The Media Show

The Media Show episodes:

• 04.24.2024

  Ofcom, impartiality and elections

  Katie and Ros explore the place of creativity in modern media, from advertising to game show formats. They talk to the producers behind ITV’s The 1% Club and Channel 4’s Hunted. They’ll also hear about concerns over dating app Grindr’s...

  
• 04.17.2024

  What next for Channel 4?

  Last week Dr Hilary Cass published her final report and recommendations to NHS England in her role as Chair of the Independent Review of gender identity services for children and young people.  The Cass report recommends a new approach for clinicians....

  
• 04.10.2024

  How I set up Truth Social

  The Executive Chairman of the Sky News Group, David Rhodes shares his plans for Sky News – and on his years as a senior TV news exec in New York. Elon Musk has predicted that AI will surpass human intelligence...

  
• 04.03.2024

  Fear, threats and intimidation

  British counter terrorism officers are investigating the stabbing last Friday of an Iranian TV host outside his home in London. Iran International presenter Pouria Zeraati was hospitalised, before being discharged and moving to a safe place under the supervision of...

  
• 03.27.2024

  How conspiracy theories went mainstream

  Last week, the Princess of Wales announced that she is undergoing treatment for cancer. It was preceded by weeks of speculation about her whereabouts that went well into conspiracy territory. How exactly did conspiracy theories move from the fringes to...

  
• 03.20.2024

  Is the clock ticking for TikTok?

  As the US Congress moves to ban TikTok on national security grounds, we ask could the UK follow? Elon Musk lured former CNN journalist Don Lemon to boost X's video credentials but the pair fell out after a recent interview....

  
• 03.13.2024

  Is seeing still believing?

  We discuss the controversial photo of the Princess of Wales and her children released by Kensington Palace on Sunday which was removed from circulation by photo agencies due to concerns it had been inappropriately edited. The story raises many questions...

  
• 03.08.2024

  Pam Abdy, CEO Warner Bros Motion Picture Group

  Exclusive interview with one of Hollywood's most powerful executives

  
• 03.06.2024

  Is this the end for TalkTV?

  With the scandal still all over the front as well as the back pages, we explore what the Christian Horner allegations tell us about the challenges journalists face in holding sports leaders to account. TalkTV is moving to online only...

  
• 02.28.2024

  Reverberations of the Israel-Gaza War

  With Islamophobia, antisemitism, and threats against MPs all in the news, what role has the media itself played in stoking tensions? Also in the programme, as international broadcasters sign a letter calling for access to Gaza, what impact would that...

  
• 02.21.2024

  Russia and Ukraine: reporting the war two years on

  Two years on from Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine and in the week of the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, what have reports from the region taught us about journalism and its ability to inform and influence? Has...

  
• 02.14.2024

  Prince Harry's dispute with the tabloids - who's next?

  Last week Prince Harry settled his outstanding claims with the Mirror titles – but only after he took them to court – where a judge ruled the Prince had been the subject of extensive phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers....

  
• 02.07.2024

  Tucker Carlson's head to head with Putin

  Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News presenter, has travelled to Moscow to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin. What will both men hope to gain from the encounter? Also in the programme, Anushka Asthana on following Rishi Sunak for a new...

  
• 01.31.2024

  How air fryers cooked up a media feast

  This week Channel 4 announced major job cuts, caused in part by a decline in the amount of advertising the channel sells to fund its programmes. We look at Channel 4's plans to become a 'digital first' organisation, as well...

  
• 01.24.2024

  Deepfakes v democracy

  Voters in New Hampshire have been getting phone messages apparently from Joe Biden urging them not to take part in the state's presidential primaries. How alarmed should we be about the potential for deepfakes to derail elections? We also talk...

  
• 01.17.2024

  Hashtags and hijacking

  On the day the United States designates the Houthis as a terror group, we explore how the organisation hones its message through music, video and poetry on social media. Also on the programme, we hear an update on the sale...

  
• 01.10.2024

  The Post Office Scandal: a failure of the press?

  Why did it take an ITV drama for a huge miscarriage of justice to get the headlines it deserves? As the government races to respond to public outrage over the Post Office scandal, The Media Show meets some of the...

  
• 01.03.2024

  Return of The Traitors

  The Traitors is a format based on the Dutch series De Verraders and it's now popular all over the world. We talk to Mike Cotton, a reality TV expert who has also worked on Gogglebox, Naked Attraction, The Only Way...

  
• 12.27.2023

  Meera Syal

  When she graduated from university, Meera Syal says she couldn't see a future for a young Asian woman in showbusiness. Four decades later, on top of an MBE and CBE for services to drama and literature, in 2023 she's been...

  
• 12.20.2023

  How CNN got into Gaza

  It's currently almost impossible for international journalists to enter Gaza. For those who can, it's a deadly conflict to cover. We talk to news organisations working on the ground since before the current war began, alongside those monitoring the situation...

  
• 12.13.2023

  Martin Lewis, Britain's most influential journalist?

  Martin Lewis is easily one of Britain's most influential and trusted journalists. His Money Saving Expert website ranks as one of the most-read news sites in the UK, his weekly newsletter has around 9 million subscribers, and he is a...

  
• 12.08.2023

  Introducing... When It Hits The Fan

  Who's in the news for all the wrong reasons? David Yelland and Simon Lewis invite you to join them in the world of crisis managers and spin doctors as they watch the week's biggest PR disasters unfold.

  
• 12.06.2023

  Investigating Lockerbie, 35 Years On

  How Christina Lamb pieced together for The Sunday Times reports of acts of sexual violence by Hamas during the 7 October attacks. What a new documentary about the 1988 Lockerbie bombing tells us about how journalists would now cover a...

  
• 11.29.2023

  BONUS Lord Grade, Ofcom Chair, in conversation with Katie Razzall

  Lord Grade recorded at the Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference, 29 November 2023

  
• 11.29.2023

  Regenerating the Doctor

  We look at the latest developments in the sale of the Telegraph Newspaper and planned cuts at BBC Newsnight. Jane Tranter, the force behind the new Doctor Who, tells us what the franchise is worth for the BBC and Katie...

  
• 11.22.2023

  Inside the mind of the tech bro

  As Sam Altman returns to run OpenAI after his sensational firing just days earlier, why is the idea of the charismatic founder so appealing in Silicon Valley? Why are they often men? And do some tech firms now look more...

  
• 11.15.2023

  Suella Braverman's high-risk media strategy

  It's a week since Suella Braverman published that article about the policing of protests in The Times and the repercussions are still being felt. We consider why ministers still go direct to the papers with such statements. And we explore...

  
• 11.08.2023

  Conspiracy theories and the Israel Gaza conflict

  It's claimed social media videos featuring bogus "crisis actors" are being used by both sides as part of the conflict's information war. We explore the meaning of these allegations. We evaluate the implications for the media outlined in the King's...

  
• 11.01.2023

  Al Jazeera and the information war

  The Israel-Gaza war continues to raise pressing questions about how the media covers the conflict, including media blackouts and the challenges reporters face in getting access to Gaza. One of the most important regional broadcasters is Al Jazeera. It’s owned...

  
• 10.25.2023

  From Frozen to the top of Disney

  Jennifer Lee changed cinema forever when she wrote and directed Frozen. The film won her an Academy Award and she became the first woman to helm a feature film that grossed more than $1bn. She is now Chief Creative Officer...

  
• 10.18.2023

  Gaza hospital blast: searching for the facts

  The deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza raises many questions about how the media is covering the Israel Gaza war. Ros Atkins talks to senior executives from Reuters, BBC and AFP about how news organisations should report claims being...

  
• 10.11.2023

  Reporting the Israel Gaza war

  Exploring how the media is covering the conflict, we look at the battle for influence online and some of the misinformation that has been circulating, plus we talk to the BBC’s director of editorial policy about why BBC journalists won't...

  
• 10.04.2023

  The Tories, the message and the media

  Tim Montgomerie Eleni Courea and Cleo Watson discuss goings on at the Conservative party conference with Ros Atkins. Plus Jennie King and Marco Silva on 15 Minute Cities. Guests: Tim Montgomerie, journalist; Eleni Courea, Deputy Editor, Politico's London Playbook; Cleo...

  
• 09.27.2023

  Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner

  We look at Rumble, the online platform where Russell Brand's is now hosting a regular show, and explore the politics of free speech on the internet. Plus Guardian editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner, tells Katie Razzall about their expansion into Europe and...

  
• 09.20.2023

  The Russell Brand allegations

  Channel 4's CEO Alex Mahon says the allegations made against Russell Brand are "disgusting and saddening," but what do the claims mean for the TV industry as a whole? And when reporting the testimony of anonymous witnesses, how hard is...

  
• 09.13.2023

  Who will buy The Telegraph?

  Who’s going to buy The Daily Telegraph and the Spectator? The titles have been up for sale since June, after Lloyds seized control from the Barclay family. Also in the programme, a government taskforce to tackle Strategic Lawsuits Against Public...

  
• 09.06.2023

  A rulebook for the web

  The EU Digital Services Act, which aims to tackle disinformation and misuse of user data, offers a blueprint for internet regulation around the world, but will it work? Plus we hear results of a new survey from entertainment union Bectu...

  
• 08.30.2023

  Is AI now coming for your private data?

  Ros Atkins and guests consider the dilemmas faced by streaming companies in the face of growing costs and competition, the changing face of sports broadcasting and concerns about AI trawling our private data. Guests: Minal Modha, Consumer Lead, Ampere Analysis;...

  
• 08.23.2023

  Reporting the Lucy Letby Trial

  The murder trial of Lucy Letby lasted 10 months and came to its conclusion this week, with the former nurse being sentenced to a whole life prison sentence. For journalists covering the trial, their work was complicated by strict reporting...

  
• 08.16.2023

  AI - destroyer of journalism?

  How will the recent explosion in AI change how we find out about what’s going on in the world? What sources will AI rely on to deliver trustworthy news? Will it put journalists out of work? This week we answer...

  
• 08.09.2023

  Trying Trump

  As of now, Donald Trump has three criminal trials pending – the latest, and most serious, concerns allegations that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. When it gets to full trial, it will be box office....

  
• 08.02.2023

  The Hegarty Effect

  Advertising executive Sir John Hegarty has created campaigns for some of the world's most famous brands including Levi's, Lynx, and Audi. He was a founding partner of Saatchi and Saatchi before co-founding his own firm, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, in 1982....

  
• 07.26.2023

  Hot off the press

  How journalists are covering the European heatwaves and wildfires. Guests: Justin Rowlatt, Climate Editor, BBC News; Laura Tobin, broadcast meteorologist, Good Morning Britain; Anjana Ahuja, contributing writer on science, FT; Ross Clark, freelance journalist writing for the Daily Mail; Kamal...

  
• 07.19.2023

  Going undercover in Myanmar

  Stuart Ramsay has just returned from spending a month undercover in the jungle of Myanmar where an often forgotten civil war still rages. He tells us about how he got into the country and the dangers he faced as a...

  
• 07.12.2023

  The BBC Presenter Story

  As the BBC pauses its investigation into the alleged inappropriate behaviour of an unnamed presenter, we consider why this is still a story with more questions than answers. And what does it tell us about the influence The Sun still...

  
• 07.05.2023

  Reporting the French riots

  After the fatal shooting of a 17 year old boy by a police officer during a traffic stop in a suburb of Paris, protests and riots have taken place across France over the last week. Thousands have been arrested, shops...

  
• 06.28.2023

  Spinning the coup that wasn't

  In days gone by, the organisers of a military coup would be after the radio towers and the TV stations. But when Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, rebelled against the Russian government last week, it was the messaging...

  
• 06.21.2023

  Gauging the power of Britain's right-wing media

  With Boris Johnson’s current parliamentary career over, we’re asking what The Daily Mail hopes to get in return for the rumoured million pounds it’s paying for his new column. Meanwhile, the Telegraph is up for sale. What power and influence...

  
• 06.14.2023

  Charlie Brooker

  Charlie Brooker is one of the most influential satirists working today. Having started out as a cartoonist, his razor sharp writing on culture and the media made his TV columns for The Guardian, begun in 2000, essential reading for many....

  
• 06.07.2023

  How to interview Andrew Tate

  Last week the BBC's Lucy Williamson conducted an interview with Andrew Tate, his first with a major TV broadcaster since being released into house arrest from police custody in Romania in April. She describes how she approached it and what...