• 2024 UK General Election Media Coverage
• Leaders' Debates
• Evening Standard Goes Weekly
• Edinburgh TV Festival
• News UK IP to TV Dramas
• Political Podcasts
• BBC Newsnight Reboot
• Media Bill and Section 40 Repeal

In this episode of The Media Club, host Matt Deegan is joined by TV and film critic Rhianna Dhillon and former BBC News Director of Programmes Katy Searle to discuss the challenges the UK media faces following the surprise announcement of the 2024 general election. They cover the leaders' debates, the BBC and Channel 4's election night lineups, the impact of the election on scheduling (clashing with the Euros, Wimbledon, and Glastonbury), and the future of political podcasts. The show also examines the Evening Standard's decision to go weekly, the Edinburgh TV Festival's first speaker announcements, and News UK's move to turn newspaper IP into TV dramas. The episode concludes with the 'Polish Pollsters' media quiz.

Key takeaways

• The 2024 UK general election was called earlier than expected, catching the media off guard.
• The BBC announced Clive Myrie and Laura Kuenssberg as its election night presenters.
• Channel 4 secured Emily Maitlis, Alastair Campbell, and Rory Stewart for its election coverage, and will stream The Rest Is Politics live.
• The Evening Standard will cease daily publication and move to a weekly format.
• News UK is hiring a development executive to turn newspaper IP into TV dramas.

In this episode

• Intro and News in Brief0:00 · Matt Deegan introduces the show and covers quick news items including the media bill, Bauer appointment, and Hollyoaks on YouTube.
• Main Discussion: Election Coverage2:00 · Discussion on the challenges of covering the surprise election, leaders' debates, and broadcasters' lineups.
• Evening Standard Goes Weekly15:00 · Analysis of the Evening Standard's decision to move to weekly publication.
• Edinburgh TV Festival and News UK IP20:00 · Discussion on the Edinburgh TV Festival lineup and News UK's move into TV dramas.
• Media Quiz: Polish Pollsters25:00 · A quiz where guests guess media election stories from Polish headlines.
• Outro30:00 · Wrap-up and thanks to guests.

Notable quotes

“I am obsessed with We Are Lady Parts on Channel 4 and Series 2 has just dropped in its entirety.”

Rhianna Dhillon · 0:00

“I think it's true. I think what happens actually, my experience of many elections at the BBC, but also I'm sure this is true of most media organisations of any size, is that an immediate panic kind of almost kind of craziness hits everyone.”

Katy Searle · 0:00

“I think there is a genuine sadness that we're not going to see Hugh Edwards this year.”

Rhianna Dhillon · 0:00

“I think they've absolutely done the right thing.”

Rhianna Dhillon · 0:00

“I mean, it's a nightmare in terms of scheduling and booking trucks.”

Katy Searle · 0:00

“I'm afraid it is the sign of the times.”

Katy Searle · 0:00

Discussed

BBC · Channel 4 · Evening Standard · News UK

Also mentioned: Rishi Sunak · Clive Myrie · Laura Kuenssberg · Huw Edwards · Emily Maitlis · Rory Stewart · Alastair Campbell · Clare Balding · Krishnan Guru-Murthy · Victoria Derbyshire · Nick Watt · Coco Khan · Matt Chorley · Andrew Neil · Ian Dale · Matt Forde · Andy Wilman · Jane Root · Warren Littlefield · Nida Manzoor · Malala Yousafzai · Boris Johnson · Gary Stein · Ben Cooper

Mentioned or recommended

• We Are Lady Parts · tv show · Nida Manzoor
• Polite Society · film · Nida Manzoor
• The Rest Is Politics · podcast · Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart
• The News Agents · podcast · Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel, Lewis Goodall
• Newscast · podcast · BBC
• Newsnight · tv show · BBC
• Clarkson's Farm · tv show · Andy Wilman
• Top Gear · tv show · BBC
• Mr Bates vs The Post Office · tv show · ITV
• Inside No. 9 · tv show · Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton
• The Handmaid's Tale · tv show · Bruce Miller
• Fargo · tv show · Noah Hawley
• Dopesick · tv show · Danny Strong
• Friends · tv show · David Crane and Marta Kauffman
• Seinfeld · tv show · Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld
• ER · tv show · Michael Crichton
• Cheers · tv show · Glen and Les Charles
• Hollyoaks · tv show · Phil Redmond
• The Political Party · podcast · Matt Forde
• Pod Save the UK · podcast · Coco Khan and Nish Kumar
• Edinburgh TV Festival · event
• UEFA Euro 2024 · event · UEFA
• Wimbledon · event
• Glastonbury Festival · event
• Media Bill · other · UK Parliament