The Media Show

“The worst World Cup ever” is how PR Week describes Qatar’s hosting of the event. The latest controversy was just this week, after the tournament’s ambassador said in an interview that being gay was “damage in the mind”. Meanwhile, human rights groups have been calling on players to protest on the pitch. So how did the World Cup end up being awarded to Qatar in the first place? Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp says it’s partly the fault of journalists who "should have sent a message" about the country's unsuitability years ago.Also in the programme, why local newspaper groups are up in arms about the BBC’s plans to spend more on digital news and less on local radio shows.Guests: Joey D’Urso, investigations writer, The Athletic, Miles Coleman, Producer and writer, FIFA Uncovered, Beth Fisher, freelance sports broadcaster, Henry Faure Walker, Chief Executive, Newsquest, Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director of Nations, BBC, and Alice Enders, Head of Research, Enders AnalysisPresenter: Katie RazzallProducer: Helen Fitzhenry

Does it matter that the world’s richest man now owns Twitter? Elon Musk is the latest American billionaire to take control of an influential social media platform. How much will change? Also in the programme, how the BBC's Africa Eye team investigated a tragedy on the Moroccan – Spanish border.Guests: Peter Kafka, host of Recode Media, Danielle Citron, professor of law at University of Virginia and advisor to Twitter, Shona Ghosh, UK Deputy Editor at Insider, Benjamin Strick and Suzanne Vanhooymissen, journalists on BBC Africa Eye's Death on the Border investigation.Presenter: Katie RazzallStudio Engineer: Donald MacDonaldProducer: Helen Fitzhenry

If you turned on your wireless set 100 years ago, what would you have heard? Katie Razzall looks back at the earliest days of the BBC as it celebrates its centenary, hearing how the idea of a single, national broadcaster came into being. Early broadcasts involved reading out railway timetables and mocking up Big Ben's chimes on tubular bells, but very quickly the power of wireless broadcasting became apparent. From debates about the difficulties of enforcing the licence fee to fraught deals with newspapers and live performers who feared competition and losing audiences to the newly-formed BBC, some of the discussions have never gone away. But will the BBC last another century?Guests: Mark Damazer, executive at the BBC for more than 30 years, including as controller of Radio 4; Jean Seaton, professor of media history at the University of Westminster and an official historian of the BBC; Paul Kerensa, broadcaster on BBC Radio Essex and producer of the podcast British Broadcasting Century, which tells the story of the BBC from the beginning; Emily Bell, founding director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School.Presenter: Katie Razzall Producer: Tim Bano

“At last! A true Tory budget”, proclaimed The Daily Mail after the mini-budget. Four weeks on and a very different tone: “In office but not in power”, was the front page this Tuesday.So what exactly is Liz Truss’ relationship with Britain’s press? Was she really “egged on” by the media, as some of her critics claim, to do what she did in the disastrous mini-budget? And if the opinion polls are to be believed – with her party apparently heading for oblivion at a general election – might traditional Tory papers switch allegiance? Guests: James O'Brien, Presenter, LBC, Christopher Hope, Associate editor, The Daily Telegraph, Eleni Courea, Deputy editor, Politico’s London Playbook, Mark Landler, London bureau chief, The New York Times and Tessa Szyszkowitz, correspondent for German and Austrian publications.Presenter: Katie Razzall Sound engineer: Duncan Hannant Producer: Helen Fitzhenry

As the war in Ukraine continues to escalate, what role does journalism play in peace-making, in dialling down the rhetoric? The BBC’s John Simpson was in Kyiv last week to interview President Zelensky – we’ll hear his take. And with Katie in the studio is another giant of journalism. Emma Tucker is the editor of The Sunday Times. Only the second woman to have done that job in more than 100 years.Presenter: Katie Razzall Studio Engineer Donald MacDonald Producer: Helen Fitzhenry

Donna Langley is one of the most powerful women in Hollywood. As Chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, she oversees film franchises like Fast and Furious, Despicable Me and Jurassic World, and was behind hits like Mamma Mia and Straight Outta Compton. In this special edition of The Media Show, Katie Razzall meets Donna Langley in Hollywood, and hears how a girl who grew up on the Isle of Wight became a movie studio boss. How does she decide which films to back? What does she do when the big budgets don’t pay off? And has the covid pandemic changed forever how we watch movies?Presenter: Katie Razzall Producer: Helen Fitzhenry

On the day the Bank of England intervened to calm turmoil following the Chancellor's mini-budget last week, we look at the challenge facing journalists to tell this story well. Stephanie Flanders is the head of Bloomberg Economics and Paul Lewis presents Radio 4’s Money Box.Also in the show we speak to The Sunday Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund. His scoops regularly set the news agenda for the week ahead. How does he do it?And if you’re wondering about Jane Garvey and Fi Glover’s recently announced move from the BBC to Times Radio – we've got their agent on to tell us how it happened. Sue Ayton is co-founder of Knight Ayton Management. She joins Megan Carver Founder and MD of Carver PR discuss how to manage big talent making moves, and the new opportunities of the growing audio market.Presenter: Ros Atkins Producer: Helen Fitzhenry

The Queen's funeral was the culmination of days of coverage across the British media. The new culture secretary called the BBC’s efforts "phenomenal" and "spot-on". So did the media get the tone right? Were a range of views about the monarchy represented? And amid the pageantry and commentary, was there room for journalism?Guests: Marcus Ryder, Head of External Consultancies at the Sir Lenny Henry Centre For Media Diversity, Tina Stowell, Chair of the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee, Ed Vaizey, Former Culture Secretary and member of the House of Lords, Emily Bell, Director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, and Stefanie Bolzen, UK Correspondent for Die WeltProducer: Helen FitzhenryPresenter: Katie Razzall

The Queen's coffin has travelled in ceremonial procession to Westminster Hall today where she will lie in state for four days until her funeral on Monday. Thousands have lined the route and for millions in the UK and around the world, it is the media that allows them to follow this period of national mourning. We talk to guests from news broadcasters, commercial radio and local newspapers about their experience of covering this story. We'll talk about Ukraine too. In an extraordinary few days, Russian forces have been pushed back. We know that – but there are significant challenges establishing exactly what has happened. We’ll try and understand what can be done to report these developments with confidence. Guests: Cristina Nicolotti Squires, Director of content, Sky News, Frank O’Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, The Press and Journal, Phil Riley, Founder of Boom Radio, James Waterhouse, Ukraine Correspondent, BBC News, and Francis Scarr, BBC MonitoringPresenter: Ros AtkinsProducer: Helen Fitzhenry

We look at what may be the biggest media deal of the year – Microsoft is trying to buy one of the world’s leading games producers Activision Blizzard for almost 60 billion pounds, but UK regulators have questions. The cost of living crisis is deepening, does the news media have the skill set to understand and explain a story of this scale and complexity? And who is the new Culture Secretary?With Sarah Lester, Editor of the Manchester Evening News, Sebastian Payne politics writer for the Financial Times, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation, Faisal Islam, BBC Economics Editor, Jason Kingsley, Co-founder and CEO of video game developer Rebellion and Louise Shorthouse, Senior Games Analyst at Ampere Analysis. Presenter: Ros Atkins Producer: Helen Fitzhenry Studio Engineer: Tim Heffer