The Media Club · 30 September 2022 · 40 min
BBC World Service cutbacks, the new Times boss & a royal censorship controversy. Plus Ian Rumsey on true crime
- BBC World Service Cutbacks
- Times Editorial Change
- Royal Censorship
- True Crime Television
- BBC Talent Retention
- Podcast Industry
In this episode of The Media Club, host Jake Kanter is joined by Janine Gibson (FT), Jim Waterson (The Guardian), and Steven D Wright (TV producer) to discuss the BBC World Service's job cuts, Tony Gallagher's appointment as editor of The Times, and the royal family's censorship of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral footage. The panel also features a deep dive into true crime television with ITN's Ian Rumsey, and a media quiz celebrating International Podcast Day.
Key takeaways
- The BBC World Service announced 328 job cuts, attributed to the licence fee freeze and a digital-first strategy.
- Tony Gallagher was confirmed as the new editor of The Times, replacing John Witherow.
- The royal family had a veto over footage from the Queen's funeral, leading to censorship concerns.
- ITN's Ian Rumsey discussed the duty of care in true crime production, highlighting the importance of not sensationalising victims.
- The media quiz celebrated International Podcast Day with questions about new podcast announcements.
In this episode
- Introduction and News Roundup
- BBC World Service Cutbacks Discussion
- Times Editorial Change Discussion
- Deep Dive: True Crime with Ian Rumsey
- Royal Censorship Discussion
- Media Quiz: International Podcast Day Special
- Outro and Listener Survey
Notable quotes
“It's the beginning of the end for the World Service as we know it with the sort of idea of people tuning in on shortwave radios all over the world listening to the news from London.”
“It is censorship. There's no way you're addressing this up. It's nothing to do with the royal family being concerned about grief or anything else. This is power.”
“The original sin is the George Osborne funding change.”
“You can have all the psych tests in the world and you can have great duty of care. And I know that you have that and that's all good. But he said, sometimes it's about the producer phoning you up a week later, a month later, and just saying, you're okay.”
“It's brinkmanship, though, isn't it? That they shouldn't pay for it from the licence fee. The government wants these services to exist and they should be funding them.”
Discussed
Tony Gallagher · BBC · The Times · The Guardian · ITN
Mentioned or recommended
- The Crown
- The Confession
- History 101
- Beebwatch
- Fortunately
- The Edit
- Sky Stream
- The Daily Show
- Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
- House of the Dragon
- This England
