Roger Bolton's Beeb Watch

It was once aid that the five most terrifying words in the political lexicon were “Michael Crick is in reception”. Michael has worked extensively across the main public service broadcasters – starting at ITV. He then moved to Channel 4 becoming political correspondent and Washington Correspondent. He joined the BBC as a reporter at Panorama and eventually became political editor of Newsnight...

Sophie Chalk is the policy adviser for VLV (Voice of the Listener and Viewer), an independent charity representing the interests of the audience in supporting high-quality broadcasting in the UK. Earlier this year, they appeared before the DCMS select committee’s inquiry into the future of Public Service Broadcasting. Have their concerns been taken on board and reflected in the Media Bill, which w...

Ritula Shah spent 35 years at the BBC as a producer on 'Today,' presenting 'The World Today,' 'Woman’s Hour,' 'PM,' and chairing 'Any Questions.' However, Ritula is best known for her decade-long tenure as the presenter of the ‘World Tonight' on Radio 4 until earlier this year. We discuss why she left, covering the Israel/Hamas conflict, impartiality, preserving 'Newsnight' at the expense of succe...

Richard Sambrook, the former BBC Director of News, the World Service and Global News is now emeritus Professor of Journalism at Cardiff University. We discuss Tim Davie, the BBC director general's appearance before the 1922 parliamentary committee, the BBC's coverage of the Israel/Gaza conflict, their news gathering process and transparency, BBC cuts and their impact on services and journalism tra...

Edward Stourton has worked in broadcasting for more than forty years, and has been a foreign correspondent for the BBC, ITN and Channel Four. He was a one of the main presenters of Radio 4’s  Today  programme for ten years and still regularly presents  The World at One, The World this Weekend  and  Analysis.  He’s also been the main presenter of  Sunday  – t...

Roger Mosey was head of BBC TV News and is a former editor of the Today programme. We discuss the BBC's reluctance to use the term "terrorist" and the BBC's coverage of the Israel-Gaza war. “You have to recognise that you can't be morally neutral, you can't think that everything is a 50 50 call. So it's tough doing it. I think this is about the most difficult thing the BBC has to cover, after many...

By the time he was 40, Sir Mark Thompson had held some of the top jobs at the BBC. He went on to become Chief Executive of Channel 4 before returning to the corporation as Director General in 2004. In 2012 he went on to The New York Times where he turned around its fortunes. Another challenge now beckons - CEO and chair of CNN, the US news channel where he starts shortly. Roger Bolton talks to his...

Richard Ayre, former controller of BBC editorial policy and a former member of the OFCOM content board is now the chair of the independent press regulator Impress. On this week's programme we discuss the newly published BBC social media guidelines in response to the Gary Lineker controversy last March. We also look at Ofcom's regulation of GB News and the Russell Brand affair. “Gary is a highly in...

Katy Searle has recently left the BBC after a long career in news – over three decades. She was in charge of all of the BBC’s political output for 8 years up until last year, during which time huge savings had to be made. More recently Katy was director of news programmes and current affairs. We discuss the Russell Brand scandal, Ofcom's decision on GB News, impartiality and the impact of cut...

Nick Ferrari, LBC breakfast presenter and one of the UK's longest serving commercial radio presenters discusses impartiality, local radio, journalistic license and competition with the 'Today' programme. “Within the M25 we put up a fight against ‘Today’, we're not bad, but they are an absolute giant. Once you start getting out of the M25, I more than keep my own against ‘Today’. And you go to some...

Samira Ahmed is the presenter of Radio 4’s arts programme ‘Front Row’ and for eleven years has presented 'Newswatch' – the sister programme and television news equivalent to 'Feedback' - which also aims to hold the BBC to account on behalf the licence fee payer. We discuss BBC coverage of the Huw Edwards story, the ability of 'Newswatch' and 'Feedback' programmes to hold the BBC to account an...

Steven Barnett, Professor of Communications at the University of Westminster is a writer and broadcaster who has been involved in policy analysis at the highest levels, both nationally and internationally, for the last 35 years. Roger and Steven discusses the BBC presenter scandal: the actions of the BBC and Sun newspaper, BBC coverage of the story, privacy laws and whether the BBC is facing an ex...

Andrew Neil, the former Sunday Times editor has become arguably the best political interviewer in the business, someone whom Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were desperate to avoid. This week we’re talking to the man who spent 25 years at the BBC presenting programmes such as This Week, Sunday Politics, The Daily Politics, and Politics Live.  Andrew Neil then left the corporation and became...

Ofcom, the UK communications industry regulator was in front of the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport select committee on Tuesday on the same day as Ofcom chief executive Melanie Dawes published an article in the Daily Telegraph. In recent years, an increasing number of politicians have fronted or guest presented current affairs programmes. Professor Stewart Purvis, former content and standa...

Henry Hill is the deputy editor of the Conservative Home website. He discusses the growing trend of partisan news channels, regulation, funding models, impartiality, political interviews and Conservative attitudes to the BBC and BBC reform. “If support for the BBC on the right collapses, whether you think that that collapse is justified or not, whether you think the criticisms are justified or not...

Tony Hall – Lord Hall of Birkenhead - was the director general of the BBC from 2013 until 2020. He joined the Corporation as a trainee in 1973 rising to director of BBC News and current affairs in 1990 and continued to lead BBC News until 2001. During his tenure he launched BBC Parliament, BBC 5 Live, BBC News 24 and BBC News Online, before taking some time off to run the Royal Opera hou...

Martin Rosenbaum was the leading specialist in utilising Freedom of Information at the BBC. As the former executive producer of political programmes at Westminster, he oversaw programmes such as 'Political Thinking' with Nick Robinson, and the 'Week in Westminster' as well as editing and producing numerous political documentaries. He had a ringside seat at the BBC during the Hutton Inquiry, the in...

Tim Suter, is a former managing editor of current affairs at the BBC, who later became a specialist adviser at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport which brought in the last media bill in 2003. That’s the one which which set up Ofcom, the UK’s media and communications regulator, of which Tim became a founding partner. He now runs his own consultancy, Perspective Associates. We discuss w...

Stewart Purvis is probably the pre-eminent broadcast news journalist of his time. A former editor of Channel 4 news, he went on to become ITN’s Chief Executive – and then the poacher turned gamekeeper. The now Professor Purvis served as one of the content regulators at Ofcom and oversaw standards cases involving the BBC between 2007 and 2010. In 2015 he was a member of the BBC Charter Re...

Before leaving the BBC in 2021 Rob Burley had worked with all the big political beasts at the Beeb - Andrew Neil, Jeremy Paxman, Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel - and as editor of Live Political Programmes oversaw 'The Andrew Marr Show', 'Politics Live' and 'Westminster Hour'. We discuss his recently published book called - 'Why Is This Lying Bastard Lying To Me' – which details everything from t...

Tom Mangold is one of Britain's top investigative journalists. From Fleet Street he moved to the BBC in 1964 and became a war correspondent covering numerous conflicts including Vietnam, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan. He then found himself at Panorama for 26 years making over 100 documentaries. He looks back on a career where he cultivated the Krays, became friends with Stephen Ward who wa...

John Bridcut has produced highly regarded documentaries throughout his career on a range of subjects including ‘How the BBC began’, the British monarchy - encompassing the Queen's coronation, Prince Philip, and King Charles - as well as documentaries on classical composers such as Elgar, Delius, and Britten. His latest documentary, focusing on British composer Sir Michael Tippett, is set to air in...

Simon McCoy was known as a regular presenter on BBC Breakfast, News 24 and latterly the BBC News at One. Before joining the BBC he was also royal correspondent at Sky in the early nineties covering the break down of Diana and Charles' marriage. After 17 years at the corporation Simon joined GB news for just under a year in 2021. We discuss royal coverage, impartiality, GB News, Richard S...

The draft Media bill was finally published at the end of March - what does it mean for diversity and the public service broadcasters? We discuss language, data and the loosening of regulations with Marcus Ryder, previously head of BBC Scotland Current Affairs Programmes who is now the head of External Consultancies at the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity. “I think that it is in BBC, Chan...

On the run up to the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, Peter Taylor veteran BBC journalist reveals his own personal story as a journalist covering Ireland for over 50 years and voices his concerns for the future of journalism. "Sadly, when I look at the people, my colleagues who've left the BBC, the BBC is in danger of losing that critical level of experience which we pass on, we vete...