The Media Club · 16 June 2023 · 41 min

TV vs MPs, Tackling Tate & the Top 10 News Pods Revealed

With Lis Howell, Farah Jassat

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• BBC and ITV bosses facing MPs
• Politicians presenting news programmes
• BBC local radio cuts
• Andrew Tate BBC interview
• Top news podcasts in the UK
• Ofcom impartiality rules
• Podcast monetisation
• Guardian bans gambling advertising

In this episode of The Media Club, host Matt Deegan is joined by guests Lis Howell and Farah Jassat to discuss the week's media news. The main topics include the BBC and ITV bosses facing MPs at the DCMS select committee, the debate over whether politicians should present news programmes, the BBC's interview with Andrew Tate, and the top news podcasts in the UK. The conversation also covers the launch of Intelligence Squared's new podcast 'Versus', the challenges of podcast monetisation, and the media quiz 'Give Us a News Clue'.

Key takeaways

• BBC and ITV bosses faced MPs at the DCMS select committee, defending their handling of recent controversies and cuts.
• Ofcom is reviewing whether politicians should be allowed to present news programmes, with guests criticising the regulator as 'toothless'.
• The BBC's interview with Andrew Tate sparked debate over platforming and editing, with guests praising Lucy Williamson's performance.
• The Reuters Digital News Report showed The News Agents, The Rest Is Politics, and BBC Newscast as the top UK news podcasts.
• Intelligence Squared launched a new podcast called Versus, hosted by Coco Khan.

In this episode

• Intro and news in brief0:00 · Matt Deegan introduces the show and covers quick news stories including Channel 4's audience slump and Idris Elba's new business.
• TV Chiefs in the Dock0:00 · Discussion on BBC and ITV bosses facing MPs, including defence of local radio and handling of Philip Schofield.
• Politicians presenting news0:00 · Debate on Ofcom's review into MPs presenting news programmes, with criticism of GB News and TalkTV.
• Andrew Tate interview0:00 · Analysis of the BBC's interview with Andrew Tate and the controversy over editing.
• Top news podcasts0:00 · Discussion of the Reuters Digital News Report and the success of political chat podcasts.
• Media quiz: Give Us a News Clue0:00 · The hosts play a quiz with clues about media stories, including Netflix's live sports plans and the Guardian's gambling ad ban.

Notable quotes

“I am a little bit sick of hearing the word toxic.”

Lis Howell · 0:00

“I think Ofcom is fudging it completely here. I think they're late to the party and they've been a bit toothless over this issue, frankly.”

Farah Jassat · 0:00

“My real worry about this situation with impartiality is that we could be unwittingly going into a Fox News style environment in the UK.”

Farah Jassat · 0:00

“I think Tate absolutely hung himself in that interview, and I think she did very well.”

Lis Howell · 0:00

“I don't want someone to explain. I want somebody to let me in and give me those juicy bits that maybe I wouldn't know about ordinarily.”

Lis Howell · 0:00

Discussed

BBC · ITV · Ofcom · Intelligence Squared

Also mentioned: Tim Davie · Carolyn McCall · Kevin Lygo · Philip Schofield · Andrew Tate · Lucy Williamson · Coco Khan · Jacob Rees-Mogg · Nadine Dorries · Jeremy Hunt · Boris Johnson · Gary Lineker · Jeremy Clarkson · Meghan Markle · Emily Maitlis · Jon Sopel · Lewis Goodall · Chris Mason · James Clayton · Elon Musk · Martin Frizell · Ian Katz · Idris Elba · Mark Boyen

Mentioned or recommended

• Versus · podcast · Intelligence Squared
• Blackadder · tv show · Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson
• This Morning · tv show · ITV
• Newsnight · tv show · BBC
• Today programme · radio programme · BBC
• Radio 4 · radio station · BBC
• Radio 2 · radio station · BBC
• BBC Local Radio · radio station · BBC
• Reuters Digital News Report · report · Reuters Institute
• Pod Save America · podcast · Crooked Media
• The Expert Women Project · other · Lis Howell