Jamie Angus is the former director of the BBC World Service and the former editor of 'Today' and 'Newsnight' who now works in the Middle East. We discuss what the budget announcement means for funding of the World Service, why HardTalk makes the world 'a less stupid place', original journalism, the unintended consequences of commercialisation and US election and Middle East coverage.

"The BBC is not protecting its essential news services enough when it comes to allocating the cuts. The case for the BBC’s existence relies on its utterly distinctive public service remit.”

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@BeebRoger

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Richard Sambrook, former Director of BBC News and the World Service, and now an Emeritus Professor of journalism at Cardiff University discusses the challenges the BBC faces in dealing with the rise of disinformation, the balance between free speech and responsibility, the BBC's 'follow the sun' strategy, World Service funding and the impact of budget cuts on BBC News.

"I do have the concern that what sometimes gets lost in the mix is the depth and significance of BBC journalism, as opposed to simply competing with what everyone else is doing. I'm sure if I were to talk to Deborah Turness or anyone else, they would come up with a whole list of examples that would illustrate how they are maintaining depth and significance. But I think, to the public, when they look at some of these cuts, that’s what worries people."

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@BeebRoger

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In the same week that BBC Director General Tim Davie pitched for an increase in government funding for the BBC World Service, while simultaneously axing the global interview programme Hard Talk in another round of cuts, we speak with Gareth Benest, Director of Advocacy at the International Broadcasting Trust. We discuss the decline in international coverage by UK broadcasters, his analysis of the shrinking breadth of countries featured in news and current affairs programming, and the potential impact of new media legislation, algorithms, and public service broadcasting.

“Last year, it surprised me that there was, as far as I could see from the logging that I did of linear schedules, there was not a single programme outside of news broadcasts about Rwanda. The most spoken about African country, perhaps in the history of UK media, last year, there wasn't a single documentary. There wasn't a single current affairs programme that actually gave UK citizens an opportunity to understand the country.”

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@BeebRoger

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LinkedIn: Roger Bolton's Beeb Watch

email: roger@rogerboltonsbeebwatch.com

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On our 100th episode anniversary we talk to another journalist who has started out on a new venture. The Guardian’s former media editor, Jim Waterson, has set up London Centric, a news outlet focused on in-depth coverage of London. We discuss his reasons for taking this step, the challenges traditional media faces, billionaires owning media outlets, the sale of The Observer, regulation, adapting to modern consumption habits and the merging of public service broadcasters.

“I'm sure, Beeb Watch listeners are very aware of Project Kangaroo and the missed opportunities of the late 2000s when there was a plan to combine all the public service broadcasters in one streamer that would have gazumped Netflix. I think that's the sort of radical thinking you should be looking at with this licence fee negotiation.”

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@BeebRoger

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email: roger@rogerboltonsbeebwatch.com

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Mark Urban spent many years as the diplomatic and defence editor at BBC Newsnight before leaving in May, after 34 years at the corporation. Prior to joining the BBC, Mark was the defence correspondent for The Independent newspaper for four years. He is the author of several military books and served briefly in the British Army. He is now a writer for The Sunday Times. We discuss allegations of BBC bias against Israel in its Middle East coverage, the challenges and cultural biases in reporting conflicts, changes made to Newsnight, and his life after the BBC.

“If you put those two things together, which is a tight focus on victims and a scepticism about the ethicacy of the military instrument, then it's pretty obvious in this current situation that Israel is going to have problems. And I think this is more to do with the way that journalists as a sort of cohort or professional culture define a story, and less to do actually, specifically with the BBC.”

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@BeebRoger

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LinkedIn: Roger Bolton's Beeb Watch

email: roger@rogerboltonsbeebwatch.com

www.goodeggproductions.uk

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The controversial Asserson Report sparked headlines in The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail for its critique of the BBC's Middle East coverage at the height of the Israel-Hamas war. The report has drawn both praise and sharp criticism. We’re joined by the report's author, British-Israeli lawyer Trevor Asserson, to discuss its origins, funding, methodology and its interpretation of impartiality.

“I think the faults that we've demonstrated are probably found throughout the BBC’s coverage of other news stories as well. It's very unlikely that they're being impartial elsewhere, but I can tell you that they're not impartial in their coverage of this story.”

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@BeebRoger

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LinkedIn: Roger Bolton's Beeb Watch

email: roger@rogerboltonsbeebwatch.com

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Journalist and broadcaster David Aaronovitch worked for the BBC in a senior capacity before becoming a columnist for The Times and the presenter of numerous radio programs, including Radio 4’s The Briefing Room. He now publishes longer articles on Substack under Notes from the Underground and contributes to Tortoise Media. In this episode, we discuss the fallout from the Jewish Chronicle scandal, where fabricated articles led David and other prominent writers to resign. We also explore accusations of BBC bias in its coverage of the Israel-Gaza war, and the broader challenges facing journalism today.

“If you want to look at lack of balance in the world, look at what's reported and what isn't reported, and how what's not reported is effectively given a kind of second or third class status. I regard this as a big journalistic problem.”

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@BeebRoger

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LinkedIn: Roger Bolton's Beeb Watch

email: roger@rogerboltonsbeebwatch.com

www.goodeggproductions.uk

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Richard Ayre spent thirty-five years at the BBC, serving as the former controller of editorial policy, deputy chief executive of BBC News, and a BBC Trustee. Richard is also a former member of the OFCOM Content Board and is currently the chair of the UK's independent press regulator, Impress.

We discuss BBC Director-General Tim Davie and BBC Chair Dr. Samir Shah’s appearance before the House of Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee, where they were scrutinised for their handling of the Huw Edwards scandal and local news. Their views on BBC funding and governance were also revealed.

“I think paying him the additional annual increment was indefensible—completely indefensible—and there was no legal risk at all.”

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@BeebRoger

Instagram: rogerboltonsbeebwatch

LinkedIn: Roger Bolton's Beeb Watch

email: roger@rogerboltonsbeebwatch.com

www.goodeggproductions.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.