The Media Show

BBC Radio 4
undefined
Oct 16, 2019 • 28min

How do you report from a repressive regime?

China and Russia are featuring prominently in the two biggest international news stories at the moment in Hong Kong and Syria. We have two top journalists just back from these places to talk about reporting from inside repressive regimes And, it’s being called the biggest media event of the year so far - it's created a black hole of information and no one is quite sure what will happen next. No not Brexit - but Fortnite - the massively popular game had its end of season finale on Saturday. Presenter: Andrea Catherwood Producer: Maire Devine Editor: Eleanor Garland
undefined
Oct 9, 2019 • 28min

Do machines make the rights choices for children?

Algorithms are increasingly making choices for young people, from recommending new TV shows to the friends they meet. But when machines are so intelligent that they can make all these decisions, who is actually responsible?Andrea Catherwood hosts a debate at the BBC Blue Room annual conference with Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, Dr Nejra van Zalk, lecturer in psychology at Imperial College London, Hanna Adan, documentary maker and Neil Lawrence, DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge.Producers: Richard Hooper and Bill Thompson for the BBC Blue Room
undefined
Oct 2, 2019 • 28min

The BBC's Impartiality Crisis

The BBC is engulfed in a row about its handling of a complaint against Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty. Krishnan Guru-Murthy of Channel 4 News and Chris Banatvala, formerly Director of Standards at OFCOM and a member of The Sky News Board, discuss.Luke Hyams, Head of YouTube Originals EMEA, on their new strategy of using their YouTuber stars to front original factual programmes. Minal Modha of Ampere Analysis explains what this might mean for the future of TV.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood Producer: Richard Hooper
undefined
Sep 25, 2019 • 28min

Who Wants to Be a Peaky Blinder?

Steven Knight is best known as the creator of Peaky Blinders, the BBC gangster drama. But his career hits also include Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - one of the world’s most successful game shows - and an Oscar nomination for Dirty Pretty Things. He tells Jim Waterson about his new show for Apple TV+, plans for a film studio in Birmingham and why Snoop Dogg loves Peaky Blinders.Producer: Richard Hooper
undefined
Sep 18, 2019 • 34min

Is opinion the future of journalism?

LBC is gaining listeners thanks to a strategy of employing highly opinionated presenters. What can other news outlets learn from its success? And is the concept of the impartial journalist now outdated? Also in the show, a new initiative to create an international set of standards for journalism and the controller of the TV channel Dave.Andrea Catherwood is joined by Shelagh Fogarty, LBC presenter, Sarah Sands, editor of Radio 4's Today programme and contributor to the book Today: A History of Our World Through 60 Years of Conversations and Controversies, Scott Yates, Reporters Without Borders, and Luke Hales, Dave channel director.Producer: Richard Hooper
undefined
Sep 11, 2019 • 28min

Why we're all watching Britain's nerdiest channel

BBC Parliament is enjoying record ratings as viewers tune in for the latest episode of British political drama. Meanwhile, some MPs have been defying rules and convention by filming proceedings in the House of Commons using their phones, and posting it on social media. Peter Knowles, Controller of BBC Parliament, and Emily Ashton, Senior Political Correspondent at BuzzFeed UK, discuss why Parliament has gone viral.Also in the show, the inside story of the Channel 5 documentary Suicidal and how the producers considered their duty of care to the programme's participants. David Dehaney is Creative Director at Proper Content and Lorna Fraser is Executive Lead at the Media Advisory Service of Samaritans.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood Producer: Richard Hooper
undefined
Sep 4, 2019 • 28min

How to cover chaos

The rules of politics have gone out the window and momentous political events are happening, it seems, every hour. So how do journalists and TV producers make sense of it for the rest of us? Andrea Catherwood is joined by Nicolai Gentchev, Director of Current Affairs at Mentorn Media, Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor of The Telegraph and Ayesha Hazarika, Diary Editor of The Evening Standard. Also in the show, Dylan Jones, editor in chief of British GQ.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood Producer: Richard Hooper
undefined
Aug 28, 2019 • 27min

"Hey Media Show, tell me about smart speakers"

Around 20% of UK households now own a smart speaker manufactured by the likes of Google and Amazon. But have we really thought through the consequences of letting big tech companies into our homes in such an intimate fashion? In this special edition of The Media Show, Madhumita Murgia looks at privacy concerns around the devices and asks whether they represent the next chapter of the internet.Guests: Emma Kendrew, AI and Intelligent Automation Lead at Accenture, Jen Heape, Co-Founder of Vixen Labs, and Mukul Devichand, Executive Editor at BBC Voice + AIPresenter: Madhumita Murgia Producer: Richard Hooper
undefined
Aug 21, 2019 • 28min

Why advertisers are blacklisting news

Digital advertisers are maintaining blacklists of news topics they disapprove of. Some brands have even added keywords associated with President Trump to their list, meaning publishers are effectively facing a boycott of regular news stories by advertisers.Also in the programme, the Irish government is proposing to replace the country's TV licence fee with a new "device independent broadcasting charge". Critics say any household with a smart phone or laptop would have to pay it, regardless of whether they actually watch RTÉ programmes. And Fun Kids, the digital radio station for children, has launched a podcast network.Julian Worricker is joined by Dee Forbes, Director-General of RTÉ, Laura Slattery, journalist at The Irish Times, Lee Moulding, Integral Ad Science, Shona Ghosh, Senior Tech Reporter at Business Insider, and Matt Deegan, Fun Kids station manager.
undefined
Aug 14, 2019 • 28min

Taking care of reality TV guests

The broadcasting watchdog Ofcom is proposing new safeguarding rules for reality or unscripted television and radio shows. It says that “due care must be taken over the welfare, well-being and dignity of participants in programmes." In addition, “participants must not be caused unjustified distress or anxiety by taking part in programmes or by the broadcast of those programmes."Ofcom is currently inviting feedback on these proposals - but what counts as "unjustified distress and anxiety"? After the deaths of three reality show participants, is an overhaul of safeguarding long overdue? Or might tighter rules drive up costs, drive production overseas or block vulnerable people from getting the media platform they want - perhaps to combat stigma or highlight an important issue? And don't we enjoy watching members of the public rise to stressful challenges? Presenter Naga Munchetty - herself a Strictly Come Dancing veteran - hears from: Jonathan Stadlen, managing director of production company Knickerbockerglory, Dr Penny Brown, consultant in forensic psychiatry at King's College London and a mental capacity assessor for TV productions, Steve Regan, who used to oversee Big Brother and is a former entertainment commissioner for Channel 5, And Rosie Williams (pictured), who was a contestant on last year's Love Island.Presenter: Naga Munchetty Producer: Paul Waters

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
App store bannerPlay store banner
Get the app