The Media Show

Radio 5 Live has announced that three of their main presenters - Richard Bacon, Victoria Derbyshire and Shelagh Fogarty - are to leave the station in the autumn. Adrian Chiles and Tony Livesey are to get expanded roles. Although there will be no shortage of female co-presenters on the station, Eleanor Oldroyd's one-hour Friday afternoon show will be the only programme fronted solely by a woman. St...

The former News of the World editor Andy Coulson has been found guilty of conspiracy to hack phones. His predecessor Rebekah Brooks has been cleared of all charges, in a trial which has been one of the most lengthy and expensive in criminal history. Steve Hewlett discusses what the trial has revealed about the culture of an industry competing to break the biggest stories; the relationship of the p...

The BBC has received 445 complaints from viewers about Phil Neville's BBC One commentary on England's World Cup match against Italy. The former Manchester United and Everton player was criticised for his lack of emotion and "monotone" style. So, what makes great sports commentary? Steve Hewlett discusses with veteran commentator Barry Davies, who believes there is too much talk in football these d...

The BBC is to cut 65 jobs in its radio division, the director of BBC Radio Helen Boaden told staff yesterday. BBC Radio needs to save £38m by 2016/17 as part of the £800m cost-cutting measures required by the BBC savings programme Delivering Quality First (DQF). It's hoped the changes, which focus on re-organising staff, will have minimal impact on audiences. However, the BBC admits that the savin...

Google has taken the first steps to meet a European Court of Justice ruling that people can request links to information about them be taken off search results. Reports suggest Google has so far had over 40000 requests. The ruling has pleased some privacy campaigners but others argue it violates the fundamental principles of freedom of expression. Steve Hewlett is joined by Max Mosley who won a ca...

Sir Alan Moses, the newly appointed Chair of the new press regulator, has today announced the board members that will make up the Independent Press Standards Organisation, (IPSO). In his first interview since taking up the position, he talks to Steve Hewlett about the measures he'll put in place to make sure the body is independent, and his views on press freedom. We'll also hear from Brian Cathca...

Chief Executive of TalkTalk Dido Harding on becoming the UK's fastest growing TV business. Tough at the top? Steve Hewlett speaks to three female UK newspaper editors, Rosie Boycott, Sarah Sands and Sue Douglas, about their experiences. And, a landmark Press Complaints Commission negotiation that's seen six national papers apologise for, and remove, inappropriate headlines. Producer: Katy Takatsuk...

The UK company behind programmes including Skins, Midsomer Murders and the Gadget Show has been sold to US media giants Discovery and Liberty Global. All3media group is comprised of eighteen leading production companies, which have always operated as individual businesses with creative independence. So, will a corporate buyout affect this culture? Steve Morrison, the Chairman of All3media joins St...

Lord Patten has stood down from his role as chairman of the BBC Trust due to ill health. The former cabinet minister who took the job in 2011, has presided over a time which included three director generals and scandals such as excessive executive pay. Now begins the quest to find a replacement. But, with charter renewal due in 2016, and the very future of the BBC Trust being debated, finding the...

A BBC Trust review into the corporation's news and current affairs output says t it needs to do more to make an impact. The report found that audiences looking for quality investigative journalism rated Channel 4 higher than the BBC. It also said that on and off screen diversity needs to be addressed. In his first interview for the Media Show, James Harding, head of BBC News, sets out how he's goi...

The Financial Times newspaper has said it will not be joining IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. It's announced it will regulate itself by setting up it's own in-house system. Some other papers, including the Independent, have still to decide whether to join. Steve Hewlett talks to the editor of the Independent, Chris Blackhurst, about whether the FT's decision to go it alone is i...

The Oscar Pistorius trial has grabbed TV audiences around the world. Three remote controlled cameras in the court room have provided compellingly dramatic fodder for rolling news channels right around the world. The footage is broadcast by a TV channel set up specifically for the trial - which persuaded the courts to allow cameras in for the first time. George Mazarakis, the head of the Channel, t...

Following Maria Miller's resignation, Sajid Javid is the new secretary of state for culture, media and sport. What impact did Maria Miller have on the media and how different will her replacement be? Eleanor Mills, editorial director of the Sunday Times, former Guardian editor Peter Preston and media policy adviser Tim Suter discuss. YouView was once a key part of broadcaster plans to distribute T...

Local TV's come to Norwich and London, in the shape of Mustard TV and London Live. They are two very different stations, with Mustard TV being closer to what may be available in dozens of towns and cities in the coming 18 months. They follow the launch of Humber TV at the end of last year. Mustard's MD Fiona Ryder and London Live's launch director, Jane Mote, discuss the challenges ahead. Johnston...

Yesterday, the BBC director general, Tony Hall, announced what he called "the greatest commitment to arts for a generation" with the launch of BBC Arts. What is the future of arts on TV and what can BBC Arts learn from Sky Arts? Joining Steve will be Sir Peter Bazalgette, chair of Arts Council England, Gillian Reynolds of The Telegraph and the BBC's new director of arts, Jonty Claypole. Turkey's p...

Following his BAFTA speech on Monday, Lenny Henry talks to Steve about why there is not enough ethnic diversity in broadcasting and what can be done to improve this. Andrew Bridgen MP explains why he wants non-payment of the licence fee to be decriminalised - an idea that, according to reports, interests David Cameron. And, has the coverage of L'Wren Scott's death breached editors' guidelines on h...

Channel 5 has announced it has commissioned a series of new one hour live debates to tackle a range of issues including obesity, crime and debt. It follows the The Big Benefits Row: Live and The Big British Immigration Row: Live, the former brought the channel 2.6m viewers with an 8.9% share. Steve Hewlett talks to 5's Commissioning Editor for Factual Guy Davies about the planned programmes, and d...

Reports say that the BBC is considering making BBC3 a wholly online channel, following a speech given by BBC director general Tony Hall last week in which he said "tough choices" would have to be made if the corporation is to make savings. We get the latest from Broadcast magazine editor Chris Curtis, on whether the move would go any way at all towards delivering Lord Hall's £100m savings target b...

The Director General of the BBC, Tony Hall, has defended the use of the licence fee and dismissed calls, by some critics, for it to be shared with other broadcasters. Speaking to industry leaders at the Oxford Media Convention, he said the corporation faces tough choices in coming years as it faces competition from the likes of Google and Apple, and added that the status quo is not an option. He s...

MPs have expressed concern about the future funding and growing commercialisation of the World Service. The BBC Trust has agreed that, subject to clearance from government, the World Service can broadcast a limited amount of advertising and sponsored content that is not news and current affairs, from 1 April, when the BBC moves to licence fee funding. Steve Hewlett asks Peter Horrocks about how th...

Danny Cohen, the head of the BBC's television output, has promised viewers that the corporation will not make any more all-male comedy panel shows. Back in December, BBC producers were told that they had to address this following new sex-representation objectives set by the BBC Trust. Steve Hewlett gets the views of stand up comic Jenny Eclair who, despite having a host of TV credits under her bel...

Former BBC director general Mark Thompson apologised to MPs this week for the failure of the £100m Digital Media Initiative. The project, that was meant to allow BBC staff to create, share and store content in a new digital system, was suspended in 2012. The DMI project is one of a series of controversies at the BBC that has prompted parliamentarians to grill former and current bosses. Steve Hewle...

Public spending watchdog the National Audit Office has criticised the BBC for "not having a sufficient grip" on a failed IT project which wasted almost one hundred million pounds. The Digital Media Initiative was abandoned in May last year. Guardian reporter Tara Conlan joins Steve with the latest details of the story. Britain's biggest pay-TV operator BSkyB is due to report its latest results tom...

Ed Vaizey, minister for UK Culture, Communications and Creative Industries is today asking senior figures in TV, film and arts to explain the lack of diversity in their industries. We talk to two people attending that meeting; playwright and actor Kwame Kwei Armah and senior TV executive Pat Younge, and ask the founder of the Cultural Diversity Network, Clive Jones, why he thinks black, asian and...

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee has begun an inquiry into the Future of the BBC, ahead of the corporations current Royal Charter ending in December 2016. It will look at the role of the organisation, how it's funded, and discuss alternatives to the present licence fee. Steve Hewlett speaks to the Chairman of the Committee, Conservative MP John Whittingdale about the scope of the inquiry and...