Feedback

Quentin Letts' wry critique of the Met Office has had listeners contacting Feedback in droves. The programme was the first episode of a new series of What is the Point of...? and while a few felt the programme exercised a healthy scepticism about climate science, many more felt it allowed controversial opinions to go unchallenged. Roger Bolton hears some of the reaction. Earlier in the series, Fee...

Roger Bolton explores religious broadcasting on radio. As the UK becomes more spiritually diverse and increasingly secular, how should the BBC approach religious news and worship? Since its birth in the 1920s, the Corporation has always produced religious content, with programmes focussed primarily on Christian worship during the early days. Ninety years later, the religious makeup of the country...

The Government has opened the public consultation period on the future of the BBC - but how much impact will your views have on their decision? The BBC Trust has also launched its own public consultation. Some Feedback listeners say they're confused about the process and what they're being consulted on. Roger Bolton sheds some light on the process. For the last three weeks, Radio 4's One to One in...

The debate over the future of the BBC continues, with the size, structure, funding and remit of the Corporation now up for discussion. As the Department of Culture, Media and Sport open their twelve week public consultation on the future of the Beeb, Feedback listeners speak to Roger Bolton about their views. Also, Feedback listeners celebrate some good news - the arrival of radio downloads. From...

The Licence Fee and the future of the BBC. Director General Tony Hall has agreed to fund licences for the over 75s but says he's got a good deal for the corporation, citing the agreement that the Licence Fee will rise in line with inflation and those who only use catch-up services such as iPlayer may also need to buy a licence. Meanwhile, the Chair of the BBC Trust - your representative - was lock...

Roger Bolton looks at the battle for control of language. More than 120 MPs have written a letter to the BBC's Director General calling for an end to use of the name "Islamic State" in news reporting. David Cameron is among those calling for a change of terminology, saying that many Muslims recoil from the name. Radio 4 and World Service listeners tell us what they think the BBC should call the gr...

What risks should journalists take to report stories? In this week's Feedback, Roger Bolton visits BBC journalists on a training course which aims to prepare them to report from dangerous conflict zones and hostile environments. Listeners have been pondering whether the risks are worth it in order to report the story to them. Roger brings the BBC's Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet tog...

Radio 4's forum for listener comment.

Has the BBC's impartiality been compromised in the lead up to the General Election? With less than two weeks to polling day, political leaders are near ever-present on the airwaves as they try to secure votes. BBC networks - including Radio 1, 5Live and Radio 4 - have been connecting party leaders directly to the public in a series of live debates. Listeners flocked to social media to comment as t...

This week, our look at how the election is being covered across BBC radio takes us to 5Live for the launch of their #FridayTakeover. Each week, the station is selecting one key politician to face individual listener questions. Stephen Mawhinney, the station's Head of News, explains how the nature of a political interview changes when led by the public while presenter Nicky Campbell discusses the b...

The Easter weekend is a prime opportunity for regular radio presenters to take a step out of the spotlight and into the sun for some rest and relaxation. But their stand-in presenters can be left to face the disappointment of an audience devoted to their favourite host. What are the challenges facing stand-ins and how do they overcome them? Lewis Carnie, the head of Radio 2 programmes, discusses h...

It's five weeks to Polling Day. As part of our investigation into how different BBC networks are covering the election, Roger Bolton talks to the political team of Radio 1's Newsbeat. Young listeners ask editor Louisa Compton how the coverage will be tailored to the age and interests of the Radio 1 audience. And what effect did the sounds of a glacier, a football crowd and a dawn chorus have on ou...

Roger Bolton goes behind the scenes at BBC Westminster to see how they're gearing up for the 2015 General Election. He talks to Katy Searle, the Editor of Political News about the pressures on journalists, while Deputy Political Editor James Landale reveals how he got a headline story from Prime Minister David Cameron. And changes to the layout of the BBC news website have dismayed some Feedback l...

On this week's programme with Roger Bolton: the BBC's Moscow Correspondent Sarah Rainsford on reporting from Putin's Russia, the Trust's review of BBC music radio and Radio 4's Listeners' Elections. It's less than 50 days to go until this year's General Election and BBC Newsrooms are delving into the big issues of the economy and immigration. But now, Radio 4 wants to break down the election issue...

After a year and half in the driving seat for Radio 4's beloved radio soap opera The Archers, editor Sean O'Connor has created controversy amongst some dedicated listeners - with debate over a number of cast changes and the playing out of a Biblical flood over a week of programmes. This week, Sean O'Connor came into the Feedback studio to answer listeners' questions and comments. C2C, the Country...

Is there a formula to successful comedy on Radio 4? Before leaving her post as Commissioning Editor of Comedy on Radio 4 and 4Extra, Caroline Raphael talks about her 17 years in the job and reveals which hugely successful comedy almost didn't make it to air because the Controller of Radio 4 at the time turned it down. Also, the debate over the licence fee has been ignited by a report from the Comm...

Next week sees the last ever episode of Radio 4's long running investigative series Face the Facts. Radio 4 says it's part of an ongoing effort to cut costs. Presenter John Waite recounts his most memorable moments during his 30 years on the frontline of investigative journalism. The Green Party was hoping to launch their election campaign in a blaze of positive publicity earlier this week. But af...

The allied bombing of Dresden was one of the most controversial episodes of the Second World War - but was Radio 4's coverage of the 70th Anniversary too one-sided? The editor of Radio 4's Today programme, Jamie Angus, discusses how the BBC reflected on this historic event with a senior lecturer in War and Media at King's College London, Dr Peter Busch. And the story behind how the BBC obtained a...

Almost an entire day on Radio 4 was taken over by a dramatic airing of War and Peace at the start of the year. For some listeners it was a joy that kept them glued to their radios - for others it was a rude interruption to the schedule. Radio 4's Commissioning Editor for Drama, Jeremy Howe, explains why the network decided to broadcast wall-to-wall Tolstoy at the expense of regular programmes. Als...

Gwyneth Williams is in her fifth year as the controller of Radio 4 and has made her mark with various radical changes - including bringing a former Eastenders' producer to The Archers, cutting 12 minutes from You and Yours and bringing visualisation to a variety of Radio 4 programming. For the final episode of this series, Feedback listeners speak directly to the Controller and give their views on...

Roger Bolton talks to investigative journalist Tom Mangold about The Silent Conspiracy, a programme he first began working on 35 years ago. The programme concerned Jeremy Thorpe, the charismatic leader of the Liberal Party between 1967 and 1976. Thorpe's political career was overshadowed by scandal when he was accused of conspiring to murder Norman Scott - a man who claimed to have been his lover...

What do you really think of Radios 4 and 5 and their extra bits? The BBC Trust wants listeners' input for a major review it's conducting. But will your views change anything? Trustee Elan Closs Stephens tells Roger Bolton why reviews like this matter. Radio 4's World War 1 drama Home Front is set to run for four years and a total of approximately 600 episodes. Roger goes on a behind-the-scenes tou...

The BBC World Service is now funded by the licence fee which means the UK public is now paying for a service that many rarely use. Roger Bolton talks to the service's outgoing director, Peter Horrocks, about the challenges facing his successor. Radio 4's PM programme continues to keep its audience up to date with Michael Buerk's progress on I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. Many listeners love...

Since August, listeners to Radio 4's You and Yours have had their daily diet of consumer and social affairs cut by 12 minutes - in the first place to make way for the opening salvoes of Radio 4's 600-part World War 1 drama Home Front. Since then a number of mixed programmes have occupied the slot - with mixed responses from Feedback listeners. Are these bite-size portions the future of radio? The...

BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat has been found in breach of both Ofcom and BBC Editorial Guidelines for its broadcast of an interview with a member of ISIS. The item was considered inappropriate under BBC standards for Impartiality and Harm and Offence. Richard Ayre, the Chairman of the BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee, explains the ruling. Radio 1's iPlayer video channel launched this week. It's th...