The Media Show

On this edition of The Media Show, Ros Atkins examines the continuing public interest in the Lucy Letby case, as a new Netflix documentary reaches the top of the UK viewing rankings. He speaks to Josh Halliday, North of England Editor at The Guardian, and Dr Bethany Usher of Newcastle University, whose work focuses on the ethics of true‑crime storytelling and the development of new guidelines for the genre.
Tom Freston, co‑founder of MTV, reflects on how the channel’s launch in 1981 transformed popular culture and what its closure in the UK and Europe signifies for its legacy.
And we assess the state of the advertising industry following one of its most challenging years on record. James Kirkham, founder of Iconic, discusses his view that the traditional agency model is in steep decline, while Becky Owen, Chief Marketing Officer at Billion Dollar Boy, outlines the rapid expansion of influencer marketing and the new dynamics shaping the sector.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

Gabriel Sherman joins Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins to discuss the real‑life Murdoch family battle at the heart of his new book , Bonfire of the Murdochs, including the secret Nevada court case that pitted Rupert Murdoch against his own children.
We assess the reporting of a turbulent week in Westminster with Catherine Neilan, Whitehall Editor at The Observer and Simon Nixon, publisher of the Wealth of Nations newsletter and a former journalist at the Wall Street Journal and The Times.
As The Washington Post lays off around 300 staff, we talk to one of them, reporter Marissa Lang and former senior managing editor, Cameron Barr, assesses what comes next.
And we discuss the issue of balance and due impartiality in the digital age as Ofcom faces criticism for declining to investigate a GB News interview with Donald Trump.

Producers: Lisa Jenkinson & Dan Hardoon

On The Media Show Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins consider the new Epstein files and how journalists work through huge document releases while avoiding misinterpretation. The Financial Times’ Jim Pickard explains how newsrooms decide what is reliable and what is not and the veteran editor Tina Brown gives her take from across the Atlantic.
We look at the growing demand for behind the scenes cameras in sport. Former British tennis number one Johanna Konta and Minal Modha from Ampere Analysis discuss how much access athletes should be expected to give and whether privacy is being eroded.
And finally, with the delay of the Artemis II mission the BBC’s Science Editor Rebecca Morelle and Dr Chris Lintott from The Sky at Night talk about launch scrubs, shifting timelines and the practical realities of reporting on spaceflight.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson
Assistant Producer: Emily Channon

On The Media Show with Ros Atkins. Meg Anderson, NPR correspondent in Minneapolis, explains how newsrooms are managing a surge of online footage and what it means for journalism.
Aled Haydn Jones, Radio 1 Controller; DJ Sian Eleri and Chelsea Little on the Radio 1 Christmas Presenter Takeover.
James Ball Tech journalist and author of “The System: Who Owns The Internet And How It Owns Us” unpacks what algorithms are, and whether the move towards increased transparency by platforms will actually give users more control.
And Vicky Jessop, commissioning editor and culture writer at the Evening Standard, joins us to discuss Netflix’s Skyscraper Live and whether extreme risk is becoming a new form of entertainment.
Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson
Assistant Producer: Laura Cain

As tensions rise between the US and Europe over Greenland, how are international media reporting the story? Elisabet Svane, political analyst at Politiken in Denmark, and Michael Birnbaum, White House reporter for The Washington Post discuss their approach.
Jamie Angus, former head of the BBC World Service, says the BBC should move faster into unblockable technologies to reach people in repressive regimes. He explains why, alongside Evie Aspinall, Director of the British Foreign Policy Group.

One month on, how successful is Australia's under 16s social media ban? We hear from Bronte Gossling from the Sydney Morning Herald as the UK government considers a similar move. And we unpack the media storm surrounding Brooklyn Beckham’s bombshell Instagram post with Simon Boyle, freelance showbiz journalist and former showbiz editor at The Sun; and Mail on Sunday columnist and former editor of British Vogue Alexandra Shulman.