Feedback3 Mar 2017

Dramatising real-life disasters

Roger Bolton hears listener concerns about satirising Donald Trump in a news programme, and considers how far writers can go when dramatising real disasters.

Every Friday on the World at One, reporter Jonny Dymond has been documenting the movements of Trump's first 100 days in office with a wry twist. While some listeners have enjoyed the touch of humour, others have said it's out of place in what they say should be an objective news programme. Roger chairs a discussion between two listeners with opposing opinions.

On 6th March 1987, the Herald of Free Enterprise ferry left its dock on a journey from Belgium to Dover. The ferry capsized within the first half hour of the journey, leading to the loss of 193 lives. Thirty years on, Radio 4 has aired a dramatic re-telling of the story in Herald of Disaster. For many, it was intensely gripping and emotionally captivating. Writer Stephen Phelps explains why he felt the event deserved new exploration, and he discusses his technique of weaving fictional characters around factual accounts.

Also, the BBC World Service says it's undergoing its biggest expansion since the 1940s. Jamie Angus, the former Editor of Today and now Deputy Director of the BBC World Service Group, answers listeners' questions on how the network will ensure its reputation as a reliable broadcaster in the era of fake news and about the expansion of language services into new territories.

Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Katherine Godfrey

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(490)

Dead Rabbit, Colin Sell, and Farming Today.

Andrea Catherwood puts listener comments to environmental journalists Lucy Taylor and Dan Ashby, whose latest series Dead Rabbit uncovers the shady world of illegal hare coursing, in collaboration wit...

13 Aug 1h 33min

BBC Proms, Quiz Pilots and Interview of the Year

The 2026 BBC Proms season is underway, and so presenter Andrea Catherwood heads to the Royal Albert Hall to talk to Radio 3 controller Sam Jackson to discuss this year's schedule, which includes a pro...

6 Aug 28min

Radio 4's Pilot Quizzes, and Radio 1 Schedule Changes

If you're a longtime Radio 4 listener, you'll know the important place that quizzes occupy in the schedule. That's why listeners have been in touch with Feedback to share their thoughts about a range ...

30 Jul 28min

Common Ground, Dead Ringers, and You're Dead To Me

Evan Davis, usually found behind the microphone for Radio 4's PM, has been travelling around England and Wales recording people's opinions on the big things that divide us as a society - from immigrat...

23 Jul 28min

Life and Time, 6Music Extension, and World Tonight Interview

The radio drama Life and Time finished its third series recently. The six inter-linked plays explore the experiences of prisoners and prison staff. The main theme running through all the plays is the...

16 Jul 28min

BBC Investigative Journalism, and Cuts to Programming

The BBC recently reported that they'd tracked down Twana Jamal, one of the most prolific people smugglers in recent history - who had previously been arrested in France but was living and working in t...

9 Jul 28min

News coverage of Andy Burnham. BBC Cuts. The Archers

Andrea Catherwood hears your comments on the cuts to BBC Radio 4 news programmes and talks to a former Radio commissioner about her experience of bringing in changes to Radio 4. Also, our listeners sh...

2 Jul 28min

Misha Glenny, Today Programme, and Social Media Ban

It's a new series of Feedback. Andrea Catherwood sits down with Misha Glenny, former foreign correspondent and investigative journalist to talk about taking on the reins of In Our Time, following Melv...

1 Jul 28min