logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
39m 18s

Does The BBC Get Its Trump Coverage Righ...

BBC News
About this episode

How do we cover a headline-grabbing former president who falsely claims he never lost the election?

Two of our bosses step into the worldwide HQ of Americast for the kind of conversation we normally have in our morning meetings: what past mistakes can we learn from and what’s the BBC’s strategy for reporting on Donald Trump’s campaign and his court cases?

HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah Smith, North America editor • Marianna Spring, disinformation and social media correspondent

GUESTS: • Paul Danahar, BBC News Foreign Editor • Adam Levy, BBC News Channel Executive Producer

GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast

Find out more about our award-winning "undercover voters" here: bbc.in/3lFddSF.

This episode was made by Daniel Wittenberg, with Rufus Gray, Catherine Fusillo and Hayley Clarke. The technical producer was Emma Crowe and the editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.

BBC SOUNDS CHAPTERS: 7:14 – Is Trump a special case? 21:59 – Does the BBC have a liberal bias? 28:33 – Should we show Trump's speeches live? 33:58 – How will the BBC cover the 2024 election?

Up next
Nov 24
Americanswers… on 5 Live! What’s really going on with Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine?
<p>Donald Trump has posted on social media that ‘something good just may be happening’ when it comes to negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, after overnight talks in Geneva.</p><p>European leaders criticised a 28-point US peace plan when it emerged last week, saying it was t ... Show More
31m 21s
Nov 21
Marjorie Taylor Greene v Donald Trump
<p>The Georgia Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is being celebrated by Democrats for being one of the few Republicans to stand up to Donald Trump in recent weeks. From the Epstein Files to the cost of living, Greene has been vocal in her criticism of the current a ... Show More
36m 28s
Nov 19
Will Trump delay releasing the Epstein Files?
<p>Donald Trump says he will sign a bill to release the Epstein Files after it passed nearly unanimously through both houses of Congress. It’s a notable shift in position from the president, who’s come under increasing pressure from Republicans and Democrats to release all files ... Show More
31m 5s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2023
Could a reshuffle revitalise Sunak’s government?
<p>It’s almost time to wave goodbye to the summer, but is Rishi Sunak also poised to bid farewell to some of his ministers? The FT’s Whitehall editor Lucy Fisher is joined by columnist Stephen Bush and political editor George Parker to discuss a cabinet shake up. Plus, the FT’s U ... Show More
35m 52s
Jan 2023
Are the Tories running the BBC?
The BBC's mantra is that impartiality - and the perception of impartiality - must be at its core. Yet following revelations in The Sunday Times we are coming to understand the nature of the relationship between the former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his financial n ... Show More
31m 20s
May 2023
Local elections: How bad was it for the Conservatives?
<p>For Prime Minister Rishi Sunak the results were ‘disappointing’, Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer claimed his party was heading for power and Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey wore a ‘Cheshire cat’ grin. What do this week’s local elections in England show about the likely direction of the ... Show More
24m 6s
Feb 2023
105. Question Time: Foreign ownership in football, the BBC vs. Modi, and conspiracy theories
What should we make of the Qatari bid to buy Manchester United? Why is Modi's government raiding the BBC offices in India? And why did Rory's appearance at the Bilderberg Meeting lead to claims he was part of a global lizard conspiracy? TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is ... Show More
39m 4s
Nov 2022
Piers Morgan on Ronaldo and the return of Trump
Donald Trump is running for president again... to the surprise of no one. Not even the legion advisors telling him now was a really really bad time to announce it. He's on a bit of a low - the midterm results were a stinging rejection of the candidates he backed - and the electio ... Show More
39m 46s
Dec 2022
Why is Trump hanging out with racists (again)?
Donald Trump is insisting he was set up by Kanye (Ye) West over that dinner party he accidentally hosted for a white supremacist leader. NBC News is reporting Trump's fury at West - who he thinks is deliberately trying to embarrass him off the electoral map. But some think Trump ... Show More
29m 31s
Nov 2022
David Dimbleby: Are journalistic values under threat?
Where do you get your news from, and do you trust it to be true? For many of us, the answers to these questions are changing. Social media is an increasingly dominant source of information; long-established news sources, like the BBC, are in a fight for audiences and for trust to ... Show More
23m 52s
Feb 2024
Will Young: popstar to politician? Plus Westminster ceasefire row
Nish and guest co-presenter Liz Bates set the scene on what went on to become a chaotic night  in the Commons, that put speaker Lindsay Hoyle’s job at risk. They call out the “pathetic and petty” political game playing that sought to use the suffering of people in Gaza to embarra ... Show More
54m 22s
Feb 2024
61. James Rubin: Working for Biden, American intervention, and the fight against Russian disinformation
“You took me to one side and said be very, very careful of these people, these neo-cons. Because they’re going to use this to do all sorts of stuff that you shouldn’t be involved in.” What are the limits of foreign intervention? Do the American people still want their country to ... Show More
1h 8m
Aug 2023
160. White House or jail? The future of Donald J. Trump
Will Donald Trump end up in prison or back in the White House? Why is the gap between politics and the legal arena becoming ever narrower? Is Net Zero at risk of becoming the new Brexit issue in British politics? Join Alastair and Rory as they answer all these questions and more ... Show More
57m 29s