The Media Show

Steve Hewlett talks to Mark Thompson, President and CEO of the New York Times and former Director General of the BBC, about his new book 'Enough Said'. Mark Thompson argues that something has gone wrong with political language and it's making it harder to have serious public debates about important issues. As the man who has run three major media organisations what does he think needs to change? A...

The start of this summer witnessed some of the most significant political events in recent history, with media headlines about Brexit dominating every news bulletin. However, the news agenda quickly switched to the Olympics and the dominance of the British team. So was this switch justified, or does it highlight an imbalance in news coverage? Joining Paddy O'Connell to discuss is Rod Liddle, Assoc...

New York Times media columnist, Jim Rutenberg, has described how journalists who disagree with Donald Trump now face a dilemma in terms of their impartiality. "The American press has all but abandoned impartiality when it comes to the Republican's wildest claims", he writes. It's a similar problem to the one that faced broadcasters in the UK, especially the BBC, who were accused of 'false balance'...

The BBC Trust has published an independent impartiality review looking at the BBC's reporting of statistics in its news and current affairs. It's found that the BBC needs to do more to challenge conventional wisdom and misleading claims, help audiences understand the weight of evidence, and be braver in interpreting and explaining rival statistics. We speak to independent author of the report and...

Following the recent spate of terrorist attacks in France and Germany, and widespread reporting on these atrocities, some media outlets, including the French daily newspaper Le Monde, have decided to not publish the names or pictures of perpetrators. One of the organisations choosing to not publish details is French networked Europe1 Radio. Andrea Catherwood speaks to managing editor Nicolas Escou...

Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with over 27 million customers worldwide. It's also the owner of Virgin Media, the largest cable company in the UK and Ireland, with 5.6 million customers. On a recent visit to London, its CEO Mike Fries spoke to Steve Hewlett about the strength of the business in the UK market, the impact of Brexit and whether they'd ev...

Dramatic events in Turkey are leading to a crackdown on journalists and coverage. Turkey's media regulation body has revoked the licences of 24 radio and TV channels accused of links to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, the man accused by the government of directing the coup. A list has also been circulating on a pro government account on twitter which names around 70 journalists which the governme...

One of the most senior women in media gives her first interview. The BBC's new Deputy Director General Anne Bulford talks Top Gear, top executives' pay and how the broadcaster plans to make hundreds of millions of pounds in savings. Sir Cliff Richard says he will sue the BBC and South Yorkshire Police over TV coverage of the raid on his home in 2014 in connection with historical sex abuse allegati...

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The EU referendum has been a defining political moment in the UK's history. For top political journalists, it's presented its own set of challenges - balancing claims, giving parity to arguments, and staying across the latest lines from all parties has been key for reporters on TV and radio. Steve Hewlett talks to three broadcast journalists who've been on the coal face during this campaign; Alleg...

With only one day to go until the vote on the EU referendum, The Mirror newspaper has declared its support for the Remain campaign. It means all the country's newspapers have now declared their position in the debate. Andrea Catherwood discusses whether newspaper editorials still have the influence they once did with Lloyd Embley, Editor of the Daily and Sunday Mirror, and Trevor Kavanagh, Politic...

Sherlock, Doctor Who and Dad's Army fans in the UK can buy and download episodes of their favourite programmes - as well as many other "lost gems from the BBC archive" - after the broadcaster launched a new online service: the BBC Store. The site features around 7,000 hours worth of content with more to come over the next year. BBC Worldwide - the commercial arm of the BBC - is behind Store. Steve...

The International News Safety Institute is launching a survey into the psychological impact on journalists covering the migrant crisis, following anecdotal evidence that some journalists are finding it is taking a high emotional toll on them. INSI Director Hannah Storm discusses the challenges of reporting the crisis, and Steve Hewlett is also joined by Channel 4 News International Editor Lindsey...

The Archbishop of Canterbury is calling on the BBC to give religion the same prominence as politics, sport or drama. In a speech at the Sandford St Martin awards for religious broadcasting, The Most Rev Justin Welby will suggest that the Corporation's charter include protection for religious programming. Also at the ceremony, Dame Joan Bakewell will receive a special award in recognition of a 'com...

The creation of the commercial production division of the BBC, BBC Studios, will lead to 100 per cent competition between in house and independent producers; BBC producers will be free to pitch to other broadcasters, and external producers can compete for more content on the BBC. Mark Linsey has recently been appointed as Director of BBC Studios. He talks to Steve Hewlett about how the new model w...

How has the media been covering the EU referendum debate? Is the press bias towards leave, Reuters report thinks so. If it is bias, is that making a difference? Does the press set the broadcasters agenda? Why are we seeing so few women in the debate and have the public really engaged with the referendum campaign so far, what difference might the upcoming debates make? Draft media guidelines publis...

The BBC has announced it's scaling back and closing a range of online services - including BBC Food and Newsbeat websites - in order to save £15m. The proposed closure of the BBC Food website quickly drew widespread criticism and an online petition against the move raised over 100,000 signatures in one day. James Harding, Director of BBC News & Current Affairs, joins Steve Hewlett to explain t...

As the government's long-awaited White Paper on the future of the BBC is published, Steve Hewlett talks to the leading players about what it actually says. Will it mark the end of the BBC as we know it? Or has all the hype been misplaced? Steve speaks to Culture Secretary John Whittingdale, before asking a panel of experts what these plans really mean for the future of the corporation. He's joined...

The former Chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, says that the independence of the BBC is at risk from parts of the government. Lord Patten, also the former Chairman of the Conservative Party, tells The Media Show that the Culture Secretary John Whittingdale is part of a "juvenile ideological fringe who, if given half a chance, will do the BBC real damage." We hear Lord Patten's own proposals fo...

The jury at the new inquests into the deaths of fans at Hillsborough has this week concluded that they played no part in the tragedy. The press coverage following the event in 1989 included damning headlines about fans' behaviour, including that they'd stolen from the dead and urinated on police. Bob Westerdale, now sports editor at the Star Newspaper in Sheffield, was working as a crime reporter...

A new report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism suggests that with steadily shrinking news audiences, TV news can expect to experience a disruptive period similar to that faced by the newspapers a decade ago. Joining Andrea to explore the declining viewership, the significance of the threat and how TV news might respond in the future is one of the report authors and former editor...

Culture Secretary John Whittingdale is facing calls to withdraw from involvement in regulation of the press following the disclosure that he had a relationship with a prostitute. Four newspapers knew he'd had a relationship with a woman who he later found out was a sex worker, but they didn't publish the story. Steve Hewlett talks to one of the journalists who had been investigating the claims - f...

Some weeks ago, Sir David Clementi said the current regulatory model of the BBC Trust, was 'flawed and that a unitary board should run the BBC. Since then, John Whittingdale, the culture secretary, has said if board members were appointed by the government, that this would not compromise the independence of the BBC. However, the current chair of the BBC Trust, Rona Fairhead, has concerns. Steve He...

A report from BARB (The Broadcasters Audience Research Board) estimates that Netflix is now in some 5 million UK households, stating that: 'Netflix is by some margin the market leader' among subscription video on demand services. But can its subscriber base keep pace with its ambition to become 'a global Internet TV network'? To discuss, Steve is joined by media analyst Mathew Horsman, from Mediat...

Twitter is ten years old and has had an "utterly transformative" impact on journalism. That's according to Emily Bell, Director of the Tow Centre for Digital Journalism at the Columbia Journalism School. She says it has been the most important journalistic tool since the phone. We'll hear from her and from radio and TV presenter Richard Bacon, one of the UK's pioneers in using Twitter. He has 1.5...