Read this: 16/12/2022 Radio 4 Feedback

BBC sounds music Radio podcasts hello, I'm Andrea and welcome to feedback good morning the capital of a city a country under fire rated by war in Europe Jeremy Bowen the BBC's International to talk about his experiences reporting in Ukraine and how the BBC is covering the conflict you have to remind people about why it's important and why you do that is by coming up with something that makes people think bloody hell.

I'm not my cup of tea now.

I'm going to watch this Michelle his sounds Today programme in concert with Union Jack Lynch has provoked a huge response from you.

I would like to start Mr Lynch in his analysis the coverage on all BBC media is usually a soft effect.

The right-wing press the new Radio 4 Friday afternoon drama series Splinter Cell firewall is a first it's based on a video game.

Is it any good? I think a role at work the world created in the video game comes to New Orleans and independent drama series 4 Extra schedule changes have been upsetting some of why have you changed a perfectly good format, please, please put it back to where it was for extra controller mohit bakaya, explain what's going on, but first after almost 10 months of fighting the still no end in sight for the war in Ukraine millions of people are unable to return home many still in the country of forced to live with I access to food water and healthcare civilian.

Infrastructure has been targeted with catastrophic damage to hospitals and schools air strikes have left people across the country.

Access to gas and electricity was nearly three decades experience and reporting from warzones the BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen says the best way to report a war is to see it for yourself, but reporting on the ground comes with a whole heap of challenges reporting restrictions confirming sources not to mention of course staying safe before he joins me what you have to say about the way the BBC has covered the war so far.

My name is Christine schuler and I live on the Wirral I'm particularly interested in the news on Ukraine as concert are Ukrainian family.

I listen to the many excellent correspondence on the ground in Ukraine as they tried to make sense of the war from a military civilian and political perspective.

I am grateful for their match of reporting of catastrophic events, please stop the Barrage of blatant pro Ukrainian proxy.

Government propaganda.

We get to hear one.

Only of this conflict with no history behind what made up to it with a provocation of Russia by the US and NATO it is becoming intolerable and an acceptable to have to listen to buy opinions on Radio 4 instead of facts while voices of Reason and truth of being suppressed five more from Liverpool is it necessary when reporting Russians in Ukraine for BBC News to continually and search the word humiliating at the earliest opportunity in what is being seen as a humiliating defeat was a line from radio for 6 on the 11th describing the Russian withdrawal from her son BBC News has such a fine reputation built on the bravery of journalists of the past and present.

Let's that reputation not be undermined by needlessly gemitaiz language.

Jeremy Bowen travel to Ukraine as soon as the war broke out.

I Began by ask.

What it was like in those early days, so this was chose the end of March and it was the time that the Russians were pulling back from the Ukrainian capital.

We had a friend of Ukrainian soldier who is helping us get through the ROBLOX and so we're driving along as a bitterly cold day was snowing was horrendous and I saw this woman by the side of the road and I have seen hardly any civilians around there so I S it stops so we stopped and our local UK produce of the Mariana started talking to her.

I can't speak Ukrainian and she said after military.

She said there's something here and there's something need to look into this so we went speak to her and she started saying will my son was killed the Russians killed my son so she said come to my house.

I show you the house the house was damaged the Russians and occupy the place.

They were massive piles of empty bottles.

Who is an evil full ones are the band and she told this heartbreaking story is so bad now.

I'm all alone my son is 27 years old.

She wanted to stay alive on her own Arena buried Alexa in the garden after she brought his body back from the road in a wheelbarrow.

I covered the grey with a blanket to protect it from the docks.

I had to roll him in a carpet.

I think the first time we were working together with its competitors.

It was possible which is unbelievably 25 years ago.

We had a satellite phones the size of a brick and that was the only.

Communicate with London and of course you couldn't communicate with any of the people that you wanted to report on other than by singing face-to-face.

No social media email but today some of your reports really focus on that you use a lot of modern technology.

I'm thinking of the drone footage that you were able to stand up that came from the Ukraine and I wonder how much those kind of reports have changed what you do.

Well that was that was the story where we again in that that period just as the Russians were pulling back to the stretch of motorway was just before we met that woman Arena the couple of days before and there were a lot of dead bodies on the road, and it's so happened that we were in touch with this drone filmed some of those people being killed and credibly important to verify done so seeing that you know the burnt out.

Left of the the wife inside the Dead husband, you could still see on his really chard hand is wedding ring what actually made the peace in many ways, what's the fact that we had the drone footage of the actual incident the drone shows civilians trying to get the keys to escape the Russians one of the cars was forced to stop the driver try to show he was homeless at the Russians shot him dead and social media social media changed the way in which you work.

Well it used to be the find out what the hell was going on with the problem you might hear on an explosion and now with a minutes.

There's loads of video for a round of what might have happened.

I could be really careful about verifying pictures because there's so much that isn't true flying around on social media.

How do you do that? You can't do that.

Only if it's somewhere very close by but the BBC has got a big and growing department which is dedicated to verifying these and arrow sometimes.

It's simply just there might be a someone who comes to that place you can physically see it, but there are way more sophisticated techniques now being used geolocation looking at different kinds of maps and satellite pictures and it's a real science.

It's become that kind of open source that has become almost a new branch journalism not been in touch to talk about the coverage the bravery and the coverage of across the BBC what they've also questioned is why the coverage seems to be so proud Ukrainian and one-sided well.

I think it's certainly one-sided in terms of geographical spread because we don't get any access whatever to Russian

BBC go if they do it I would I be I'll be there you'll be in bed with a Russian forces the problem is you one thing I would say is the ukrainians are very clever in the use of social media if you look at a Twitter timeline and follow people who are prolific tweeters on the Ukraine you have to take everything with a massive pinch of salt one word that's often used in coverage, which love islanders have questioned is the use of humiliating so soon as there is a Russian Retreat it's considered to be humiliating.

That's a word that you BBC use as a lot.

Do you think that pejorative use of the word humiliating means that she's not particularly impartial that they're actually looking for those kind of defeats and perhaps a little bit Triumph elastic when that happens when you're dealing with so president Putin's to cleared.

And objectives and he does tend to express them in a highly nationalistic Bombastic manner and when he's so personally invested in the operation then if the Russians do suffer a serious defeat then.

I think it is perfectly legitimate to say President Putin has been humiliated by this.

I think one of my scripts and her song after the Russians pulled from there.

I said you know for putting this is a this affect this is humiliating.

It was couple of weeks earlier.

He annexe the place in declared to be rushing forever whoops me if that's not politically humiliating failure.

I don't know what it is.

I wonder if there's a danger do you worry about the becoming a fatigue amongst viewers and listeners good news editor, so it falls done the news agenda, which doesn't mean that it's gone away.

It just means that we don't see it.

Well.

We've discussed this kind of thing a lot and I think.

Start with it was water wall absolutely water wall on the main all the main programs.

I think that we probably kept.

It wall-to-wall a bit too long you need to do things which are memory inevitably with every story people are going together after a while will be bored with it.

So you have to remind people about why it's important in the way you do that is by coming up with something powerful strong memorable accurate fair, but something that makes people think bloody hell.

I'm not my cup of tea now.

I'm going to watch this or listen to it online or you know all the other many digital platforms that we've gone to the thing is yeah quality not quantity and that's how would you stay engaged in my view because the story is certainly worth at my thanks to Jeremy Bowen last week.

We had a big response to the way Justin Webb handled an interview with.

Union leader Mick Lynch on the Today programme this week.

We've had an even bigger response to Mick Lynch's interview with today presenter of Michelle Hussain the question was about the average amount of your members through strike action which in the summer is there an amount that the in in the summer it was estimated as being an average because you said you're making a sacrifice and the Daily Mail wrong with our members of sacrifice eggs numbers of thousands of making a sacrifice.

What's wrong with putting a number on it.

Why did you do that number because I'm in the level of sacrifice in the middle interested in what network rail and the government doing to work in people across this country and publish them.

Because when they cost of living crisis because it's in the runner.

Why don't you say your members and making a sacrifice estimated at 15 on average in the summer? What's what's the amount now? Why are you pursuing an editorial line that I could read in the Sun or the Daily Mail or any of the right-wing press this country and you're not pursuing the fact that working people millions of them are being impoverished and some of them made destitute by the attitude of this government and by their employers.

I find it starts at the BBC will take here is a compilation of some of the points.

You have made to ask over the last few days.

I'd like to talk Mr Lynch in his analysis of the company.

Just been taken by Network Rail workers on the BBC a soft reflection of the right.

Bye Michelle this morning with Mick Lynch was just ridiculous.

It's showing partiality towards the government.

Thank you baby.

See the analytical in French by Michelle Hussain and Mark Harper by Justin Webb he's interviews with very informative and in my opinion demonstrated the BBC County and balance in the face of The Tempest by the interviewees to intimidate and drink your presenters to accept and potentially provide BBC endorsements narratives southern housing views the BBC a very good at promoting a vocalising responsibility has been being impartial and its coverage of topics and a bleed if today is not been the right to know the ambulance and nurses strike.

I think it's very unprofessional frankly patronising to the professionals in the NHS and the real sexy and to the public to know the discussion.

The impact on the public and on pay the strikes are wider than pay and the BBC as an organisation, you are well aware of this.

She completely ignore the ballad points that make blind was making about the fact that many working people today are destitute cannot afford to heat homes, and this is a result of 10 years of Tory government listen to view has provoked the biggest response to feedback of covered in the series but despite the weight of your comments Nobody from the Today programme was available to respond but like last week.

They did send us a statement.

We invite a broad range of people on the Today programme to be interviewed in order to provide clarity and information on topics that are listeners are interested in and that impact their lives.

Questions that we believe our listeners want answers to we take the same approach with all our guests which we believe is evident throughout the rest of the program.

We welcome and appreciate feedback from our listeners no in a first for radio for a hugely successful video game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell has been turned into a radio drama 8 part series firewall adapted from a novel based on the game follows agents Sam Fisher on a mission for the national Security agency's covert action division in a Race Against Time as a sinister threat to global Security is revealed.

The main character Sam Fisher is played by andonis, Anthony who's some of you will know as rust from the Arches does and a people crossover media and tomorrow.

Maybe yes, I'm enjoying yourself firewall writers Sebastian batkovic and Paul Cornell and I Began by asking Paul if he was surprised to be commissioned to write a drama like this for Radio 4 will I think it's really excellent.

Who's on Radio 4 because this is radio for getting back into the arena of attracting that young engaged audience to audio drama.

It's a hugely growing field right now audio drama is cutting-edge.

It's where the action is and I think that this show is a big flag waver for the BBC's ability to do popular radio drama that can attract a big audience.

Would you say to a listeners who haven't yet? Just tell him might be saying hold on.

I don't like computer games.

I don't know anything about computer games.

I never play them this isn't for me.

I wouldn't worry about the computer game part of it.

All.

This is exciting adventure story people.

Do you know the game will recognise the audio but people don't know those people like me who came into a completely without any.

Never played the game so you haven't played the game you didn't know the characters before you start as I came out it completely from an interest only in the character games very much for a median amount of great music and sound effects in games like a lot of people I'm a gamer and I nearly awaiting the next Elder Scrolls game and there a music using that I would hear them as I was walking along with my earbuds.

I would just automatically look up and expect to dragon in the sky and I think that's the sort of emotion.

We're after for this.

There's a certain amount when did adrenaline especially in the surround audio.

We've got Paul is this paving away or are you hoping that it's paving the way from more collaborations between the BBC and your game publishers.

Are you ok? Leah Keane gamer and also somebody who writes drama.

Do you think that there's a whole John right there waiting to be exposed.

There's a ton this so much.

Down here there's a rich seem to be mind especially in the field of Horror and suspense where gaming has been pushing forward those fields for so long in terms of emergency situations where you scared.

I think that certain area where especially late night radio audiences might be your very much and Sebastian you're here to reassure us that even if I never want to pick up a console and play video game these dramas can still give you something special.

They're not video.

It's a radio adaptation and the movie is playing in your head.

What's what you bring to it.

Many thanks to Sebastian batkovic and Paul Connell you can listen to Splinter Cell firewall on Radio 4 on Fridays at 2:15 p.m.

Hands on the limelight podcast on BBC sounds like the changes to the 4 Extra schedule in recent weeks has not gone well with some of you.

Say hello, my name is Judy I live in Kent why have you changed the perfectly good format in particular? I've referred to the crime and thrillers are normally between 8 and 9 p.m.

On weekdays, please, please put it back to where it was hello.

I am from Wimborne Dorset routine of listen to Radio 4 Extra between 12:00 and 14 while preparing my lunch and eating it too old comedy programmes followed by a simile old whodunits for the very nice my routine.

I now find it disturbing at the schedule has been changed quite considerably from East Hatley in South Cambridge my wife and I've been listening to the 20 weekday primarily on Radio 4 Extra for every decade but from 5th of December without any warning.

It is no more crying.

Don't worry, just a different time it over the BBC sounds to find out more said that that evening I've looked and there is nothing on BBC sounds about any change so can feedback discover why the 20:00 crimes has been dropped, please including exactly what statistic of any the control had to prove conclusively wanted to change the person Behind Those changes is mohit bakaya, the controller of radio 4 and 4 Extra can I ask you what is the Russian when does changes do you know and can you tell I do know and I can tell you for extra as you know is the station which has Marco programs which repeat through the day.

We know that charger people listen to for extra for listen for under 10 hours a week and that audience often comes to for extra because it's looking for two specific things which comedy and drama but the place where most.

Was coming with the daytime there was less comedy and drama so we were trying to create a more consistent drama and comedy offering for the vast majority 80% of the audience are coming to follow through the day do that we had to shuffle around the schedule a little bit which meant they were them changes like the one you describe but most we've left morning pretty much on tacho people still getting what they wanted in the morning a few things are going to be slightly lower Radio 4 rethink for extra is a service that we would like more people to know about and to enjoy and to listen for longer and in order to do that make a future with maybe one of the things that seems to be annoying people is it was done without any announcement mean surely.

You could let the perhaps you made a mistake on not telling people.

That's true.

We didn't have people maybe you should have done.

I think we thought it was something that was probably working progress that we would ride out and it is working bro.

Cos we've not too sure we're constantly reviewing and reflecting on it.

So it may change further know if there are certain and

Working for the majority of the audience with you know we evolve it further and then because it was a work in progress.

We thought best not to have a big teddy moment because it wasn't something that's really was going to stay in May of this year Tim Davie the director-general of the BBC serve notice that for extra would cease as a broadcast station in a few years time.

Will it snow in County Clare vs.

Who speaks for many Claire hello nice to meet you.

I speak for many people.

I think I'm probably the silent one who listen to for the night many of a hold of course you know the demographic for for Extras probably over 60s at least many over 80s and many of us and a bit lonely possibly and at the moment.

It's the only thing that can lighten our Darkness so to speak and make us feel.

There is something out there to entertain us.

So when are you going to stop broadcasting it and why well again? It's always touching and moving to hear how important services from Radio 4 Extra off people and I really take that seriously there was an issue as you know as part of the BBC be coming over digital-first outfit and that is just simply for the BBC to be successful in them in the modern world and noted BBC of she has limited and so if decision was made to stop for extra on DAB it's not a donedeal it's something which was a direction of travel and a reason for that is because the content in still will and still will be available in sounds now how that would be available and sound is still being discussed it could be a linear stream inside of it could still be that still enjoy everything that she in.

The moment but it'll just been coming to her to a slightly different meaning so weird laughing.

We want to do is take that away from people because we know how important it is so always looking at the moment is the way in which is delivered it might just be that changes to reflect the more digital-first nature of the organisation was getting a little bit like local radio on all of the people that I don't know if there is one of them that actually enjoy it.

Will you want to listen online they want to listen on their radio? I understand that and as I say as the technology develops who knows how that we're both.

I think it is worth.

Just keep know if you are a smart speaker which is essentially like ready you can just say play me BBC sounds and for extra content and they're it pops up so I think there are ways in which the content you get Claire will continue to I'm glad to hear that.

Do you think that there's any chance that we could have a six music moment here and it could be saved from the axe if we get enough people complaining.

Well.

I mean that's

Show me to say as I say we have got plans to keep for extra content in front of the audience.

It will be for others well my thanks to Radio 4 and 4 Extra controller mohit bakaya, and that was just a taste because next week the whole program will be devoted to a conversation with no head and he's going to be answering your questions directly well.

That's it for today.

Thank you for listening and thank you for giving us your feedback.

I'm Andrea catherwood the producer is chill Davies and feedback is a whistleblowing Scotland production for BBC Radio 4.