazon to attract Christmas shoppers to its Prime service? Also in the show, how TikTok is changing its virtual gifts policy after a BBC investigation.Guests: Jake Humphrey, co-founder Whisper Films, Minal Modha, consumer lead Ampere Analysis, Kait Borsay, sports presenter and host of The Offside Rule podcast, and Joe Tidy, BBC Cyber-security reporter.
Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper

Nov 27, 2019 • 28min
The media's criminal obsession
A new Channel 4 show What Makes a Murderer has been made with the assistance of a convicted criminal. Tony Sales co-founded the production company Underworld TV to make programmes about the criminal world. Also capitalising on demand for true crime stories is Bauer Media, who earlier this year launched the magazine Crime Monthly. How are the political parties using the media to get their election messages out? Newsquest, one of the UK's largest regional publishers, has written to the Electoral Commission accusing the Liberal Democrats of designing a campaign leaflet that looks like a regular local newspaper. Last week, the Daily Mirror said that its reporter was denied accreditation to travel on Boris Johnson's campaign bus. Guests: Julia Davis, editor-in-chief of Crime Monthly, Tony Sales, co-founder of Underworld TV, Katie French, editor of The Basingstoke Gazette, James Mitchinson, editor of The Yorkshire Post, and Alison Phillips, editor of The Daily MirrorPresenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard HooperPhoto: Channel 4's What Makes A Murderer?

Nov 20, 2019 • 28min
Trust me, I'm a journalist
Dorothy Byrne, Head of News and Current Affairs for Channel 4 and author of Trust Me, I'm Not A Politician, on the role journalism can play in restoring public trust in politicians. Also, an exclusive interview with Steve Hatch, Facebook's boss in Northern Europe, on the company's readiness for the general election. And Shona Ghosh, UK Tech Editor at Business Insider, on whether Google Stadia will become "the Netflix of gaming".Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper

Nov 20, 2019 • 17min
Facebook's Steve Hatch on paying tax and political ads
Exclusive interview with Facebook's boss in Northern Europe

Nov 13, 2019 • 28min
The NYT and The FT
Amol Rajan is joined by Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times and Lionel Barber, editor of The Financial Times. Mr Barber announced this week that he is standing down and will be replaced in January by Roula Khalaf, the first female editor of the FT since it was founded in 1888.Producer: Richard Hooper

Nov 1, 2019 • 52min
Making The Mouse Roar: Disney CEO Bob Iger
As CEO of Disney since 2005, Bob Iger has transformed the company with the acquisition of entertainment brands like Marvel, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox.In this UK exclusive interview, Bob Iger talks about his life and career, from working as a weatherman to becoming one of the most powerful figures in global media. Iger’s autobiography is called The Ride Of A Lifetime.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard HooperThis programme includes a clip of Michael Eisner presenting on The Disney Channel (September 1990), a clip from The Lion King (1994) directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, a clip of the late Roy E. Disney speaking in a promotional video for his Save Disney campaign (2005), and a clip from the trailer for Toy Story (1995) directed by John Lasseter.

Oct 30, 2019 • 28min
The journalists who took down Harvey Weinstein
In January, in a court in Manhattan, Harvey Weinstein will stand trial for the rape and sexual assault of two women. The movie producer denies the charges - just as he has denied allegations by more than 80 other women.Weinstein’s reckoning has come about largely because of the diligence of two journalists at The New York Times. Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s investigation in 2017 triggered not only Weinstein’s downfall but ignited the global #MeToo movement. Their reporting won them the Pulitzer Prize and they have now told their story in a new book, She Said.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Natalia Fernandez

Oct 23, 2019 • 28min
Kay Burley does breakfast
Kay Burley has worked for Sky News since it launched in 1989. Now she has a new role as presenter of its breakfast show.Also in the programme, Clive Tyldesley, the football commentator, says the British media have failed the public with its Brexit reporting and claims sports journalists would have done a better job. Andrea Catherwood is joined by Kay Burley, Zing Tsjeng, VICE UK executive editor, Dino Sofos, editor of BBC Brexitcast, and Clive Tyldesley.Producer: Richard Hooper