

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

Jun 5, 2019 • 36min
Chernobyl: the story of TV's highest rated show
Chernobyl is the HBO and Sky mini-series that the Internet Movie Database currently ranks as the greatest ever TV show. Zai Bennett, Sky's Director of Programmes, explains how he commissioned the dramatisation of the 1986 nuclear disaster.Also, Claire Lewis on her show 63 Up, Trevor Birney, one of the Belfast investigative journalists arrested after a whistle-blower leaked secret documents that revealed the suspects in the unsolved Loughinisland massacre, and Chris Williams, The Daily Telegraph Deputy Business Editor and author of The Battle For Sky.Producer: Richard Hooper

May 29, 2019 • 35min
Why seeing isn't believing
Nancy Pelosi is a huge figure in US politics. She's Speaker of the House of Representatives - the first woman to hold the position - and as a Democrat, she's a frequent target for supporters of President Trump. Last week, a video of her which had been manipulated to make her sound drunk, was shared widely on social media. Does the video mark the start of a new era of fake news? Andrea Catherwood is joined by Craig Silverman, BuzzFeed News Media Editor, and Hazel Baker, Head of UGC Newsgathering at Reuters.Also in the show, the changing world of travel journalism. Simon Calder of The Independent, blogger Chloe Gunning, and Michael Keating, joint CEO of Ink, a company that produces dozens of travel magazines, discuss how journalists help us decide where to go on holiday.Producer: Richard Hooper

May 22, 2019 • 28min
Spies, lies and videotape
German newspapers have published a secret recording of Heinz-Christian Strache, the Austrian vice-chancellor, offering government contracts to a woman he believed to be the niece of a Russian oligarch. But the source of the video is unknown and the journalists involved are accused of furthering the agenda of the leaker, ahead of the European Parliament elections. Bethany Bell, the BBC's Vienna correspondent, explains.Also, how the European elections are being reported in the UK and the latest Rajar results.Amol Rajan is joined by Adam Boulton, Sky News presenter, Stefanie Bolzen, Die Welt's UK correspondent, Miranda Sawyer, radio critic for The Observer, and Francis Currie, Content Director of Wireless Group.Producer: Richard Hooper

May 15, 2019 • 28min
The Story of Netflix with Ted Sarandos
Ted Sarandos is Chief Content Officer at Netflix, making him the man in charge of the reported $15 billion it has to spend on new shows in 2019 alone. In this extended interview, Sarandos talks about his childhood spent watching "a reckless amount of TV", and explains the strategy that turned Netflix from a DVD rental service into one of the world's most valuable companies.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper

May 8, 2019 • 28min
How to win followers and influence people
News UK, owner of many British media outlets including The Times and talkSPORT, has formed a marketing agency that uses social media influencers. The Fifth will also offer advertisers access to some of News UK's own journalists. Also in the show, relaunching The Face and a history of YouTube.Amol Rajan is joined by Oliver Lewis, managing director of The Fifth, Emily Lavinia, influencer, Chris Stokel-Walker, author of YouTubers, and Stuart Brumfitt, editor of The Face. Producer: Richard Hooper

May 1, 2019 • 28min
Interrogating the producer of Line of Duty
Do you know your AC12 from your AC3 and your OCG from you UCO? If you do, you’ll be a fan of Line of Duty. It's one of the BBC's most popular dramas and Priscilla Parish is executive producer.Also in the show, as civil servants hunt for the Whitehall insider who gave top secret information to The Daily Telegraph, advice from two of the country's best investigative reporters on leaking to journalists. And how The Big Issue is responding to the growing popularity of cashless payments.Andrea Catherwood is joined by Priscilla Parish, executive producer at World Productions, Paul McNamee, editor of The Big Issue, Jane Bradley, investigations correspondent for BuzzFeed, and Meirion Jones, Investigations Editor for The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.Producer: Richard Hooper

Apr 24, 2019 • 29min
Remembering Lyra McKee
Lyra McKee was a 29 year old investigative journalist shot dead while observing rioting in Londonderry. Lyra's friend Peter Geoghegan, co-founder of The Ferret, talks about her work.Also on the show, Amol Rajan is joined by Jo Elvin, editor of You magazine, Cate Sevilla, former editor in chief of The Pool, and Olivia Crellin, co-founder of PressPad.Producer: Richard Hooper

Apr 17, 2019 • 28min
The Political Interview
When journalists and politicians go head-to-head it can be entertaining for the public, and sometimes career-ending for the interviewee. But what do political interviews actually teach us? To discuss the art of the political interview, Amol is joined by the BBC’s Andrew Marr, Rachel Sylvester of The Times and Iain Dale of LBC.Producer: Richard Hooper

Apr 10, 2019 • 28min
Journalism's class ceiling
Julie Etchingham presents ITV's Tonight programme and News at Ten. Alison Phillips is editor of The Daily Mirror. They discuss the state of journalism today and why social class might now be the biggest barrier for young reporters trying to emulate their careers.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper

Apr 3, 2019 • 28min
Why everyone wants a news channel
Why are so many states funding a news channel? China, Russia and Turkey are just some of the countries spending huge amounts of money on global news channels that broadcast in English. What sort of content are they producing, who is watching and should we be concerned? Amol Rajan discusses the relationship between soft power and broadcasting with:
Jamie Angus, director of BBC World Service Group, which broadcasts in over 40 languages to a huge audience of 346 million people a week
Meera Selva , a director at the Reuters Institute for study of Journalism at Oxford University
And Tim Miller, Executive Producer at the Turkish state broadcaster TRT World. Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Steven Williams