

The Media Show
BBC Radio 4
Social media, anti-social media, breaking news, faking news: this is the programme about a revolution in media.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 22, 2020 • 28min
Reinventing TV Documentaries
Documentary making is undergoing a renaissance, with box set factual shows among the most popular on streaming services. Amol Rajan charts the evolution of the documentary with the help of Tom Mangold, whose latest film for the BBC is called Keeler, Profumo, Ward and Me, Leo Pearlman, managing partner at Fulwell 73 and executive producer of Auschwitz Untold: In Colour for Channel 4, and Justine Kershaw, creative director of Blink Films.Producer: Richard HooperImage: Still from Sunderland 'Til I Die, the Netflix documentary series produced by Fulwell 73

Jan 15, 2020 • 28min
A right Royal PR disaster
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced that they are stepping down as senior members of the Royal family, a decision that is thought to have been partly motivated by negative press coverage they receive in the UK. Yet their plan and the manner in which it was revealed, has enraged sections of the press even further. Also in the show, why the boss of BritBox wants it to be "the biggest box of British box-sets".Amol Rajan is joined by Dan Wootton, Executive Editor at The Sun, Robert Hardman, the Daily Mail's Royal expert, Chloe Franses, founder of PR agency Franses, and Reemah Sakaan, BritBox group launch director for ITV SVOD.Producer: Richard Hooper

Jan 8, 2020 • 28min
The man driving Jeremy Clarkson
Andy Wilman is executive producer of The Grand Tour, the Amazon Prime Video show featuring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Previously he was the creative force behind Top Gear, turning the programme into one of the BBC's most successful exports. Also on the show, Mark Ryan, executive director of the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas, talks about the Australian philanthropic venture with over £50m to invest in journalism. And Latika Bourke, journalist with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, on how the bushfire emergency might prompt a change in how the Australian media reports climate change.Producer: Richard Hooper

Jan 1, 2020 • 28min
The British drama boom
The UK's traditional TV channels might be losing viewers to Netflix and Amazon, but when it comes to the actual shows we're all streaming, British producers are responsible for many of them. In this special edition of The Media Show, Amol Rajan asks how long will the drama boom last? Guests: Kate Harwood, managing director of Euston Films, Jason Kingsley, co-founder of Rebellion, Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, and Rhianna Dhillon, film and TV criticProducer: Richard Hooper
Assistant Producer: Natalia FernandezPhoto credit: Baghdad Central, the new Channel 4 thriller produced by Euston Films.

Dec 22, 2019 • 28min
Ian Hislop's review of the year in media
Private Eye editor on making jokes about Boris Johnson, Prince Andrew and Greta Thunberg

Dec 18, 2019 • 28min
Delete the media?
Most British journalists reporting on politics were shocked by the scale of the Conservative victory. Why did the result take them by surprise and what influence did the media actually have on voters?Amol Rajan is joined by Piers Morgan, ITV presenter, Hannah Chapman, editor of The Northern Echo, Alison Rowat, Senior Politics Writer at The Herald, Oli Dugmore, Head of News and Politics at JOE, and Professor Dominic Wring, Loughborough University.Producer: Richard Hooper

Dec 11, 2019 • 28min
Ronan Farrow's Battle to Report
Ronan Farrow is hailed as one of the greatest reporters of his generation. For his ground-breaking New Yorker investigation into Harvey Weinstein, he shared a Pulitzer Prize with Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey of The New York Times. Now Farrow has told the story of how he battled to get the allegations published in a new book, Catch and Kill.Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper

Dec 4, 2019 • 28min
Will Amazon deliver a revolution in sports media?
Amazon has the rights to broadcast the Premier League in December, the first time matches have not been "televised" on a traditional TV channel. Is this the start of a revolution in live sports broadcasting, or a one-off marketing stunt by Amazon to attract Christmas shoppers to its Prime service? Also in the show, how TikTok is changing its virtual gifts policy after a BBC investigation.Guests: Jake Humphrey, co-founder Whisper Films, Minal Modha, consumer lead Ampere Analysis, Kait Borsay, sports presenter and host of The Offside Rule podcast, and Joe Tidy, BBC Cyber-security reporter.
Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper

Nov 27, 2019 • 28min
The media's criminal obsession
A new Channel 4 show What Makes a Murderer has been made with the assistance of a convicted criminal. Tony Sales co-founded the production company Underworld TV to make programmes about the criminal world. Also capitalising on demand for true crime stories is Bauer Media, who earlier this year launched the magazine Crime Monthly. How are the political parties using the media to get their election messages out? Newsquest, one of the UK's largest regional publishers, has written to the Electoral Commission accusing the Liberal Democrats of designing a campaign leaflet that looks like a regular local newspaper. Last week, the Daily Mirror said that its reporter was denied accreditation to travel on Boris Johnson's campaign bus. Guests: Julia Davis, editor-in-chief of Crime Monthly, Tony Sales, co-founder of Underworld TV, Katie French, editor of The Basingstoke Gazette, James Mitchinson, editor of The Yorkshire Post, and Alison Phillips, editor of The Daily MirrorPresenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard HooperPhoto: Channel 4's What Makes A Murderer?

Nov 20, 2019 • 28min
Trust me, I'm a journalist
Dorothy Byrne, Head of News and Current Affairs for Channel 4 and author of Trust Me, I'm Not A Politician, on the role journalism can play in restoring public trust in politicians. Also, an exclusive interview with Steve Hatch, Facebook's boss in Northern Europe, on the company's readiness for the general election. And Shona Ghosh, UK Tech Editor at Business Insider, on whether Google Stadia will become "the Netflix of gaming".Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper


