Informações:
Sinopse
Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations
Episódios
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11/10/2013
11/10/2013 Duração: 27minThis week the BBC Director General Tony Hall unveiled his vision for the future of the corporation. At its heart is technology. A new app called Open Minds will draw programmes from across the BBC's speech radio output and Radio 1 is to lead the way in becoming an audio-visual network with its own video channel on BBC iPlayer to host exclusive interviews and performances. We speak to the Controller of Radio 1 and 1Xtra about visualisation and whether the future of BBC radio depends on it.But while Radio 1 is coming soon to a screen near you, some listeners have reached saturation point with the silver screen takeover of BBC Radio 3. As part of the BBC's Sound of Cinema season, the network has aired three weeks of special concerts celebrating film music and editions of regular programmes dedicated to cinema. They tell us it's been a blockbuster with their audience - but it's been a flop with some Feedback listeners.And when Inside Science replaced Material World on Radio 4 in July, many Feedback listeners were
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23/08/2013
23/08/2013 Duração: 27minIn the last programme in this series of Feedback, we bring you a special edition devoted to one of the most divisive radio subjects - comedy.Recorded in front of an audience at the Edinburgh Fringe, Roger Bolton puts questions from listeners in the room and at home to a panel of comedy movers and shakers.Roger is joined on stage by Radio 4 Commissioning Editor Caroline Raphael - the woman who decides what's funny enough for Radio 4 and by comedian Marcus Brigstocke, who can be heard across BBC radio in programmes like the Now Show and The Brig Society, as well as radio producer Colin Anderson and the Head of Radio for BBC Scotland, Jeff Zycinski.There will also be some fringe talent in the form of performance poet Mark Niel and hotly-tipped newcomer Michael Fabbri.Producer: Kevin Dawson A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.So email: feedback@bbc.co.uk.
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16/08/2013
16/08/2013 Duração: 27minOn Monday evening, just as England bowler Stuart Broad was reaching the peak of a devastating spell, listeners to Radio 4 Long Wave were ripped from the action. They were plunged into the seven o'clock news followed by The Archers. Radio 4 Network Manager Denis Nowlan explains what went wrong.Last week we announced that The Archers is to have a new editor - Sean O'Connor will take over in September. But this week some Archers' fans were turned off by a scene involving reunited lovers Helen and Rob.And is the rest of Radio 4 over-sexed during the school holidays? Listeners have objected to sexual content in programmes such as The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Sketchorama, and How to Have a Perfect Marriage, especially when children are more likely to be at home. Roger Bolton talks sex on the radio with Roger Mahony, Radio 4's Editor of Editorial Standards.Over the course of this series of Feedback, we've heard from many listeners who still lament the loss of Radio 4 science programme Material World. Its replacement,
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09/08/2013
09/08/2013 Duração: 27minWas the BBC's HardTalk too hard on Baritone Thomas Hampson? When Sarah Montague interviewed the opera star on the World Service and BBC News programme, opera fans around the world took umbrage. We hear from the listener whose complaint went viral and made him an overnight hero in the opera world.Plus, is the World at One able to maintain its reputation for hard news during silly season? Roger Bolton speaks to WATO editor Nick Sutton.The announcement that Peter Capaldi is to play the 12th Doctor was big news in TV this week, but Radio 4 is to have its own sea-change. The successor to long-serving editor of The Archers, Vanessa Whitburn, has just been announced. Sean O'Connor will take on the role from September. He was a producer for The Archers in the 1990s. But stints at EastEnders, Hollyoaks, and the salacious ITV drama Footballers' Wives have also been prominent talking points for listeners. We hear Archers addicts' hopes for the O'Connor tenure.Former voice of Radio 4, Charlotte Green, landed her dream jo
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02/08/2013
02/08/2013 Duração: 27minThe 119th Proms season is in full swing and in Feedback this week Roger Bolton meets Roger Wright, the Director of the Proms. We put listeners' questions to the Director, behind the scenes at the Royal Albert Hall.Roger Wright is also the Controller of BBC Radio 3. And he might have something to say if his network took one Feedback listener's suggestion seriously. We hear his novel approach to toughening up Breakfast on 3 and toning down Radio 4's Today programme.It's been a good week for the Today programme as it remains the jewel in BBC radio's breakfast crown. The Radio Joint Audience Research (RAJAR) figures published this week show Today has gained more than 200,000 listeners in the last year and that Radio 4's weekly audience is at an all-time high. Digital listening has also leapt up by 3.7 million since last year. But digital dissatisfaction is rife amongst many Feedback listeners. We hear your digital woes.And, is it 'Silly Season' on Radio 4? While you may be listening to Feedback, many people are s
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26/07/2013
26/07/2013 Duração: 27minRadio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations.George Alexander Louis is not yet a week old and already his name is known around the world, thanks in no small part to the BBC's coverage of the royal birth. But was it all a bit too much? Many of you think the BBC went baby mad.Operation Dropout mobilises as Roger Bolton meets the man who looks into those awkward silences caused by technological failure - the BBC's Technology Controller for Journalism, Andy Bocking.And while the controller sits on-high, we meet one of those on the front line - senior studio manager Bob Nettles. Feedback spends the day with Bob and puts listeners' audio queries to one of the best pairs of ears in the business.Also, the emotional power of radio drama. We hear from the listener who was left dumbfounded by Nick Warburton's afternoon drama Irongate.And we're looking for your questions, comments, and queries about this year's Proms. We'll be talking to the Director of the Proms, Roger Wright, who is also the Co
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19/07/2013
19/07/2013 Duração: 27minThis week the BBC announced that the Today programme is to get a new presenter - a female one. Mishal Husain will join the Today line-up in the Autumn and, along with Sarah Montague, will take the ratio from 1 in 5 female to male presenters, to 2 in 6. Feedback listeners welcome the announcement.But it's not all jubilation. We hear reaction to the BBC's Annual Report. Some of it made for "grim reading" according to the DG Lord Hall. £5 million spent on three separate inquiries into the Jimmy Savile scandal, as well as £25 million paid out in severance payments, and £98 million lost on the failed Digital Media Initiative.Roger Bolton speaks to Lord Hennessy and asks whether his new Radio 4 series 'Reflections' is a bit too soft on his political interviewees. We explore the art of the political interview with a man who's met them all.And as outraged comments about The Archers' Matt and Lilian story that was only broadcast digitally continue to fill our postbag, we ask the boss of Digital Radio UK how easy and w
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12/07/2013
12/07/2013 Duração: 27minLast week Roger Bolton spoke to the acting editor of The Archers, Julie Beckett, about the decision to put the moment of revelation in the Matt and Lilian saga in The Archers' digital-only offshoot Ambridge Extra. After the interview aired we received a deluge of complaints - more than about the coverage of the death and funeral of Baroness Thatcher. Listeners were "incandescent" with rage about both the decision itself and the interview, which many felt offered far from adequate answers.Given the weight of correspondence, this week Roger puts your frustrations to Jeremy Howe, commissioning editor for drama on Radio 4 and 4 Extra.And why has the BBC removed a free piece of technology, called Radio Downloader, which allowed listeners to download and keep BBC radio programmes? The BBC has promised to offer radio downloads from 2014. But how much radio will be available and for how long? Roger speaks to Mark Friend, Head of Multi-Platform for Radio.Is sorry the hardest word? We hear from listeners who were outra
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05/07/2013
05/07/2013 Duração: 27minIs the BBC impartial? What does impartiality really mean? Questions posed in the latest review by the BBC Trust. The Breadth of Opinion report is part of the Trust's rolling programme of impartiality reviews and looks at how the BBC covers immigration, Europe, and religion - three areas listeners regularly write to Feedback about. We speak to the review's author, Stuart Prebble, to find out whether the BBC is living up to its impartial reputation.Also, the acting editor of The Archers, Julie Beckett, is back in the Feedback hotseat. Roger Bolton asks her why a major Archers plot revelation was only heard in the new series of Ambridge Extra, which began this week on the digital station Radio 4 Extra. Some Archers devotees are not happy.Radio comedy is something that regularly leaves audiences unamused. Perhaps that's why Radio 4 commissioned you, the listener, to pen its latest comedy offering The Show What You Wrote on Thursday nights. Roger speaks to two fledgling comedy writers about what it takes to get th
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28/06/2013
28/06/2013 Duração: 27minIs any discussion too adult for Radio 4? When the Moral Maze took on the subject of internet pornography, Feedback listeners were diametrically opposed on whether the discussion went too far. Roger Bolton talks to Moral Maze producer Phil Pegum about how and why he chose to tackle the subject, live on air, and when he has to intervene to rein in contributors.Plus, Jazzer from The Archers and acting Archers editor Julie Beckett discuss the controversial outburst that has been the most talked about Radio 4 event this week.Also this week: Radio 4's Recycled Radio has proved to be divisive - a type of Marmite radio - loved by many on Twitter but generally loathed by Feedback listeners. Roger puts your feedback to its producer Miles Warde and invites Radio 4 commissioning editor Mohit Bakaya and Wireless Nights producer Laurence Grissell to discuss experimental radio on Radio 4.Last week the Editor of the BBC Radio Science Unit, Deborah Cohen, gave the reasons for the removal of Material World and its long-serving
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21/06/2013
21/06/2013 Duração: 27minThis week Quentin Cooper presented his last edition of Radio 4's long-running science programme Material World. The Editor of BBC Radio Science, Deborah Cohen tells Roger why it was time for a change.In the wake of our interview with BBC Trustee Richard Ayre about the BBC's loss of £98.2 million, we air your views on the decision to bring in outside investigators at further cost.There was another story about BBC finances this week. But you might not have heard it. Listeners were surprised that the BBC did not report on revelations that it paid out £28 million of licence-fee payer money in payoffs over the last eight years. Plus, OFCOM comes down on the side of listeners who complained about the use of a derogatory and discriminatory word during a Today programme interview. Our reporter Karen Pirie mingles with the crowds at the Royal Cornwall Show to hear how BBC Cornwall interacts with its listeners.Let sleeping dogs lie -the strange effect that Feedback has on listeners of particularly sensitive heari
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14/06/2013
14/06/2013 Duração: 27minIt's a year since the BBC introduced an improved complaints procedure. And the BBC Trust, which exists to protect the licence fee payers' interests, has just reported back on the new system. Their public consultation shows that most people now think the system is working well. But some Feedback listeners still think there's room for improvement. Roger Bolton speaks to BBC Trustee Richard Ayre, who is in charge of reviewing the complaints procedure.And Richard Ayre gives the BBC Trust's view on the BBC's failed Digital Media Initiative (DMI). While we were off-air, the BBC announced that it was scrapping DMI after spending £98 million pounds on the five-year digital archiving project, a sum amounting to almost 700,000 licence fees.Plus, which programme is sending feline Feedback listeners into a frenzy? Roger speaks to renowned wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson about this pressing issue.And could you be our Tweet of the Week? We know you're the best radio reviewers around so we'd like you to tweet us on @b
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26/04/2013
26/04/2013 Duração: 27minIn the last of the current series of Feedback, Roger Bolton is joined by Gwyneth Williams, the Controller of Radio 4. She responds to listener questions on topics ranging from the coverage of Baroness Thatcher's funeral to Paul and Lillian's love affair in The Archers.Earlier this week the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, was interviewed by John Humphrys about UK borrowing figures - but the interview took a personal turn at the end when Mr Osborne was quizzed on his tears during Margaret Thatcher's funeral. We hear the views of listeners who were unimpressed by the line of questioning. Also, are standards of grammar and pronunciation slipping at Radio 4? Many think so. But what will the Controller make of the comments?Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
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19/04/2013
19/04/2013 Duração: 27minThe measles outbreak in South Wales has been near the top of the national news agenda for weeks. Time was that, whenever the MMR jab was mentioned, so too was the alleged connection to autism. Now, BBC reports state baldly that any suggested link has been "totally discredited". Are they right to be so categoric? Roger discusses the issue with the BBC's Medical Correspondent Fergus Walsh.What makes for a good "quizzer"? We go behind the scenes with Rufus Stilgoe as he prepares for his first appearance on Radio 4's Counterpoint.Local radio listeners upset by their treasured evening shows being replaced by an All England Show go head-to-head with David Holdsworth, the BBC's Controller of English Regions.And we're looking for your questions for Gwyneth Williams, the Controller of Radio 4. We'll be talking to Gwyneth in a week's time, so be sure to send us your questions as soon as possible. Some listeners will even be able to put their points to the Controller directly.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Taylo
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12/04/2013
12/04/2013 Duração: 27minOver the top eulogising or overly critical? In this week's Feedback, listeners are divided over the BBC's coverage of the death of Margaret Thatcher. We talk to the Head of the BBC Newsroom, Mary Hockaday.And do you need to know what's on BBC One when you're listening to Radio 4? We put your frustrations about the latest high-profile cross-TV and radio campaigns - BBC One's The Village and Radio 4's Front Row - to the Director of Marketing and Audiences for BBC Radio, Neil Caldicott.Following our discussion last week about whether Radio 4 could and should do more to attract new, younger listeners, we hear some surprising reactions from youthful fans of the network.Listener Rob Johnston gives us an English lesson.And we're looking for your questions for Gwyneth Williams, the Controller of Radio 4. We'll be talking to Gwyneth in a week's time so be sure to send us your questions. Some listeners will even be able to put their points to the Controller directly.Presenter: Roger BoltonProducer: Will Yates A Whistle
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05/04/2013
05/04/2013 Duração: 27minDoes Radio 4 need to replenish its audience with an injection of young blood? Roger talks to the station's Network Manager Denis Nowlan about attracting new audiences and gets the views of age-aware Feedback listeners.And for many concert goers, the most taxing decision during the interval is whether to have a G&T or a glass of wine. But for Radio 3 producers, there's a tricky balance to be struck between entertaining the audience in the stalls and the listeners at home. We talk to Radio 3's Head of Speech Matthew Dodd and hear your suggestions for how to keep the interval interesting.Also - the case of the disappearing drama. The scheduling of the lavish adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere across Radio 4 and then the digital-only station 4Extra drew criticism from some Feedback listeners when the series aired in March. Nevermind, many were content to access the drama online having seen that it would be available for over a year. But when they settled down to listen, Neverwhere was nowhere to be found.
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29/03/2013
02/04/2013 Duração: 27minConfusion, frustration, abdication and revolution in this week's Feedback.Vanessa Whitburn the longest-serving editor of The Archers is leaving after 22 years. She tells Roger about bullying from listeners, hints at plans for the Ambridge murder that never was and confesses that she often keeps quiet about her job for fear of being hijacked at social events.Also this week, Radio 4 listeners have been treated to a series of five "playful and surprising audio interventions" - three-minute creations by contemporary artists. More like "baffling" and "bizarre" say many listeners. Tony Phillips the man who commissioned the works, explains the thinking behind them.Is The Bottom Line too focussed on fat cats? In these times of austerity is there enough room on Radio 4 for the voice of rest of the workers? The programme's presenter Evan Davis takes it on the chin.And why did Radio 4 ruin the afternoon of so many Formula 1 fans?Presenter: Roger BoltonProducers: Karen Pirie and Katherine Godfrey A Whistledown production
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22/03/2013
22/03/2013 Duração: 27minDo BBC reporters know their Higgs boson from their Bunsen burner? Many of you think BBC science reporting is woefully inaccurate. Roger Bolton talks to David Shukman, a year into his role as the BBC Science Editor, to find out what steps the BBC is taking to equip reporters with scientific knowhow.Last week the Crown Prosecution Service published its first ever study into false allegations of rape and domestic violence, which said that such claims are a very small percentage of the overall figure. So why did Newsbeat major on the victims of false claims? Roger talks to Newsbeat presenter Chris Smith.And Radio 2 presenter Stuart Maconie takes us inside the People's Songs, Radio 2's social history of post-war Britain told through 50 pop records, largely determined by listeners. We meet some of the listeners whose stories of love, lust, and life made the run-down.Also, how can a ten-year-old know what it's like to be eighty? Well, the young actors in a new Radio 3 drama, called The Startling Truths of Old World
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15/03/2013
15/03/2013 Duração: 27minThis week in Feedback, we ask when music should be censored by the BBC. After a listener spotted that Oliver's Army by Elvis Costello had the 'n' word cut out abruptly during a 6Music show, we decided to look into how and why music is edited for offensive language. Roger Bolton visits Radio 1 and 1Xtra to meet DJ Trevor Nelson and Head of Music George Ergatoudis. George explains how they fulfil listener demand for the more controversial hip hop, rap, and pop songs, without offending the audience. And DJ legend Mike Read weighs in on the debate.And are analogue listeners missing out on the best of new drama on BBC radio? This weekend the star-studded adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere finally arrives on Radio 4 and 4 Extra amid much excitement. But its scheduling has raised some eyebrows from Feedback listeners. Neverwhere begins on Saturday on Radio 4 but episodes two to six will only be available on the digital station Radio 4 Extra. We asked Tony Pilgrim, Head of Planning and Scheduling for Radio 4 and
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08/03/2013
08/03/2013 Duração: 27minIn Feedback this week, you ask: where are all the right-wing comedians? Left-wing comic Jeremy Hardy returned to airwaves last week with his series of lectures 'Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation'. Never one to be shy about his political views, Jeremy had many of you laughing but others felt the joke just wasn't funny anymore and called for balance on the network. Roger puts your points to Caroline Raphael, commissioning editor for Radio 4 Comedy, and asks her whether she is actively looking for right-wing comics.And what's it like to report for the Today programme for the first time? Last week, Sally Marlow, an academic researcher from King's College London, had her first report on Today. Sally was one of 30 'expert women' who took part in a BBC Academy Training Day in January, which sought to encourage more women experts for TV and radio in areas such as science, engineering, business and politics. We asked Sally and her Today producer to fill us in on the process and find out whether the training day helped