The Media Show

Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were freed from prison in Perugia on Monday, having had their convictions for murdering British student Meredith Kercher overturned. But, as the verdict was being read out, parts of the British media wrongly reported that Knox and Sollecito had lost their appeal. Steve Hewlett asks how the mistake came about and why the misinformation spread so rapidly. The coverage of the trial has been described as a media circus, driven by the press and public's fascination with Amanda Knox. American journalist Nina Burleigh has argued that there is a serious problem with Italian reporters who failed to properly investigate the case or ask the right questions. Nina Burleigh and Marco Colombo ask whether there is really a problem with Italian investigative journalism.A British landlady won her fight against the Premier League and Sky this week after the European Court ruled that she should be able to show Premiership football matches in her pub without buying a Sky box. To discuss what the ruling means for Sky and other broadcasters, Steve is joined by Ashling O'Connor, sports correspondent for The Times, and sports rights lawyer Morris Bentata. The BBC is due to announce its Delivery Quality First proposals tomorrow, a new strategy designed to make savings for licence fee payers. Media commentator Maggie Brown explains which areas are likely to see cuts and what this may mean for BBC audiences. The producer is Simon Tillotson.

Chris Blackhurst, the editor of the Independent, joins Steve Hewlett to discuss Ivan Lewis's suggestion that journalists guilty of malpractice should be "struck off", his plans for the Independent and the decision to suspend, but not dismiss, Johann Hari after he admitted to plagiarism. Facebook has unveiled major changes, including a revamped timeline page that encourages you to share information to "tell your story on the web" and partnerships with organisations such as The Guardian, Huffington Post and The Independent. But some users have raised concerns about privacy and what Facebook will do with their data. Meg Pickard of The Guardian explains how the new social apps will work and Christian Hernandez, Facebook's director of platform partnerships, discusses what the changes mean for Facebook users. The producer is Simon Tillotson.

Veteran newspaper editor Sir Harold Evans discusses News International's payment to the Dowler family and whether the British press is in danger of statutory regulation. Professor Roy Greenslade and Baroness Jay discuss how the press might be regulated in future and whether newspapers would be able to break stories like the MPs' expenses scandal if there were tighter regulation of the press. A new documentary, Page One, follows the fortunes of the New York Times's media desk as the paper faces new challenges in a digital world. Steve is joined by New York Times media reporter and star of the film, David Carr, to discuss how newspapers can survive.There has been criticism of the X-Factor after Ceri Rees, a contestant on the programme, performed and was rejected for the fourth time. Steve Hewlett hears from her singing coach, Amanda Richards, who believes the programme makers have exploited Ceri - something the X Factor team denies. The producer is Simon Tillotson.

Simon Heffer, the long standing associate editor of The Telegraph, has moved to the Daily Mail to edit RightMinds, the paper's new comment and blogs website. Simon Heffer outlines his vision for RightMinds and how he plans to make it distinctive in an already crowded market. The Australian government has decided to investigate the media following suggestions that Rupert Murdoch owns too large a share of the country's press. Emma Alberici, ABC's Europe correspondent, explains that the UK's worries about media plurality are nothing compared to Australia's, where two newspaper owners dominate. The culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is going to approach Ofcom, the media regulator, to ask for new rules on the way media ownership is measured. The guidelines aim to identify situations where one media group has too much of a share of the UK media. David Elstein explains how media ownership might be measured and why there's a sting in the tail for the BBC.This week information about the boundary review of MPs' constituencies, which had been given to the mainstream media under embargo, was published on the Guido Fawkes political blog before the embargo was lifted. To discuss whether embargoes still make sense in a digital age, Steve Hewlett is joined by political blogger Paul Staines, of the Guido Fawkes blog, and the Guardian's Michael White. The producer is Simon Tillotson.

Celebrity Big Brother has been a ratings smash for Channel 5, sometimes pulling in bigger audiences than Channel 4 and ITV in the prime time spot. But will this success continue with the 12th series of Big Brother, which features members of the public? Channel 5's director of programmes Jeff Ford joins Steve Hewlett to discuss what's next for Channel 5.Channel 4 dropped Ortis Deley as the main presenter of the World Athletics Championships after he struggled with the live format and forgot athletes' names. But why did Channel 4 choose a presenter with little relevant specialist sports knowledge or live experience to host the high profile event? Veteran sports presenter Des Lynam explains why he thinks Deley was the wrong choice, while Channel 4's director of creative diversity Stuart Cosgrove explains the channel's approach to presenting sport. The Leveson Inquiry, which reconvened yesterday, has been set up to investigate the practices and ethics of the media following the phone hacking scandal. The inquiry will look at journalists' relationships with politicians and the police. But is there a danger that more regulation could result in draconian restrictions for journalists? Sean O'Neil, crime and security editor at The Times and Andrew Gowers, former editor of the Financial Times discuss what the panel should be asking.

WikiLeaks has released thousands of new diplomatic cables but the latest leak has failed to make such an impact in the UK media and there are suggestions that unredacted documents have been published, putting sources at risk. Can WikiLeaks continue to influence the headlines now that its partnerships with traditional media outlets have fallen apart? Heather Brooke and Emily Bell discuss WikiLeaks' future. Google's Eric Schmidt gave the MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival over the weekend, the first person from a non broadcast background to do so. But was his speech an olive branch to an industry which has described Google as a "parasite" in the past? To discuss how Google and TV might work together, and who stands to gain, Steve Hewlett is joined by Anthony Lilley. Ivan Lewis, the Shadow Culture Secretary, has called for stricter rules on media takeovers, following the controversy around News Corp's bid for BSkyB and fears News Corp could renew their bid. Ivan Lewis explains why he feels the current laws are not good enough and why parliament should "act urgently to close the loopholes" on media ownership.

All eyes were on Libya this week as rebels entered Tripoli and battled Colonel Gaddafi's loyalist soldiers. Sky's correspondent Alex Crawford broadcast extraordinary scenes as she rode into Tripoli on the back of a rebel convoy, sending her report using a satellite and laptop plugged into the truck's cigarette lighter. But which news organisations have provided the best analysis and how well informed can viewers really be about the rapidly changing events? Sky News's Head of International News Sarah Whitehead and the BBC's World News Editor Jon Williams explain the challenges involved. Professor Tim Luckhurst, who has been watching coverage of Libya as the situation unfolds, discusses how well audiences are served by print, radio and rolling TV news. Channel 4's International Editor Lindsey Hilsum, who is currently reporting from Tripoli, discusses how this conflict differs from those she has covered in the past and Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times, who is also in Libya, explains how newspaper reporters can delve further into a story by being less conspicuous than TV crews in dangerous territory.

In a twist in the phone hacking story, parliament has released new evidence, including a letter from former Royal Correspondent Clive Goodman which claims phone hacking was "widely discussed" at The News of the World. John Whittingdale MP, chairman of the select committee investigating phone hacking, and Ian Katz, the deputy editor of The Guardian, discuss where the latest revelations leave the Murdochs. Big Brother re-launches tomorrow in its new home on Channel 5, a year after Channel 4 axed the show due to plummeting ratings. So will we still be watching Big Brother and can it be a commercial success for Channel 5? To discuss what a ratings success would mean for rival broadcaster Channel 4, Steve Hewlett is joined by Liz Warner, who produced the first series of Big Brother, and media analyst Matthew Horsman. There have been suggestions that Newnight, the BBC's flagship news and current affairs programme, may be in trouble as audience figures have fallen. The editor Peter Rippon explains why he believes people still turn to Newsnight for serious analysis.

Rioting in London and the rest of England has dominated the news this week but how well has the media covered the story? Photographer Amy Weston, who took the defining picture of the unrest - a dramatic shot of a woman jumping from a burning building - and Sky News reporter Mark Stone reveal what its like to report from the violence and chaos of the riots.Fran Unsworth, BBC Head of Newsgathering and Roy Greenslade, Professor of Journalism, discuss the challenges for broadcasters when covering the crisis and which parts of the media have been most successful in getting the fast moving story to the public.The Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced the sixty five UK cities which he believes could be pioneers for local television. But who does he expect to bid for the first local television licences and will his plans for local television be commercially viable? Steve Hewlett hears from Jeremy Hunt about his plans. Mark Dodson, the former chief executive of Manchester local TV news station Channel M, discusses whether the plans make financial sense and whether local TV could work nationwide.

With the press themselves making headlines yet again - following settlements over libel allegations and two rulings over contempt, in the wake of the Chris Jefferies case - Steve Hewlett tries to find out what this latest scandal means for newspapers. As the former Managing Editor of the News of the World Stuart Kuttner is arrested, are we any nearer to finding out exactly who knew what and when at News Corp? And will Google+ finally open up the social network market for the search engine giant?