

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

Aug 8, 2018 • 28min
Big tech deletes Alex Jones
YouTube, Facebook and Apple are among the tech platforms to have deleted content from InfoWars, the media company owned by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The platforms cite hate speech as a reason for their action. Jones accuses them of collusion and unfair censorship. Amol Rajan is joined by Emily Bell, Director at The Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia and Brendan O'Neill, editor of Spiked. Also in the programme, Benjamin Cohen, CEO of PinkNews, on their new partnership with Snapchat and Rob Burley, editor of Live Political Programmes at the BBC on the forthcoming launch of Politics Live.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.

Aug 2, 2018 • 28min
Is campaigner-funded journalism really journalism?
Who can afford investigative journalism? And should we care about who pays for it? This week Unearthed, the journalism team of Greenpeace, revealed a sting operation against The Institute for Economic Affairs, the right wing think tank. An undercover reporter recorded the IEA's director suggesting that it could help potential donors meet British government ministers. The Guardian ran the story on its front page. Are Unearthed's reporters journalists or activists? Jane Martinson is joined by Damian Kahya, Head of News and Investigations for Unearthed, Claire Newell, Investigations Editor at The Telegraph, and John Sweeney, a veteran of many BBC investigations. Also in the programme, Dame Frances Cairncross, chair of a government review and public consultation into the "sustainability of high-quality journalism" and Caitlin Webb, local democracy reporter in Maidstone.Presenter: Jane Martinson
Producer: Richard Hooper.

Jul 25, 2018 • 45min
Plotting the future of history on TV
The historian Dan Snow claims that traditional TV channels have neglected history programmes and has launched HistoryHit.TV, a new subscription service. Also in the show, Virgin Media in a dispute over how much to pay for UKTV channels and what the rise of closed social networks means for journalists.Amol Rajan is joined by Dan Snow, Manori Ravindran, Broadcast magazine, David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, Steve North, UKTV genre general manager for comedy and entertainment, and Mark Frankel, BBC Social Media Editor.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.

Jul 18, 2018 • 28min
Privacy, liberty and Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard has won an initial £210,000 in damages from the BBC after a judge ruled that coverage of a police raid on his home in 2014 was a "very serious invasion" of his privacy. The BBC says that "in retrospect, there are things we would have done differently" but claim the case marks a "significant shift" against press freedom. Amol Rajan is joined by Susan Aslan, partner at ACK Media Law and James Mitchinson, editor of The Yorkshire Post.Also in the programme, Mark Thompson, CEO The New York Times Company and Justin B. Smith, CEO Bloomberg Media.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.

Jul 11, 2018 • 28min
Will the BBC ever solve its pay problem?
The BBC has published its Annual Report which includes a list of its highest paid stars. The top 12 earners are all men despite the outcry that followed last year's list which showed a wide pay gap between men and women. Amol Rajan is joined by Ken MacQuarrie, BBC Director of Nations and Regions.Also, in the show Kay Madati, Twitter Vice President and Global Head of Content Partnerships, Cait FitzSimons, 5 News editor, and Chris Williams, The Daily Telegraph's Deputy business editor.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.

Jul 4, 2018 • 28min
How to win in sports journalism
England's World Cup success is a boon for the media but where's the line between journalist and fan? Amol Rajan is joined by Jess Brammar, Head of News at Huff Post UK, Nick Harris, The Mail on Sunday's Chief Sports Correspondent, Daniel Storey, Deputy Editor at Football 365, and Shona Ghosh, Senior Tech Reporter at Business Insider.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.

Jun 27, 2018 • 11min
Seymour Hersh - extended interview
Seymour Hersh is considered to be one of America's greatest investigative journalists

Jun 27, 2018 • 28min
What makes a reporter?
What does it take to be a reporter - and how should editors get the best out of them? Amol Rajan is joined by Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author of "Reporter: A Memoir", Emma Tucker is Deputy Editor of The Times, and Alex Bilmes is Editor-in-Chief of Esquire.Please note, an additional interview with Seymour Hersh will be found in The Media Show podcast.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.

Jun 20, 2018 • 29min
The Media Show Revolutions: News
In the first of a series of programmes exploring the media revolution, how the news industry is changing. Amol Rajan is joined by Fran Unsworth, the BBC's Director of News and Current Affairs, Peter Heneghan from social media company LADBible and Madhumita Murgia, European Tech Correspondent of the FT, and a live audience in the BBC Radio Theatre.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper.

Jun 13, 2018 • 28min
How to keep your exclusive, exclusive
The Observer and The Sunday Times both ran front pages alleging Russian links to Arron Banks, the businessman who helped fund the Leave.EU campaign. The scoops were based on emails belonging to Mr Banks and his colleague Andy Wigmore. Mr Banks has called claims of a conspiracy with Russian officials "absurd". The journalist behind The Observer's version of the story explains to The Media Show how the story also ended up in The Sunday Times. Also in the programme, why are there still so many men on the airwaves?Andrea Catherwood is joined by Carole Cadwalladr of The Observer, Professor Lis Howell of City University, Vikki Cook, Ofcom's Director of Standards and Audience Protection and Rachel Corp, acting editor of ITV News.Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Richard Hooper.


