Protests in Israel continued over the weekend against the government's plans which would give Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, the power to overrule Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority and the power to nominate judges. Israel has no second chamber and no written constitution, so if this measure goes through there can be no appeal. Dame Margaret Hodge, who is the parliamentary chair of the Jewish Labour Movement discusses what needs to be done after her trip to the regions.

“I do think it’s probably the Americans have got to try and muscle their way in to trying to calm it down and get negotiations going between Israelis and then between Israel and Palestinians.”

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Roger Mosey, former editorial director of the BBC, head of TV news and director of sport discusses the handling of the Gary Lineker and Fiona Bruce controversies, the BBC board and its vision and the leaked emails and WhatsApp messages showing BBC editors asking their journalists to avoid using the word “lockdown” in reporting at the start of the pandemic and to be more critical of Labour after pressure from Downing Street.

“I was worried too. And I talked to some quite senior people in the BBC on the broadcasting side and they were also worried."

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On Tuesday the BBC announced cuts to its orchestras and choirs. Its in-house chamber choir, the BBC Singers will come to an end and there will be a 20% reduction of roles in the BBC's English orchestras - Symphony, Concert and Philharmonic. Paul Hughes, the former BBC Director of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and of the BBC Singers left his post last July after 23 years. He gives his reaction to the decision making process, the impact on the choral and orchestral landscape, the value the BBC places on classical music and whether the corporation is living up to its public service remit.

“I don’t know what public service means in the BBC context now. If the BBC is not to do that which others can’t do, what are they for?" 

Roger also gives his reaction to Gary Lineker's tweet on the Government's refugee policy.

You can read Roger's Guardian opinion piece here

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Ken Bruce is the most popular presenter in the UK with over 8 million listeners on Radio 2 and he's about to join former colleague Simon Mayo at Greatest Hits Radio. Simon discusses Ken's departure from the BBC.

"The situation has been handled badly."

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“In 2015 at the time of the Charter Review, more than 40,000 people responded to the BBC Trust on its consultation. The latest BBC consultation there was something like 25 responses because people didn’t know about it.”

Colin Browne, chair of the Voice of the Listener and Viewer argues that there is now the absurd position that the BBC’s competitors have more power to influence the BBC’s ability to make changes, rather than those who fund it.

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Dr Tom Mills, a sociologist at Aston University, has written a book called 'The BBC: Myth of a Public Service'. It claims to set aside both liberal and conservative fantasies about the institution, and says that far from being a sanctuary for independent journalism, the BBC is intimately connected to the power it is supposed to hold to account. We discuss issues raised in the book on organisational culture, reform, accountability as well as the ongoing controversy surrounding the appointment of the BBC chairman Richard Sharp.

"I've never read any serious defence of the way the BBC is currently arranged."

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On Tuesday Richard Sharp the BBC chairman faced questions from the Department of culture, media and sport select committee. They were examining the process of the appointment of the BBC chairman, and as the committee which approved his appointment were they given the relevant information it could and should have known about.

Richard Ayre, a former controller of editorial policy and deputy chief executive of BBC news and a former member of the OFCOM content board discusses with Roger Bolton the chairman's appearance.

“After the performance today, I think within the BBC, there will be very, very considerable disquiet among the staff, and among many licence fee payers. And I think they'll be right to be disquieted. And I think it may well be that Sharp feels the right thing to do is to step down in the fullness of time.”

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As part of its impartiality plan, this week the BBC published its report looking at the broadcaster's coverage of taxation, public spending, government

borrowing and debt. The authors found no evidence of bias towards one particular political position, but there were things "that put impartiality at risk". Paul Mason discusses the report's findings and reflects on his own experiences working at the BBC and Channel 4.

"Newsnight had famously missed the AOL /Time Warner merger, the biggest merger in history - didn't think it was a story."

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Controversy is currently surrounding BBC chairman Richard Sharp amidst allegations that he helped Boris Johnson when the then Prime Minister found himself in personal financial difficulties, and while Mr Sharp’s application to become BBC chairman was approaching the final stages. He did not declare the alleged conflict of interest to those involved. Richard Ayre, a former controller of editorial policy and deputy chief executive of BBC news and a former member of the OFCOM content board discusses Richard Sharp's position and the need to reform the appointment process.

"Was there a conflict of interest at that time when he approached the Cabinet Secretary? You bet there was."

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Roger Bolton's Guardian Opinion article here.

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Conservative peer Baroness Tina Stowell has had an extraordinary career since she left school with 5 O Levels. Leader of the House of Lords under David Cameron, following a period as Head of Corporate Affairs at the BBC, and now chair of the House of Lords Communications and Digital Select committee – a committee that is vital to the future of broadcasting.

Baroness Stowell tells us her views on funding, impartiality, whether the BBC is serving the whole of the country, the impact of Ken Bruce's departure and the BBC's strategic purpose.

"People need to know now, why it should remain part of our future."

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Roger Bolton's Guardian Opinion article here.

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