The Media Show

On today's programme with Steve Hewlett: How well did the BBC cover the Arab Spring? The BBC Trust commissioned a report from Middle East expert and former UN director of communications Edward Mortimer who found much to praise but also had some constructive criticism, detecting the absence of a central strategic brain overseeing the coverage. He explains what he thought the BBC could have done better and Stephen Mitchell, BBC deputy director of news, responds.With the news this week of plans to split the NewsCorp business into entertainment and publishing companies, what's the view of the UK papers from NewsCorp's home in New York? Sarah Ellison's been following the Murdoch family interests since her time at the Wall Street Journal and extensively since with Vanity Fair and gives her reaction to the latest developments.And the rights to show the 2016 Olympics are up for auction this week, with sealed bids being opened on Friday. The IOC president Jacques Rogge has said "anything is possible" with the rights, raising the possibility that they will not be shown to their fullest extent on free to air tv. The Guardian's Olympics editor, Owen Gibson, reports from the Olympic Park. The producer is Simon Tillotson.

On today's programme with Steve Hewlett:Why was BT prepared to pay so much for the rights to show Premiership football? Marc Watson is chief executive of BT Vision and he explains the strategy, while analyst Mathew Horsman of Mediatique looks at the implications for consumers and for rivals BSkyB.The Leveson Inquiry has raised concerns over a story in the Mail on Sunday this weekend which alleged Lord Justice Leveson threatened to quit over comments from Michael Gove - a claim he strongly denies. Anne McElvoy of The Economist and Professor Brian Cathcart from the Hacked Off campaign discuss whether the inquiry really does have the "chilling effect" on the media which some claim and whether the inquiry's response to the Mail on Sunday's story is proportionate. And Steve talks to Mark Damazer of St Peter's College, Oxford, about the variety of voices on the BBC. A report from Ofcom this week said there's a potential risk that people who consume the BBC's services don't get a wide enough range of voices and suggests the BBC Trust should monitor this. Mark Damazer is a former controller of Radio 4. The producer is Simon Tillotson.

In this week's programme with Steve Hewlett: As the situation in Syria deteriorates, the BBC's Paul Wood and CBS's Clarissa Ward discuss the risks of reporting undercover from the conflict zone. Both received the David Bloom prize this weekend at the annual Radio Television Correspondents' Association awards in Washington for their reporting in Syria. Have attitudes towards foreign journalists changed to the extent that some suggest where, to attract media attention, activists appear to have set journalists up to be shot by the government forces? Two months after its relaunch from Salford, former BBC Director General Greg Dyke gives his view on BBC Breakfast. What impact might last week's Jubilee pageant coverage have on the prospects of some of the candidates to replace Mark Thompson?And how straightforward would it really be to control media ownership in the way floated this week at the Leveson inquiry? Labour leader Ed Miliband said yesterday that he didn't believe one person should control 34% of the newspaper market, but how much influence is too much could anyone agree on the best way to measure it? Former Ofcom partner Stewart Purvis and media analyst Claire Enders discuss this.The producer is Simon Tillotson.

At its peak the BBC attracted almost 17 million viewers for its Diamond Jubilee coverage but some have described parts of it as 'lamentable,' 'tedious' and 'inane'. Alan Yentob the BBC's Creative Director responds to those criticisms. Ian Hyland TV critic for the Mail on Sunday shares his view, and Michael Lumley an executive producer for the coverage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer's wedding, reveals some of the challenges inherent in covering such large scale events on TV.YouView is officially in launch phase. The internet television service - backed by the BBC, Channel 4, 5 and BT, amongst others - promised a new way of watching TV. But have a serious of delays left it trailing its competitors. BBC Media Correspondent Torin Douglas outlines the history and Theresa Wise of Accenture considers its future. And the battle to become the next Director General of the BBC is gathering pace. One candidate in particular - Ed Richards - is attracting attention because of his links to the Labour Party. Anne McElvoy speaks to The Guardian's Dan Sabbagh. Presenter: Anne McElvoy Producer: Joe Kent.

In today's programme with Steve Hewlett:The editors of the Mirror and Sunday Mirror lost their jobs this morning, ahead of the papers' move to a seven day operation. Ben Fenton of the Financial Times looks looks at why Trinity Mirror has made this decision and why now.Former Paralympic swimmer Giles Long tells Steve how he came up with the new graphics for Channel 4's Paralympics coverage, which aim to demystify the system for classifying athletes.Yesterday the CPS explained why it would not prosecute Guardian journalist Amelia Hill over allegations her stories about the phone hacking investigation came from confidential police sources. Lawyer Susan Aslan of Aslan Charles Kousetta LLP talks through the implications of that decision for working journalists.And Mary Ann Sieghart of The Independent and former Guardian editor Peter Preston discuss Tony Blair's appearance at the Leveson Inquiry this week. Can news and comment be separated in the way he suggested and, if it can, should it be?The producer is Simon Tillotson.

On The Media Show with Steve Hewlett:The organisers of the Eurovision song contest have been criticised by human rights campaigners for allowing the event to be held in Azerbaijan, despite concerns about lack of press freedom. The director general of the European Broadcasting Union, Ingrid Deltenre, defends the EBU against these criticisms and explains what it is doing to support public service broadcasting.Tessa Jowell MP has been giving evidence to the Leveson Inquiry this week. She tells Steve how she felt when she was first told her phone had been hacked - and why she accepted the claim at the time that this was the work of one rogue reporter. And David Elstein and Claire Enders discuss today's announcement that Sky faces no action over its strong position in the TV film market, despite the complaints of rivals. They also look ahead to tomorrow's Leveson evidence from Adam Smith, the special adviser to media secretary of state Jeremy Hunt.The producer is Simon Tillotson.

Channel 4's chief executive David Abraham discusses the channel's ratings and revenues. Does the channel still need to find a replacement for Big Brother, does it need horse racing and how does the pay of C4's chief executive compare to that of the next BBC director general? Tim Bradshaw, digital media correspondent of the Financial Times, discusses the potential pitfalls of the Facebook IPO on Friday.And Lorraine Heggessey and Colin Robertson discuss what, if anything, needs to be done to turn around The Voice after its ratings slide. Lorraine Heggessey is former controller of BBC1 and chief executive of Talkback Thames which makes The Voice's rivals X Factor and Britain's Got Talent, while Colin Robertson is the TV editor of the Sun.The producer is Simon Tillotson.

BSkyB chief executive Jeremy Darroch gives Steve Hewlett a rare interview on his strategy for Sky, including investment in programmes and importance of Premiership football rights - and addresses some of the stories surrounding Sky including its relationship with Rupert Murdoch and rivalry with the BBC. For further context, there was a discussion of BSkyB's recent strong financial report in last week's programme.Film director Michael Apted has been closely connected to the "Up" series on ITV since working on World in Action's "7 Up" in 1964. From Los Angeles, he tells Steve and the Guardian media writer Maggie Brown what he has learnt in the making of "56 Up" which is being shown next Monday - and why it would be much harder to attempt this kind of documentary series today. And Maggie Brown and Steve discuss what politicians might expect from the evidence of Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson at the Leveson Inquiry tomorrow and on Friday.The producer is Simon Tillotson.

In today's programme with Steve Hewlett:Just a day after MPs say Rupert Murdoch is not fit to run a major international company, satellite broadcaster BSkyB posts big profits. It won't have escaped NewsCorp's attention that, if all had gone according to plan last summer, it would now own all of BSkyB and would now have all those profits to itself. In the current political climate, what are the prospects of NewsCorp launching a new bid for the 61% it does not already own? Mathew Horsman of Medatique and Theresa Wise discuss the future of BSkyB and whether NewsCorp will sell if buying all the shares becomes too problematic.Ashley Highfield is the chief executive of Johnston Press and tells Steve how he sees local paper surviving in the digital age. Later this month, some of Johnston's long-standing daily papers are going weekly.And Mihir Bose looks at the treatment the new England manager Roy Hodgson can expect from some newspapers simply because he is not the papers' favourite, Harry Redknapp.The producer is Simon Tillotson.

Steve Hewlett canvasses reaction to today's evidence from Rupert Murdoch with Ben Fenton of the Financial Times and Sarah Ellison, formerly of the Wall Street Journal and now contributing editor of Vanity Fair. Steve traces the rise of the Murdochs - and politicians' interest in them - from Margaret Thatcher onwards, with former cabinet member Lord Fowler, former Guardian editor Peter Preston and Claire Enders of Enders Analysis. Moving on to the BSkyB takeover that dominated yesterday's coverage of James Murdoch's evidence, the panel are joined by Steward Purvis, formerly of OFCOM. Are the controls on media ownership, which the Murdochs have challenged over the decades, as relevant now as they were before the rise of the internet? Should politicians be taken out of decisions about media ownership? The producer is Simon Tillotson.