Feedback

Amidst a sea of glitz and glamour at last Sunday's Oscars, one other moment stood out. It was BBC arts and entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson's appearance on the Today programme, live from the red carpet. Colin's attempts to grab the attention of U2 singer Bono, live on the programme has been the talk of Twitter, media commentators, and BBC 5Live. But some Feedback listeners were not amused. Colin Paterson tells us what happened.

Also, you can normally set your watch by the 8.30am switchover from the Today programme to Yesterday in Parliament on BBC Radio 4 Long Wave. But on Tuesday morning it failed to appear. Why? And did this break the BBC's Agreement to "transmit an impartial account day by day of the proceedings in both Houses of Parliament"? We speak to Peter Knowles, Editor of BBC Parliamentary programmes.

And Roger Bolton visits the BBC Radio 4 Sunday morning programme Broadcasting House to find out whether your emails really get read and how much they influence the programme. He'll be interrogating their inbox and speaking to presenter Paddy O'Connell and the BH team.

And a listener remembers a terrifying voice from broadcast history.

Producer: Will Yates

Listen to this week's Feedback with the lights on because we're talking horror. Radio 4 has just broadcast an adaptation of The Exorcist, the 1971 novel which tells the story of the possession and battle for a little girl's soul and became an infamously head-spinning 1973 film. With demonic possession and very strong language, Radio 4's version was hardly a bedtime story, despite its 11pm slot. So why did they do it? And are the pictures scarier on the radio? Roger Bolton speaks to The Exorcist producer Gaynor MacFarlane and Radio 4's Commissioning Editor for Drama, Jeremy Howe.

Also, what does power really mean? We'll be speaking to the editor of Woman's Hour Alice Feinstein about the launch of this year's Power List. And we'll hear why forensic science can be incredibly moving.

We also discover what happens when a 21-year-old listener plays Roger Bolton for the day? Radio 1Xtra fan Claire Bynoe is our guide to Radio 1 and 1Xtra's Access All Areas - a month-long audience takeover that's seen young people controlling everything from DJs to playlists and watching and listening from all angles. Claire was one of a few listeners chosen to take part in Access All Areas Studios, which gave them the chance to do whatever they wanted in a BBC studio for an hour. She'll be putting Radio 1/1Xtra editor Rebecca Frank and producer Aled Haydn-Jones in the hot seat.

Producers: Karen Pirie and Katherine Godfrey

The Today programme says its "fair, balanced and impartial" in its science coverage. The statement came in response to comments after interviewing former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Lawson, a climate change sceptic, alongside Sir Brain Hoskins, Professor of Meteorology and Director of the Grantham Institute of Climate Change at Imperial College. Today was the cause of further frustration on Monday when many listeners felt a story about genetically modified potatoes had no opposing side represented. We speak to some of those listeners about Today's coverage of controversies in science.

British success at the Sochi Winter Olympics has created added interest in the games - as well as an 'enthusiastic' response from TV commentator Aimee Fuller to snowboarder Jenny Jones' bronze medal win last week. But what about radio coverage from Sochi? We'll be asking the Head of BBC radio sport, Richard Burgess, why 5Live Sports Extra has been quiet throughout the games when listeners have an appetite for more from Sochi.

The BBC's Director of Television, Danny Cohen, has promised no more all-male comedy panel shows. We find out from the Radio 4 Commissioning Editor for Comedy whether Radio 4 will also go so far as to ban all-male comedy shows.

And Feedback listener and folk music enthusiast Diana Butler takes us behind the scenes at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards to find out whether the network is pushing this once niche music into the mainstream.

Producers: Karen Pirie and Katherine Godfrey

Should the Today programme have invited Lord Lawson, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer and now chairman of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, to comment on climate change? On Thursday morning, as the floods across Britain continued to make the headlines, Feedback listeners poured scorn on a Today programme discussion between Lord Lawson and Sir Brian Hoskins, a government climate change adviser from Imperial College in London. We'll hear why they were so angered by the debate.

The other issue dominating our inbox this week is the change to the radio section of BBC iPlayer. Changes to the way listeners access their favourite programmes on demand have caused confusion for some users, who contacted us asking why the switchover has happened - and without warning. Mark Friend, the Radio Controller for Multiplatform, takes to the phones in an iPlayer clinic with frustrated listeners.

We'll also be finding out how our intrepid radio swap listeners Edward Harkins and Katherine Wilson have been finding their new breakfast listening. Katherine, a die-hard Today fan, headed north for her news to Good Morning Scotland - which has been Edward's breakfast show of choice for years. They chat with James Naughtie, who's currently occupying both territories as a voice on Today and on Good Morning Scotland.

Scotland has been on the minds of many listeners, north and south of the Scottish border, ahead of the referendum in September. Roger Bolton speaks to the Editor of BBC Scotland's Referendum Unit, John Mullins, to find out how the BBC tries to ensure its coverage is unbiased.

Producers: Karen Pirie and Katherine Godfrey

BBC Radio News is becoming too tabloid. That's one of the accusations from some listeners who think the coverage of celebrity affairs and accusations of sexual abuse by former entertainers is given disproportionate time in comparison with 'serious' updates from Syria, for example.

This week, Roger Bolton visits the BBC Newsroom in the shiny, one-year-old New Broadcasting House in London, to find out who sets the news agenda and why. He'll be speaking to the Editor of the BBC Radio Newsroom, Richard Clarke.

Roger will also be asking why BBC Radio 4 news bulletins revealed the results of BBC One's Fake or Fortune before the programme was broadcast - much to the disappointment of many Feedback listeners.

We'll also be speaking to the BBC's Chief Economics Correspondent, Hugh Pym, about what makes a top story. And joining BBC newsreader Zeb Soanes to find out what happens when it all goes wrong minutes before he's about to read a bulletin.

And is Ambridge Extra taking off its wellies for good? Some of your reactions to the news that The Archers spin-off will be taking a rest.

Producer: Karen Pirie

The news of Nelson Mandela's death reverberated around the world on Thursday evening. But by Friday morning it dominated not only the news but also the normal schedule across BBC Radio 4. Many listeners were frustrated by the coverage which they say was just too much, and at the expense of important national news about the worst storms for a generation and the Autumn Statement. And the coverage continues. We speak to the Head of the BBC Newsroom, Mary Hockaday, and ask whether Nelson Mandela's death really warranted all that airtime.

And is Radio 4 becoming a speech and music network? Listeners are divided about whether melody has a place as part of Radio 4's speech output with programmes like Mastertapes, Soul Music and dedicated music documentaries all occupying airtime in recent weeks. We speak to Radio 4's Commissioning Editor for the Arts, Tony Phillips, about whether there are now more music programmes on the network.

While popular music may not be every listener's cup of tea, there are certainly plenty of you who enjoy the dulcet tones of bells on Radio 4. Last week Denis Nowlan, Radio 4's Network Manager, asked for listeners' help to reveal when bells were first heard on a Sunday on the network. Since then, we've heard from many of you who remember them from your childhood.

We'll also be visiting Ambridge to speak to the woman who presides over sixty years of history - The Archers Archivist, Camilla Fisher. She's joined by long-term script writer Joanna Toye to pull out some hidden gems from the thousands of minute details she holds about characters' lives.

Producer: Will Yates

Did Radio 4 devote far too much airtime this week to the marital strife of a cook and an ad man? That's the view of many Feedback listeners who complained that the BBC became more gossip-mag than public service broadcaster in its coverage of Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi's very public divorce.

Also, why has Radio 4 been asking sailors how they get their weather information? Does this signal the beginning of the end for The Shipping Forecast? Network manager Denis Nowlan eases listeners' fears.

And we wander the lanes of Ambridge with the Archers Archivist, Camilla Fisher and long-term writer Jo Toye, who give us the lowdown on how they ensure all the characters are in the right place at the right time.

Producer: Will Yates

There are irritants aplenty this week as listeners tell us about the Radio 4 programmes that have driven them to distraction. Many of them wrote to ask why Radio 4's Book of the Week about the life of former French president Mitterrand used French accents that rendered it more 'Allo 'Allo! than serious biography.

And many other listeners are infuriated by the repeated use of just four piano notes heard in Radio 4's A History of Britain in Numbers. The series' Executive Producer, David Prest, tells us why they decided to use a 'motif' that some say distracted them from the vital statistics.

We'll also be talking to the Controller of BBC Radio 2, Bob Shennan. While Radio 2's audience reached a record high of 15 million this year, the changes to the Sunday evening schedule and the loss of firm favourites like Big Band Special and Russell Davies has left some listeners deeply disappointed. The Controller explains why he made the changes.

And should an active politician appear on Desert Island Discs? We air your views on Ed Miliband's appearance on Sunday's edition.

Producer: Will Yates

Radio 4's Mastertapes returned for a third series last week, with John Wilson talking to musicians about a career-defining album in front of a live audience. The series began with Robbie Williams discussing his debut solo album Life Thru a Lens. But would the programme be more at home on a music network like Radio 2 or 6Music, rather than Radio 4? Roger Bolton talks to the series producer Paul Kobrak about the place for a programme like Mastertapes on a speech network.

When Any Questions visited the historic Chartwell House for last Friday's broadcast, presenter Jonathan Dimbleby was cut off just as the programme began, only to return seemingly on the telephone. And later in the week, James Naughtie was oblivious that he had dropped off the air for twelve seconds during the Today programme. Is Radio 4 the victim of sabotage or is there a ghost in the machine?

There is a takeover happening at the Beeb - some lucky listeners will be invading studios, cropping up as the voice of 'Previously on PM', and even visiting Ambridge (or at least the studio where The Archers is recorded). They're the winners of charity auctions to raise money for Children in Need. But some listeners wonder whether this type of fundraising is unfair to those without large sums of money to spare and ask whether a lottery would be fairer. Roger Bolton speaks to Children in Need's Head of Editorial, Gareth Hydes.

And we're looking for your questions for the Controller of BBC Radio 2, Bob Shennan. He'll be joining Roger Bolton next week to hear your comments and answer whatever you'd like to ask him. So please send your thoughts to us using the usual contact methods.

Producer: Will Yates

Was last week's edition of Radio 4's Profile programme sexist? Some Feedback listeners have accused the programme of just that after a profile of the new Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, featured numerous references to her cooking and baking abilities. In this week's Feedback, the Editor of Profile, Richard Knight, defends the programme.

Roger Bolton also speaks to Ric Bailey, the BBC's Chief Political Advisor, about the challenges facing the Corporation in the lead up to the Scottish Referendum. How can it ensure impartiality in its coverage? The BBC Trust has launched a 12 week consultation seeking views on the BBC Executive's proposed additional guidelines for reporting on the referendum. Visit the BBC Trust website to find out how you can have your say.

Also this week, meet the new generation of Just A Minute panellists who are giving Paul Merton, Sue Perkins, and Graham Norton a run for their money on Radio 4 Extra's Junior Just a Minute.

And a radio fan digs out a rare edition of Feedback from almost exactly thirty years ago and finds an unexpectedly topical item about Radio 4 continuity announcer Susan Rae.

Producer: Will Yates