Feedback

Are BBC presenters paid too much? Are audience figures declining dangerously, particularly among the young? In this week's Feedback, Roger Bolton explores the facts behind the highly critical headlines following the publication of the BBC's annual report.

Also, Today’s Nick Robinson will answer claims that lies and factual inaccuracies have been insufficiently challenged in the Brexit and Conservative leadership campaigns.

And fascinating stories from an unseen Africa excite our latest panel of listener reviewers.

Presenter: Roger Bolton

A Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Has the political interview lost its way? Is it in danger of just descending into an uninformative shouting match? In Feedback this week Roger Bolton turns the microphone on Today’s Nick Robinson - putting him in the interviewee’s chair for a change. What’s the point of randomly selecting a destination and committing to making a programme about it without any idea of the possible content? Roger puts this question and more to the producer of The Patch on Radio 4. And listeners who do not normally catch Radio 4’s Sunday programme switch on their alarm clocks and tell us what they think of the early morning religious programme.

Presenter: Roger Bolton

Producer: Kate Dixon

Executive Producer: Samir Shah

A Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

In Feedback this week Roger Bolton asks if Jo Brand went too far on Radio 4’s comedy show Heresy, and whether some subjects should be off limits all together.

The row about the BBC withdrawing free TV licences from most over 75s won’t go away. Would it be better for the Corporation to cut BBC2 and Radio 5 Live? Roger hears your views.

And the Head of BBC Newsgathering, Jonathan Munro, is back to answer charges that his journalists aren’t sufficiently challenging in their political interviews.

Presenter: Roger Bolton

A Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Roger Bolton presents the programme that holds the BBC to account on behalf of the radio audience.

This week - who should sit in the News Quiz chair now that Miles Jupp has decided to vacate it? Roger asks one of its regular panellists, Hugo Rifkind, if he is a candidate.

The BBC’s head of newsgathering Jonathan Munro is also in the studio to answer audience questions about the coverage of recent elections.

And the Reith Lectures have been running since 1948, have they now reached their sell-by date? The editor Hugh Levinson tells us why he believes they are as necessary as ever.

Presenter: Roger Bolton

As Feedback turns 40 this month, Roger Bolton quizzes outgoing Radio 4's Controller Gwyneth Williams about the twists and turns of her tenure before she passes her baton on to the new boss.

While BBC Sounds has come under criticism from some users, there has been high praise for one of its original podcasts. NB is a series about being non-binary - people who don't identify with traditional gender labels - and has struck a chord with many of its listeners. We hear their views on the series.

With Brexit dominating the news agenda, a number of Feedback listeners say that the issue of climate change is being underplayed. Roger talks to David Shukman, the Science Editor for BBC News, and Deborah Cohen, the Science Editor for BBC Radio, about coverage of the issue - and its prominence.

Presenter: Roger Bolton

Roger Bolton discusses changes at Radio 6 Music , the end of iPM and re-inventing local radio, and talks to Eric Robson about saying goodbye to GQT.

Judging by audiences and awards at least, Radio 6 Music was on a roll. So it surprised many when a major shake up of the schedule was announced for 2019, including giving Lauren Laverne the coveted breakfast show and moving the much loved Radcliffe and Maconie from weekdays to weekends. Roger puts listener views to the Head of Radio 6 Music, Paul Rodgers, and asks why he made this decision.

iPM, the listener driven weekly companion to PM, is the latest victim of BBC cutbacks. We hear from listeners who have filled the Feedback inbox with frustration at the news.

What does it mean to "re-invent" local radio? A few weeks ago, Feedback went to Leeds to try and shed some light on the BBC's plans to reverse a decline in local listening figures and transform its local offering to attract younger and more diverse audiences. This week, Roger speaks to Chris Burns, the BBC's recently installed Head of Local Radio, to find out more.

And Eric Robson has chaired Gardener's Question Time for 25 years but, at the end of the month, he's stepping aside to be replaced by Kathy Clugston. Ahead of a recording in the idyllic surroundings of the Oxford Botanical Garden, he reflects on his career and offers advice to his successor.

Presenter: Roger Bolton

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

Roger Bolton hears listener views on a documentary investigating the role of women on the far-right, and discusses the BBC's annual plan.

Radio 4 documentary In The Right caused controversy this week, stirring debate from listeners over whether figures considered to be on the far-right should be given airtime. The programme, presented by journalist Lara Whyte, investigated young women in hardline right wing social media. Roger speaks with the producer of the programme Max O'Brien, and Radio 4's Editor of Editorial Standards Roger Mahony, about the issue of giving airtime to fringe, contentious voices.

Google podcast app users were annoyed this week when they found they could no longer listen to new BBC shows on the app, or on Google devices like smart speakers and phones. Caroline Crampton from HotPod discusses the reasons behind the BBC's decision to pull it's content from the platform.

Listeners have long shared their concerns that Radio 4 is pushing hard for younger listeners at the expense of older audiences. Meanwhile, cuts continue to be imposed on programme budgets and staff numbers. They're both issues that have come to the forefront as the BBC publishes its annual plan, setting priorities and budgets for the year. Colin Browne, Chairman of the Voice of the Listener and Viewer, spoke to Roger about how these changes are generating concern among license fee payers across the country.

Presenter: Roger Bolton

Roger Bolton asks the BBC News Editorial Director if the BBC should have termed events in Christchurch "terrorism", PM editor Owenna Griffiths discusses coverage of Brexit, and listeners give their views on cuts to Radio 3's Late Junction.

Recent BBC coverage of the Christchurch attack in New Zealand has sparked criticism from some listeners who take issue with the language used to describe the events. Others were frustrated by what they saw as disproportionate coverage and still more were annoyed when the BBC chose to name the alleged shooter in news bulletins. Roger puts these comments to the BBC News Editorial Director, Kamal Ahmed, and asks whether the BBC should have termed the atrocity a "terrorist attack".

For 20 years, Late Junction has been the home for experimental music on Radio 3. However, it's being reduced from three nights a week to one extended show on Friday nights. Late Junction listeners call on Radio 3's Controller to reverse the decision.

And, has Brexit begun to exhaust journalists and audiences alike? Owenna Griffiths, Editor of Radio 4's PM, tells Roger what she thinks she could be doing better and explains what she sees as her programme's unique role in approaching the story.

Presenter: Roger Bolton

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

Roger Bolton on the future for radio listening using smart speakers and the reinvention of BBC local radio, and audience comment on whether or not Michael Jackson's music should be played on the BBC.

The BBC has recently launched plans to find a new generation of local radio presenters in an effort to turn around declining audiences. Feedback reporter Rob Crossan has travelled to BBC Radio Leeds to see how the plans are working out in practice.

The conversation over whether Michael Jackson's music should be played on the BBC rumbles on. This week, Feedback listeners weigh in.

Smart speakers are now included in the list of items used to measure inflation in the UK. With their increased popularity, what does the BBC hope to develop for the new technology? Roger goes to the heart of the BBC's research and development programme, the Blue Room, to find out what's in the pipeline.

And listeners give their thoughts on The Absence of Normal - a new series of comedy plays by anarchic comedian Alexei Sayle.

Presenter: Roger Bolton

Roger Bolton talks to BBC's Seoul Correspondent Laura Bicker about the challenges of covering US-Korean relations, goes behind the scenes at the news podcast Beyond Today, and chats to writer and director John Dryden about the inspiration for the world of Tumanbay.

Since 2017, BBC Correspondent Laura Bicker has been based in Seoul, after two years in her Washington posting. She speaks to Roger about the challenges of covering relations from Seoul, and why she jumped at the opportunity to move away from the White House.

Beyond Today is the brainchild of former Today programme editor John Shields. This week, Roger met with John and one of the presenters, Matthew Price, to find out why they are changing their approach to news to reach out to a younger audience.

And the creator of BBC Radio 4 drama Tumanbay John Dryden discusses the inspiration behind the epic saga.

Presenter: Roger Bolton