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Feedback: Keeping it impartial

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10/03/2017

Keeping it impartial

BBC Radio 4 - Feedback, Keeping it impartial

Should Jenni Murray be free to air her views outside the BBC? Listeners debate.

Listeners consider whether free and frank debate is more important that impartiality. And 5 Live's Emma Barnett reveals the secrets of Budget Day broadcasting.

This week a storm of controversy has surrounded Woman's Hour presenter Jenni Murray. Many listeners feel a newspaper article she wrote breached the BBC's guidelines on impartiality and compromised her presenter role. Others supported her right to free speech. We hear from listeners on both sides of the argument.

John Humphrys has also attracted criticism. During a Today programme interview he suggested that referring to MP Jo Cox's murder as an act of terrorism could "muddy the waters". Listeners say he "muddied the waters" himself and was inaccurate. They share their views on his remarks.

On Wednesday, Philip Hammond got to his feet to deliver his first Budget. TV and radio teams braved the rain and mud, crowding onto College Green to cover the story. We follow Emma Barnett and the 5 Live Daily team to find out the secrets of broadcasting the budget from a flimsy tent in the pouring rain.

And finally, Val McDermid has been pondering the horrifying prospects of a world where antibiotics no longer work. Her drama Resistance was inspired by a two-day Experimental Stories workshop hosted by the Wellcome Trust and Radio 4, where radio producers and writers met scientific researchers to develop dramas. Starring Gina McKee, listeners loved the dram's dystopian vision. Val McDermid talks about why she chose a music festival as the setting for her unnerving story.

Presenter: Roger Bolton
Producer: Katherine Godfrey
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

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