x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch

Good Egg Productions

Roger Bolton,formerly presenter of BBC Radio 4"s "Feedback" launches his very first podcast. Free from the constraints of broadcasting on the BBC, with a few more opinions and casting his net a little bit wider to encompass the whole of the BBC, Roger examines the issues that are facing the corporation and public service broadcasting.Find all our podcastshereAnd please support this podcast by subscribinghereWe also support VLV (Voice of the Listener and Viewer) which represents the interests of

news politics

All Episodes

34:04

Andy Webb, Dianarama author on Princess Diana, BBC...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/11/20

Andy Webb is the author of Dianarama: The Betrayal of Princess Diana. We discuss his years-long investigation into the BBC Panorama interview with Princess Diana, the controversial methods used by journalist Martin Bashir, the ongoing questions of BBC accountability and transparency, and the significant challenges he faced accessing the BBC’s archives in pursuit of the full story."It could be plausibly argued that Diana would be alive today—64 years old, the grandmother of five kids—had the BBC, in

en

36:16

Richard Ayre, former senior BBC Executive on BBC...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/11/11

Richard Ayre is a former Controller of Editorial Policy and Deputy Chief Executive of BBC News, and later became a member of the BBC Trust. We discuss the BBC's crisis: how the organisation should respond to legal threats from Trump; the resignations of Tim Davie and Deborah Turness; the actions and inaction of the editorial guidelines and standards committee; and the wider impact on BBC journalism.Richard also explains the process for appointing a new Director General, the implications for Charter

en

31:36

Pat Younge, ex-BBC Chief Creative Officer, on BBC...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/11/06

Pat Younge, former BBC Chief Creative Officer and board member at ITV Studios, responds to allegations of bias made against the BBC’s Panorama programme; outlines proposals from the British Broadcasting Challenge for renewing the BBC’s charter and ensuring its long-term independence and relevance; and discusses the impact of media consolidation by wealthy, powerful figures in the US and how this affects the UK media landscape, especially Channel 5. We also discuss broadcast funding models,

en

33:39

Matt Frei, Channel 4 News presenter on democracy's...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/10/27

Matt Frei is the Europe editor and presenter of Channel 4 News who delivered the annual Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture. We discuss his speech, the state of democracy in the United States and whether what is happening there can happen here, BBC's coverage of Gaza and the propaganda war, challenges facing traditional news organisations and whether there is a place for GB News, the domination of the news cycle by Trump, his personal journey from Germany to becoming a prominent British journalist, and

en

32:32

Prof Stephen Cushion on Ofcom, Politicians as...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/10/22

Professor Stephen Cushion, Director of Research at the Cardiff School of Journalism, discusses this week's decision by Ofcom on politicians presenting news programmes, the BBC's request to reduce the number of current affairs programmes in prime time, and his new research which analyses impartiality in news reporting, the representation of political parties, the impact of social media and news consumption, and generational attitudes towards impartiality."The rules are changing, aren't they? We're at

en

34:05

Prof Paul Dixon: The Military’s Influence on...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/10/15

Prof Paul Dixon, Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester and Queen Mary College, University of London, discusses his new book, “The Militarisation of British Democracy: The Iraq and Afghan Wars and the Rise of Authoritarianism.”We explore the military’s influence on UK politics and society, the idea of a "militarist coalition," debates over defence spending, media coverage of military issues, and recent and historical conflicts including Iraq, Afghanistan,

en

31:40

Mary Hockaday, ex-Controller BBC World Service:...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/10/09

Mary Hockaday, former Controller of BBC World Service, discusses the future of the BBC World Service amid funding pressures and political challenges, the debate over government and defence funding, the challenges of budget cuts, and the global influence and value of the World Service.“For me, the most important thing in all of this is almost wherever the money comes from, that the principles of independence, editorial independence, are absolutely sacrosanct.”Listen to all our episodes here:

en

33:58

Stewart Purvis, ex-ITN Chief, on impartiality, Lisa...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/10/01

Stewart Purvis is the former Editor in Chief and Chief Executive of ITN and a former content regulator at Ofcom. We discuss Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s intervention in the debate on GB News, issues of impartiality in news, and the role of Ofcom and government in media regulation. As ITV celebrates its 70th birthday, we also look back on Stewart’s long career, the challenges facing ITN, and his so-called “nipple-gate” moment involving Princess Diana."Lisa Nandy has actually put the case extremely

en

37:32

Mark Damazer, former BBC Trustee, on the BBC’s...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/09/24

Mark Damazer is a former controller of Radio 4, Deputy Director of BBC News, BBC trustee, writer, commentator, and chair of the Booker Prizes. We spoke to him about the BBC’s plans for its international audio services, the challenges of monetising content overseas, the implications for the BBC’s global reach and influence, the value of its radio archive, the future of public service broadcasting, and the role of consultation and vision in shaping the BBC’s direction.There's still quite a lot that's

en

36:31

Robin Aitken, former BBC journalist on Impartiality,...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/09/16

Robin Aitken is a former BBC journalist, author, and contributor to The Daily Telegraph. In this episode, he discusses his chapter in the book "The BBC: After the licence fee?"We discuss the BBC’s internal culture, its approach to impartiality, the representation of religious perspectives, its coverage of events such as Brexit, audience trust in the BBC and factors affecting licence fee payments.“There is an assumption in the BBC, broadly speaking, that public is always better than private; that a

en

30:07

Dr Alice Donald: Media Myths, Chicken Nuggets, and...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/09/10

Dr. Alice Donald, Professor of Human Rights Law at Middlesex University, is one of the author's of a report that was recently published this week from the Bonavero Institute at Oxford University on media coverage of the European Convention on Human Rights.We examine the findings of the report, the prevalence and impact of misreporting, the role of the convention in areas beyond immigration, the political debate surrounding potential withdrawal and the impact on the Good Friday Agreement, and the

en

21:59

Prof John Wyver, on the campaign for access to the...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/09/03

Professor John Wyver, Professor of Arts on Screen at the University of Westminster, joins us to discuss his involvement in the recent campaign opposing changes to access at the BBC Written Archive Centre.We explore the archive’s purpose, the proposed access restrictions and their impact, the consultation process, potential alternative solutions, and the broader challenges facing public service broadcasting and the arts at the BBC.There is no public catalogue of this archive, which seems to me is

en

28:57

Prof Catherine Johnson on disappearing public service...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/07/23

Catherine Johnson, Professor of Media and Communications at the University of Leeds, is co-author of the report Behind the screen, how streaming is changing public service media, which was published this week and produced by the University of Leeds, the International Broadcasting Trust (IBT), the Campaign for the Arts and the Sandford St Martin Trust.We discuss its findings and the challenges in measuring public service programming on streaming platforms, refusal of data by public service

en

32:58

Richard Ayre, former senior BBC Executive on the...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/07/16

Richard Ayre is a former controller of editorial policy and deputy chief executive of BBC News, before becoming a member of the BBC Trust. Richard is also a former member of the OFCOM content board. In this week's episode, we discuss the BBC's Gaza documentary scandal, the MasterChef presenter dismissals, criticism from the Culture Secretary and OFCOM, challenges to BBC editorial oversight and the corporation's annual report.“It’s outrageous that the Secretary of State lifts the phone and demands

en

23:21

Marcus Ryder, CEO Film and TV Charity on the Greg...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/07/10

Marcus Ryder, CEO of the Film and TV Charity and former head of current affairs at BBC Scotland, discusses the recent Greg Wallace controversy, workplace behaviour, mental health, and power dynamics in the film and television industry."The very fact that so many people have come forward means that there's a large number of people who, up until recently, were experiencing something that they felt they couldn't properly talk about."Listen to all our episodes here: https://podfollow.com/beebwatchTo

en

29:03

Rhodri Taflan Davies, BBC Director of Nations and...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/06/29

The Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference held at the end of April featured a session with Rhodri Talfan Davies, the BBC’s Director of Nations. He spoke about the BBC’s storytelling and regional production, and was then questioned by the session’s chair — VLV Trustee, Classic FM presenter, and former BBC Radio 4World Tonightpresenter, Ritula Shah. Together, they explored challenges in TV production and co-production partnerships, tax credits and charter renewal, local radio, decentralising

en

34:45

Miqdaad Versi on the report "BBC on Gaza-Israel: one...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/06/18

Miqdaad Versi, Director of Media Monitoring at the Muslim Council of Britain discusses the Centre for Media Monitoring's comprehensive report "BBC on Gaza-Israel: one story, double standards". We discuss the report's methodology and its use of AI to analyse over 35,000 pieces of BBC content over a year and examine its key findings, on the disproportionate coverage of Israeli deaths, fewer Palestinian interviews, inconsistent use of language and the suppression of genocide allegations. "We want to

en

32:05

Iain Dale, LBC presenter on his Thatcher biography,...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/06/09

Iain Dale is a broadcaster, political commentator, and presenter on LBC. We discuss his new short biography of Margaret Thatcher, written to introduce the former Prime Minister to a new generation. We explore her fraught relationship with the BBC, her influence on broadcasting policy, and what that legacy means today. We talk about the future of public service broadcasting, the BBC’s dominance, the rise of opinion-led channels like GB News, and whether the market can still deliver trusted

en

36:40

John Ware, veteran investigative journalist on Gerry...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/06/05

John Ware, veteran investigative journalist and former BBC Panorama reporter, with decades of experience covering complex and controversial subjects from the Troubles in Northern Ireland to antisemitism in British politics, discusses Gerry Adams’ defamation case against the BBC, the silence from parts of the Jewish community, BBC coverage of Gaza and the Middle East, the role of public service broadcasting, and the impact of agenda journalism."The BBC’s coverage actually is quite timid”Listen to all

en

25:23

Jonathan Thompson, CEO of Everyone TV, on Freely and...

Roger Bolton"s Beeb Watch ·

2025/05/28

Jonathan Thompson is Chief Executive of Everyone TV, the organisation that runs free television in the UK.In this episode Jonathan discusses the launch of the UK's newest streaming platform, Freely, which brings together live and on demand content from the UK's public service broadcasters. We explore what Freely offers, its accessibility, and its role in preserving public service broadcasting. We explore critical issues facing UK television: how to maintain content diversity, attract younger

en

143 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

PBS News Hour - Full Show

PBS News

CD Voice

China Daily

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

Noa Levi

Jeffrey Epstein: The Coverup Chronicles

Bobby Capucci