The Media Show

Questions about privacy and freedom of the press have dominated the headlines this week. Twitter users allegedly breaking super-injunctions, Max Mosley losing his case for stronger privacy laws in the European Court and a complaint from the Middletons to the PCC have re-ignited the debate about public figures' right to privacy. But is there a real threat to freedom of the press? And are tabloid exposes more about boosting newspaper sales than upholding public morals? Dominic Lawson, Kelvin MacKenzie and Professor Roy Greenslade discuss whether privacy legislation poses a challenge for the media. Channel 4 releases its annual report today, following suggestions that the broadcaster could be doing better than expected. Media commentator Maggie Brown joins Steve Hewlett, straight from Channel 4's chief executive David Abraham's announcement, to discuss whether this has been a good financial year for Channel 4.

Yesterday Lord Patten took up his new role as Chairman of the BBC Trust. He has already said that BBC executive pay is still too high and that the BBC can't rule out cutting a service. The Telegraph's Neil Midgley takes a look at the early signals from Lord Patten on how his approach could differ from his predecessor, Sir Michael Lyons.The media regulator Ofcom recently ruled that performances from Christina Aguilera and Rihanna on ITV's The X-Factor were not too sexy for family viewing but were "at the very margin of acceptability." The ruling coincides with a new report on the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood, due out later this month, which is likely to look at the impact of the media. Dr Katherine Rake and Steward Purvis discuss whether TV is making the right calls on pre-watershed content and what, if anything, needs to change. The New York Times is a month into its second version of a paywall and the paper's taking encouragement from the early figures on subscribers. Martin Nisenholtz, senior vice president of digital operations at The New York Times, explains how the paywall works and why he expects it to succeed. Emily Bell, Professor at Columbia University's School of Journalism, looks at how the New York Times compares with paywalls in the UK.

Hugh Tomlinson QC is the barrister in several of the recent high profile, yet secret, celebrity privacy cases. Gill Phillips is head of editorial legal services at the Guardian, who guided the paper through the challenge to the Trafigura superinjunction. What do they make of the recent media reports of celebrities allegedly over-using injunctions to protect their private lives - and can they devise a system that's fair to individuals and the media? Piers Morgan is in the UK this week for CNN, to cover the royal wedding. In his pub in west London, he tells Steve Hewlett how he landed his CNN job, what he thinks of his critics and whether he stands by his previous comment that phone hacking was "an investigative practice that everyone knows was going on at almost every paper in Fleet Street for years".

The BBC Trust begins a service licence review into BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live extra today. It comes as the Trust rejects a complaint by the commercial radio station talkSPORT that 5 Live, its main competitor, broadcasts too little news and sport. Whilst it's not been upheld, the BBC Trust says the claim raises "significant and valid questions about what constitutes news on 5 Live", which will now be looked at as part of the review. Anne McElvoy asks Moz Dee, talkSPORT's Programme Director, about the commercial impact the BBC station is having on the network, and Jonathan Wall Deputy Controller of Radio 5 Live 5 explains how it makes sure it meets its public service news remit. This year's Royal Wedding has hardly been out of the headlines as the media gears up to cover one of the biggest events in television history. But how do the logistics of filming the wedding work and how will broadcasters ensure that everything goes smoothly on the day? Anne McElvoy joins APTV's head of operations, Tim Santhouse, in London's Green Park where APTV staff are preparing reporting platforms for the world's media, whilst CNN correspondent Richard Quest joins Anne in the studio to discuss how he's preparing to bring a unique angle to his coverage of the big day. The Independent's sister paper i has announced a new Saturday edition from May. Costing 30p, it'll be 10p more than its week day edition, with sections on leisure and TV. It comes as i reports a drop in circulation of 2.5 per cent. Editor in Chief Simon Kelner tells us why he's remaining buoyant, despite the fall in numbers, and explains how the new Saturday edition of will go some way to boosting sales. Presenter: Anne McElvoy. Producer: Kathryn Takatsuki.

Last October, Danny Cohen was appointed as channel controller of BBC1, having been head of the BBC's youth channel, BBC3. In his first interview with The Media Show since taking over at the UK's most watched TV channel, Danny Cohen speaks to Steve Hewlett about competition from ITV, older on screen talent and whether BBC 1 could be more edgy. Last week News International made an apology and offered to compensate several celebrities who had their phones hacked by the News of the World. But does the apology settle the matter or raise more questions about phone hacking and the British press? John Whittingdale MP, who chaired a committee which investigated phone hacking in 2007, explains why he feels a further enquiry is necessary. Steve Hewlett is joined by Natalie Fenton, professor of media at Goldsmiths, University of London and Peter Preston, former editor of The Guardian, to discuss what the recent revelations have exposed and whether there should be tougher regulation of the press.

At last night's British Press Awards, the News of the World and the Guardian were both up for Scoop of the Year - the Guardian, for its stories about phone hacking at the News of the World. It came on the day when two News of the World journalists were arrested as part of the Met Police inquiry into phone hacking. Steve Hewlett went along to the awards discuss the developments with some of the award nominees and with Bob Satchwell of the Society of Editors, which runs the awards.This week Ofcom published its finding on Frankie Boyle's joke about Katie Price's son Harvey, broadcast last year on his Channel 4 show Tramadol Nights. Ofcom found that Channel 4 had made an "erroneous decision on a matter of editorial judgement" but that there was no failure in its compliance process and imposed no sanction. Katie Price's lawyer, Mark Bateman, explains why she is still calling for an apology.And Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC Trust, looks at the challenges facing the BBC in his final few weeks in office, ahead of the appointment of his replacement Lord Patten.

Last weekend, a Libyan woman, Eman al-Obeidi, broke through the security surrounding foreign journalists in a Tripoli hotel to tell a horrific story. She accused Gaddafi's forces of beating and raping her before being dragged away. Jonathan Miller, foreign correspondent for Channel 4 News, was attacked as he tried to record Eman al-Obeidi's story. He explains the difficulties of reporting objectively from Libya where "the lies and spin and obfuscation are boundless."The culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has faced a series of challenges in recent months including negotiations over the BBC's new licence fee settlement, questions about digital piracy, plans for local television and the controversy over News Corp's bid for BSkyB. On the day that hundreds of arts organisations hear they have lost their funding due to Arts Council cuts, Jeremy Hunt talks to Steve Hewlett about his plans. The question of whether paywalls pay is up for debate again as The New York Times launches its second attempt at a paywall and The Times announces apparently encouraging figures. But can online subscribers, who pay significantly less than those who buy The Times in print form, make up for falling readers of the paper? The editor of The Times, James Harding, explains how the figures break down. The Producer is Simon Tillotson.

Cuts in local radio, dropping Wimbledon and Formula 1, closing down networks at night: just some of the radical options reported in this week's papers as the BBC looks to find ways of balancing its budget after the latest licence fee settlement. Will any of them actually happen and are they even needed? We hear from the senior BBC executive running the review, Pat Younge. Maggie Brown of the Guardian and Richard Brooks of the Sunday Times discuss the ideas.And last week Ofcom announced a full-on review of the TV advertising sales system. Matthew Horsman of Mediatique gives his view on what this might mean for viewers, advertisers and commercial broadcasters.

After news of the devastating earthquake in Japan broke, broadcasters were under pressure to get correspondents to the disaster area to report on developments. But with several presenters now in the region, have news outlets gone overboard? To discuss how decisions about the logistics were reached, Steve is joined by BBC head of newsgathering Fran Unsworth and ITV head of foreign news Tim Singleton. The Independent's spin off paper, the i, publishes its 100th edition today. After a high profile advertising campaign, the number of readers has shot up. Simon Kelner, the editor of both papers, joins Steve Hewlett to discuss whether the current figures are sustainable and what the i's success means for The Independent. There are growing concerns that plans for a "three strikes" rule to tackle internet piracy, which would mean persistent offenders would get their connections cut off, have come to a halt. The Telegraph's Emma Barnett and Jeff Taylor of the BPI, discuss the music industry's worries about piracy and the reasons for the delay. The producer is Simon Tillotson.

Richard Peppiatt's published an open letter to Richard Desmond, saying he was quitting his job at the Daily Star on several points of principle. He says he was asked to make up stories (the Star denies this) and was unhappy about the Star's coverage of Muslims in Britain. So, having admitted that he wrote stories he knew to be untrue, does he have a future in journalism? Last week the government decided not to refer News Corp's bid for BSkyB to the competition commission. This followed a report from Ofcom that suggested that increasing News Corp's ownership of the British media might lead to plurality issues. Ed Richards, the chief executive of Ofcom, joins Steve to discuss where Ofcom stands. Jason Gardiner, a judge on ITV's Dancing on Ice, is in trouble again over his acerbic comments and insults to the contestants. Gardiner is the latest in a long line of catty judges from "nasty" Nigel Lythgoe to Simon Cowell. But do all talent shows need a pantomime villain? Nina Myskow, 1980s talent show judge known for her cutting criticism, discusses why the spats between judges now make more headlines than the efforts of the contestants.The Producer is Simon Tillotson.