The Media Show

BBC Radio 4
undefined
Jul 10, 2024 • 58min

How to cover a general election

In the aftermath of the Labour landslide Roger Mosey, former Editorial Directior of BBC News, accuses broadcasters of spending too much time on 'the kind of trivia that alienates voters.' Should journalism do better? We test the thesis with new research from Dominic Wring of Loughborough University outlining the topics journalists covered most, plus Sam Jeffers from media transparency organisation Who Targets Me explains how the parties used social media and Harriet Line from The Daily Mail tells us how she's going to cultivate contacts to report on the new government.Across the channel the French election continues to surprise with the campaign dominated by parties, from left and right, at the farther ends of the political spectrum. Victor Goury-Laffont, Politics Reporter at Politico Europe and Dr Ayala Panievsky from City University explain the challenges for journalism of covering populist campaigns. Also in the programme, we talk to journalist Oz Katerji who arrived at the scene of the missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv, stopped reporting and started helping. Guests: Oz Katerji, war correspondent and filmmaker; Roger Mosey, Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge, former Editorial Director, BBC; Dominic Wring, Professor of Political Communication, Loughborough University; Priyanka Raval, Reporter, The Bristol Cable; Dr Ayala Panievsky, Presidential Fellow, City University; Victor Goury-Laffont, Politics Reporter, Politico Europe; Harriet Line, Deputy Political Editor, Daily Mail; Sam Jeffers, Executive Director, Who Targets Me Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson
undefined
Jul 3, 2024 • 1h 1min

Reporting Biden's health

In the aftermath of his halting debate performance, the editorial boards of some of the major US newspapers have called on Joe Biden to withdraw from the race for re-election. We ask why this issue is only being discussed so widely now, talking to a journalist who raised a comprehensive set of concerns but faced a backlash from others in the media and a former Executive Editor of The New York Times. Also in the programme, we explore how the disappearance of teenager Jay Slater in Tenerife has drawn the attention of online sleuths and the problems this creates for conventional reporters. Plus we hear what it's like reporting from Glastonbury, as well as what Ros and Katie got up to while they were there.Craig Oliver, former Downing Street Director of Communications; Jill Abramson, former Executive Editor, The New York Times; Annie Linskey, White House reporter, Wall Street Journal; Nayeema Raza, Co-Host, Semafor’s Mixed Signals podcast; Nick Garnett, Senior Journalist, BBC; Robyn Vinter, north of England correspondent, The Guardian; Craig Jackson, Professor of Psychology, Birmingham City University; El Hunt, Commissioning Editor, The Evening Standard. Presenters: Katie Razzall & Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson
undefined
Jun 26, 2024 • 58min

Julian Assange: journalist or activist?

On the day Julian Assange is freed, we explore the story of WikiLeaks' unprecedented data releases, how he and the organisation changed the way journalists and newsrooms operate and how these releases ultimately led to his incarceration. Also in the programme, ITV's Julie Etchingham explains the secrets behind chairing prime ministerial debates and Steven Moffat, writer of new comedy drama Douglas is Cancelled, on why he's making journalism his subject. Guests: Leila Nathoo, Political Correspondent, BBC; Dominic Wring, Professor of Political Communication, Loughborough University; Jonathan Munro, Deputy Director, BBC News; Julie Etchingham, journalist and moderator, ITV news; James Ball, Political Editor, The New European; Carrie DeCell, senior staff attorney, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University; Katie Mark, Deputy Editor, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism; Steven Moffat, writer, Douglas is Cancelled.Presenters: Katie Razzall & Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson
undefined
Jun 19, 2024 • 58min

Political podcasts - who's listening?

What's behind the glut of politics podcasts? Hardly a month goes by without a new title being launched, competing with established brands like The New York Times’s The Daily and the wildly popular The Rest is Politics with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. We talk to the team behind the latter about the secrets of its success, and the opportunities for journalists who want to break free of the strictures of traditional broadcasting. We also consider their appeal to politicians and reflect on the dominance of the medium by middle aged men. Plus we ask how much influence these platforms ultimately have. Also in the programme, we look at the row engulfing The Washington Post's new British CEO Will Lewis.Guests: Baroness Ruth Davidson, Co-presenter, Electoral Dysfunction; Lewis Goodall, Co-host, The News Agents; Tony Pastor, Co-Founder, Goalhanger Podcasts; Adam Fleming, Presenter, Newscast; Nick Hilton, Co-founder, Podot; Vivian Schiller, Executive Director, Aspen DigitalPresenters: Katie Razzall & Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson Assistant Producer: Martha Owen
undefined
Jun 12, 2024 • 57min

The PM and D-Day: how the row unfolded

We explore how political scandals unfold across the media and the art of the 'get to know' interview with two journalists who recently interviewed Rishi Sunak. As one of the alleged subjects of the Netflix drama Baby Reindeer sues the streamer for defamation, negligence and privacy violations, we weigh the legal arguments. Also in the programme, new online reality TV formats and how they're challenging the primacy of broadcasters and we look at LGBT representation in Dr Who and BBC dating show I Kissed a Girl. Guests: Paul Brand, UK Editor, ITV News; Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor, Daily Telegraph and host, The Daily T Podcast; Dominic Wring, Professor of Political Communication, Loughborough University; Stuart Benjamin, Professor of Law, Duke University; Persephone Bridgman Baker, Partner, Carter Ruck; Hannah Bowler, Senior Reporter, The Drum; Scott Bryan, TV Critic; Sophie Wilkinson, journalist and feature writerPresenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson
undefined
Jun 5, 2024 • 58min

Papers, politics, power

How do we gauge the power of newspapers in this election? Will press endorsements from the mainstream media prove decisive, or does power now stem from corners of the media that are harder to define, boosted by opaque social media algorithms? And as big tech increasingly squeezes the revenue and audiences of news outlets, we talk to the Editor of The Atlantic on how to make journalism pay. Andrew Neil, presenter, Times Radio; Caroline Waterston, Editor-in-Chief, The Mirror; Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor in Chief, The Atlantic; Katie Notopoulos, Senior Tech Correspondent, Business InsiderPresenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
undefined
May 29, 2024 • 58min

Is this the TikTok election?

A week into the election, we explore party control of the media message and the gaffes that happen when things go wrong. We hear live from the Labour battle bus, talk to Boris Johnson's former social media strategist and look at the way the different campaigns are crafting their message on TikTok. Guests: Shona Ghosh, Senior Editor, Bloomberg; Martha Lane Fox, former Board Member, Twitter/X; Katy Balls, Political Editor, The Spectator; Sean Topham, Co-Founder, Topham Guerin; Jessica Elgot, Deputy Political Editor, The Guardian; Timandra Harkness, writer and author of Technology is Not the Problem; Sam Jeffers, Executive  Director, Who Targets Me.Presenter: Katie Razzall Producer: Simon Richardson
undefined
May 22, 2024 • 54min

Newsnight: end of an era

At the end of this week Newsnight as we know it comes to an end. From Tuesday, its format will change – and it’ll be shorter too. To discuss the end of an era, Katie and Ros speak to an all-star Newsnight line up: Kirsty Wark, Peter Snow, Michael Crick. They're also joined by Professor Suzanne Franks, who researches changing broadcast news consumption. On Saturday, Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury to become boxing's undisputed heavyweight champion. The high-profile match was held in the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which has been accused of ‘sportswashing’. Alex Pattle from The Independent reveals what it was like reporting from the event, and Prof Simon Chadwick analyses the Saudi sports investment strategy.The actor Scarlett Johansson has accused OpenAI of deliberately copying her voice for its latest chatbot ‘Sky’. OpenAI said that it would remove the voice, but insisted that it was not meant to be an "imitation" of the star. Lawyer Susan Aslan assesses if the actor has a case, and tech journalist Takara Small updates us on the latest AI releases. Guests: Kirsty Wark, broadcaster; Peter Snow, broadcaster; Michael Crick, broadcaster; Alex Pattle, Combat Sports correspondent, The Independent; Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy, Skema Business school; Takara Small, technology journalist; Susan Aslan, Partner, ACK Media Law.Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson
undefined
May 15, 2024 • 58min

Baby Reindeer: truth or fiction?

Katie and Ros go inside the controversy about Netflix drama Baby Reindeer which has raised questions about the impact drama inspired by true events can have on real people. They’ll be helped by Piers Morgan who just interviewed one of the alleged subjects; Clive Coleman, legal expert and dramatist; and Chris Banatvala, former Head of Standards at Ofcom who can explain the rules for these kinds of productions. Also in the programme, ahead of the infected blood inquiry publishing its final report on Monday, we speak to Caroline Wheeler who has followed the story for over two decades. We're also joined by Maggie Harrison Dupree, the journalist who broke the story of Sports Illustrated allegedly publishing AI generated stories. Plus, how do you compose an iconic news theme? As the BBC news theme celebrates its 25th birthday, we speak to its composer David Lowe and Victor Vlam, who owns the largest collection of news theme tunes in the world.Guests: Piers Morgan, presenter, Piers Morgan Uncensored; Chris Banatvala former Ofcom Director of Standards; Clive Coleman, Partner at Maltin PR and former BBC News Legal Correspondent; Caroline Wheeler, Political editor, The Sunday Times; Maggie Harrison Dupre, tech writer, Futurism; Victor Vlam, Founder, Network News Music Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson
undefined
May 8, 2024 • 58min

Inside the US campus protests

US university campus protests, challenges of reporting, student journalists' role, Israel's ban of Al Jazeera, media strategies of political parties, coverage of Met Gala, and the impact of various media platforms on political messaging.

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
App store bannerPlay store banner
Get the app