Read this: 28/02/2020 Radio 4 Feedback

BBC sounds music Radio podcasts like just about every BBC News Bulletin for the last 2-weeks with coronavirus and some criticism.

I think the BBC should temperate language and remember that some people are very easily frightened by the thought of the spread of disease and infection as the virus spreads the world BBC coverage has been called both complacent and alarmist it is certainly under scrutiny and she's so pretty critical public service moment for the BBC doing interviews with the world Health Organisation or public Health England or ministers and just working through.

What are the facts want to people want to know? What should I do in this situation? I'll try and find out from the head of BBC output Gavin Allen and it's been one of the biggest items in our inbox some listeners would like to skewer the skewer and new comedy on Radio 4 the program was nonsensical and gibberish.

Challenging funny refreshing talking about the same program, I was talking to his creator John Holmes who says it's new you spin a passively you need to bring some intelligence to this and you need to bring something to the party to get the most out of it and I think it rewards those who put the working and yes, it's the return of our regular in which we take a couple of business out of their comfort zones this week a father and daughter gun ramblings with Clare Balding I was anticipating lots of nature noises you know like trees rustling and babbling Brooks and father and daughter find out later.

The coronavirus Covered 19 has been hitting the headlines for the past couple of months and has now sent today's Nick Robinson into self isolation he been on holiday in Southeast Asia global cases of the virus of past 80080 in China but with relatively few days so far but now the virus is spreading to other countries with major outbreaks in Iran and the numbers are now rising in the UK many people are asking if the virus is about to become a pandemic.

How do you cover a story that is rapidly changing and has public health implications without causing hysteria.

This is what some of you have had to say about the BBC is reporting sofa Jackie Francis I think the coverage of the virus has been reasonable asking straightforward questions that the public would ask is best the experts you have spoken to have been measured and careful with the language.

They have used although I

Everyone is waiting for the P word pandemic Gillian Cunningham as a nurse with 40 years service I think the BBC should temperate language and remember that some people are very very frightening by the thought of the spread of disease and infection.

Please try to balance your reporting by emphasizing the healthcare professionals doing their utmost to prevent a pandemic well.

I'm delighted.

I Got Talent the BBC head of news output is this one of the most difficult stories you've had to cover it's certainly an interesting combination of Factors in the sense of being really calm and actual and precise and insuring a tonal languages is absolutely spot-on and contextualized at the same time as explaining something that is quite striking in simple newstalk pretty amazing events of your shutting down cities of 11 million people but you've been with her and audience will certainly if you're doing with me who doesn't have a very good sense of risk in a we don't understand the

Risk, so it's tearing presumably to give context all the time and the moment you bring the story first and you're doing the dramatic headlines and things around the world.

It's difficult to stop people sitting back and calmly saying well actually this is not yet as dangerous as many other things that are going round in the Air I think that's right.

I think the key word there is the word calmly.

I think it is about every time we speak about it of making sure we have given that context of this lovely fellow teammates and the the infection rates and what actually happened to the most people even if they do get Corona virus which is actually quite cold symptoms, but it came being really crystal Clear every time we speak about it it also comes down at the beginning of that you were talking about it.

I don't know the relative risks.

It is about making sure that people have questions pretty fundamental questions about it or listeners.

We are answering were actively proactively answering those questions that language is crucial in all of this as well.

Francis Just earlier everyone's waiting for the pandemic and most of us don't understand what that it is accepted Sarah close to panic the whl seems to be back in away from the scene that expression when would you use pandemic brother like you I had to double check the definition of pandemic before you know when we're in a discussion about it.

It's not something we're going to use without other people having used it in terms of an official capacity so you're right the whole30 being a pandemic but in a sense that's less meaningful for audiences, then, what does that actually constitute what changes if it is a pandemic? What does that translate into in my real life? That's what we're interested in trying and explain to the question of your use of expert something which exercises some of our listeners dad Whitaker has been well balanced over a walk, but the Editors have a hard job.

All the experts have different opinions and they change their viewpoints almost daily in response to new facts as they emerge so running stand-alone interviews with different experts on different days the day program has been doing greatest of Carousel of interview bubbles each disconnected from one another and from any previous interview with the same expert and all that noise makes it difficult for the listening to make sense of what their hearing David Elliott macondo the Highlands thank you Sarah for attempting in your interviews on world at 1 to get some stomach is stereotyping the world over the Corona virus epidemic.

It's no more dangerous than flu, but this truth is lost in the noise of the dam next words the consequences of exterior are likely to be greater than the threshold the virus itself and it's down to the media especially the BBC to avoid this.

How about some interviews with people who had the virus.

Recovered or isn't this good news news on this deal that question of experts the ones you choose particularly when they differ how do you decide which expert to give her time Marlborough was going to look at their background their expertise and a level of expertise and depth of knowledge of course and Roderick economist literally any time that you can pick there are going to be different views, what that actually shows there's a lot we don't know about the ground virus and it's important that we keep explaining actively what we don't know as well as what we do and that we can take me to keep pointing to information on the web sites that we have so that even if you heard this experts say x obviously the question and you can elucidate and clarify some of the points are amazing, but you also point to the body of Evidence else and what about David Elliott point that you have shouldn't be emphasizing the positive stories of Recovery more.

Small days of old fashioned type of flu making sure that we are clear on the various as we currently know them percentages and risk.

It is absolutely behold on a clear about that but he could I think it's also important that and as we have on the world one princess that we do hear from people who have caught the virus have recovered from the tell us about what happened to the symptoms etc, and I've got a lot of people don't really want to talk about it, but we are absolutely open to hearing those stories to explain the likelihood the risks and playing some of those figures well a lot of that be answering a lot of questions obviously from listeners, but in West has a few more that he wants and we do not know how the disease jump to Lombardo Veneto we could be tracking the production of vaccine more closely, which Labs I have not heard much about the nursing treatment of those suffering severe and moderate severe symptoms.

Tell us I am asking for more than use this is public health, but we do want to know and need to know that we don't have time to go through all those specific questions.

Would you be putting those on your website the answers to those on your websites as many questions we are inviting questions all the time as many questions that we can give answers to anything we're still unclear of the answer to this question.

It's important that we can buy everything that we and the experts know and I take the point about the news and public health and they often blur reporting the news faithfully accurately and calmly you are helping on the public health information site as well and let me just say one of you and West Point we could be tracking the production of Vaccines more closely with slabs.

Are you tracking it? We were only this morning actually but we are news at your meeting but as with everything at these meetings is like no no we have done that.

I'm doing that we did do it a couple of weeks ago and by it's nature is incredibly slow process and that's after the difficulty but we are going back in back and back to try and find out progress as and when they do the trials can I ask you about the editorial meetings which are having here on Corona virus, which presumably are attended by all of the Editors of the different outputs.

Are you all using the same experts in a meeting like that? You did say Donna central line that you're going to take and then everybody if you like reproduces that or what what I was doing anything.

It's own for with us so many different avenues to explore I think what's important in those meetings absolutely to make sure that only we're all on the same page that we're not here to scaremonger here to inform and to answer questions but of the 15 different routes.

You could be looking at sports.

You could look at the business impact you can look at what's happening in Iran or in China or Korea or a course UK measures or travel advice.

It is about different programs for different audiences making a judgement.

Where they think their editorial route is most productive compared to what they previously done and finally it's rather strange isn't it at a time of real crisis like this the secretary of state for health is not to be heard all day programme this apparent.

Boycott is still going on.

Have you been on to number 10 saying these circumstances surely the sexual state should be on arguably the most important Radio 4 News what is for the government to decide which outlets they want to go on and what they want to say obviously for the 7 million listeners to the sabre and they would welcome as much clearer information as they can that include public Health England ministers and the world Health Organisation that's an open invitation to come on the programme of course as and when relevant my thanks to Gavin Allen BBC head of news output.

Please do let us know what you think about that interview or anything else to do with BBC Radio this is how you get in touch you can send an email to feedback at bbc.co.uk.

The address is feedback PO Box 67234 London se1p 4ax you can follow activity on Twitter by using at BBC R4 feedback or you can call us and leave a phone message on 03345 standard land charges apply, but it could cost more on some mobile networks all those details are on our website which we asking to BBC Radio listeners to step out of their comfort zone's and listen to a program that wouldn't normally be on their radar last series we had a mother and daughter at this time with father and daughter from South London Simon to give us a sense of what you're listening habits are if you're on the mythical does darling.

What would be your top 3 programs you to try it with you anyway?

Free thinking on Radio 3 which is a discussion programme decades with Martin Freeman on Radio 6 which was 18 hours worth of music from unusual taste and great and it's listening the media show and Ariana Grande you don't actually listen too much too as it work commercial radio at all.

So what you been listening to traditional radio programs.

I have enjoyed with my parents.

Obviously you have enjoyed the News Quiz and my teenage diary, but I mostly listen to music are used most of my music on YouTube recently got Spotify so I sent her stuff on there, because you can download it.

You don't need an internet connection to listen to wherever you are asked you to listen to ramble on Radio 4 with Clare Balding broadcast on Thursday on Radio 4 at 3:30 in the afternoon this edition of the long-running series went out on the 13th of February and featured a celebrity couple.

Heavily pregnant Helen Glover and her husband the wildlife broadcaster and adventurous Steve Backshall Simon how to describe the program.

Can you explain what it's all about it remind bit of down your way in the you've got a National Treasure in this case Claire Balding's going round the country of different places each week and interviewing Ordinary People whilst going on a walk.

I think it's supposed to be collecting on sent a sense of well-being that you can get from the countryside when I've had two years ago.

I went with them that I was not the subject of watching them for this program and the band the programme was apart from going to beautiful places that you might encourage people to go to in some ways people walking together over appeared.

I more likely to be open and honest with each other and you find out things that you wouldn't usually find out did it was on this occasion.

It was a good interview but usually I was quite surprised, but I don't think this is typical of the series.

But they had a couple of the guest where a couple of celebrities are the Steve Backshall and Helen Helen Glover who's the Olympic gold medalist so I don't think looking on the website.

I think the other episodes of people towards the end of his wife, but she'd never been in a boat until 3 years before the Olympics which I thought was Jaws dropping Lee impressive.

What about you everything to me because I don't seems to battle as a child.

I know this sort of adventure wildlife programmes were insane things and Sunderland sharks and a half the time the other half the time.

I was familiar with seems that was very interesting but to do learn more about him than you had done in other forms of broadcasting and Helen for you you I mean I bought with.

Who have family members expecting babies no been waiting for the phone to ring but this is the first time I've walked with someone who is expecting to give birth anytime could happen today.

They going for a long walk could induce labour, but this really uncomfortable, but no, I don't feel like it any time soon now was this a ramp because normally it's supposed to be walking you learn about the countryside has loads of the people.

I was really disappointed in that respect because I was anticipating lots of nature noises you know like trees rustling and the babbling Brooks and I didn't get any of that in the studio.

I was really just put I think I missed the trick I can't believe it's always like that.

Well.

It is normally only a few of them over the years and and I think there is a more sense of place, but perhaps they thought he said to such fascinating people not police the fact that was expecting.

Morning so much good conversation that maybe that's what we cut that in order to move the journey on maybe that's the problem I had to do we have you know five seconds every so often have just quite silent so the list could be drawn into the place tomorrow.

What day did say in the program is that in this series they going to make a particular to relate spirituality to walk in the outside no see this is your mental health and perhaps of benefits of walking and being the outside of mental health.

Do you think this is a good idea to explore this territory in this phone eventually I think it would work well for a lot of people.

I find obviously living in Greater London going to London on most every single day centre, London you walk plenty and I think genuinely I do think it does have quite a good impact on my mood but I don't necessarily have to be in the countryside and don't.

Works for one person may vary City person, so I wouldn't mind being in the countryside necessarily that no, but I can recommend going up to the River Thames up towards her places like that anyway.

I'll stop the public relations for the question is here at the new one of course your comfort zone here.

Do you would want to listen to the program to another edition Simon I think I would because the way you're describing it sounds quite good and I'm assuming on the presumption that this was an emotional episode.

I think I would give it another go but if they fail to give me noises of nature again.

I would certainly wouldn't receive that.

Are you going to give it another girl a pass probably pass was very wholesome very relaxed and I think it doesn't fill a gap for me.

I will carry on and Simon Hargrove up from sat, London thank you very much.

Do let us know if you would like to take part in that feature and go outside your comfort zone.

A satirical river of Sound and a platform for diverse new Talent this is topical set I like you've never heard it before well.

That's a claim made by BBC publicity latest series by the multiple award-winning comedian John Holmes he is responsible for or has contributed to some of Radio Forth best love comedy programmes including being co-creator of drinkers.

I don't think you could put his latest creation the skewer in that category at least not yet.

The first series which is just finished sharply divided the feedback audience for those of you who haven't heard it.

Yet is a taste.

The 2019 book entitled no one is too small to make a difference Tim Berg and Sharon from Eastenders well, so that was the Christmas day, or slash New Year's episode of EastEnders only lose track of Eastenders technically every Christmas on his dad seems to go a bit like that.

Doesn't it? But somebody was asked a question about Greta thunberg on Mastermind and custard person replied Sharon to Dumfries in the studio and this because you know who wrote this book and you.

So I'm at work.

I'm siding with the big story by Sharon in EastEnders seems like an obvious need to just go with that story.

That's how it works as you know.

Did you start from front of us? I've got a broad concept of what I'm trying to do here.

I want to associate all of different things and find relationships of people wouldn't find and just do that have people laugh about it or did that individual thing just leave out to you and think that's just ridiculous.

I'm going to use it well.

It's behind the program was to make topical comedy like you've never heard it before so I locked up comedy Radio 4 The News Quiz news Jack even and use Jack is an entry point for new which is great because I got into writing comedy with weekend just before it was axed and I think that's important way into comedy for fledgling writers.

What there wasn't was a program taking the right jokes, but will fill with audio which is of course what people do these days and cutting up bits of Sound and I thought I think you should be a platform peep-toe platform for.

Brand new broadcasting that's playing around in the digital space that is not their fault on jobs doing is hobbies and let's make a program opening at dawn involving all of these people and people sending into ideas which should have been conventional jokes position of contributors to the first series gardeners, Essex a supermarket delivery driver who lives in the north the counsellor from somewhere else to teachers and then sort of audio and send it over sort of mixed not mixed with finished structurally and others would just say that I can't edit but I had this idea.

I think it might work for the spirit and send me the idea and can you find the links the audio links for this doesn't have legs and then I can make it.

I just want to look at some of the emails have been sent to us.

Why is it called the school but I don't know you that well, let's see how old is reacted with Bob Moses from Mansfield Woodhouse please may I think everyone involved in the production of the skewer.

2 minutes for difficult what is this on my radio do I have to put up with another 28 minutes of it, then I realised it was brilliant topical with excellent production of challenging funny refreshing more please Barbara Broomfield with the launch of secure.

I was wondering if the compilers and subsequently the program planners were all indulging in illegal substances in my opinion that the program was nonsensical and gibberish regularly listen to feedback and have no doubt that if and when a producer or spokesperson appears, they will deny that it is dreadful and arrogantly implied that the listener is out of touch hello.

This is Mark nellthorp from Portsmouth I just had feedback on the radio for satirical comedy show the skewer it is brilliant Radio 4 comedy has gone depressingly downhill in recent years with awful nonsense like

Arthur Strong but the skewer has restored my faith in the commissioners, it is sharp innovative and place the strengths of radio.

It is a very long time since there has been anything so exciting on the radio.

This is what Radio 4 should be like more of this.

Please Peter Lyle the skills BBC Radio 4 web pages full of unattributed quotes like some straight to video movie poster.

It's blurb says sat out which is weird because it's soundvision juxtaposition fascist Donald cetera on Saturday as I understand it.

It's more like a woke Piers Morgan than an air tube Victor Lewis Smith Chris Morris order Steadman you look at this audience is right down the middle is the passion or its rejection? Did you expect I think what I aim to make with something very different if you get.

I'm ready for a lot of it bubbles along in the background all radio is like that.

You know it's very much of passive medium if you like, I like television we can't have to focus on it, so I wanted to create radio that you sort of would be sorted by if you put a bit of working you have to do that.

I just do it twice actually quite interesting one as it was standing radio receiver in which in I didn't get lots of it and then listen with headphones on subsequent immensely rich, but how's your audience to know that had to which order do you say look everybody has got headphones to bother listing you going to piss off.

I think you get two things.

I think one is we did say it's better with headphones and all of the continuity announcements opening the program anyway, so it was that there but also what we have found with people getting in touch is people that have done.

I'm not sure as one of your Correspondents there, so not sure about this in the first to me, then they've gone back and listen again and opened themselves up to it and come out it going well that actually seeing quite brilliant because it's late and I think you get more.

If you put the work in and lean into it and we not patronising patronising you explain the set-ups in the job.

We're saying no you need to bring some intelligence to this and you need to bring something to the party and I think it rewards those who put the working that's ok.

If you want that programs and do a bit of work and you will be rewarded.

Have you learnt from this first serious because I believe he's going to be another one.

There is a change in the light of the audience response to this first series in all honesty.

I the only three negative responses.

I've seen are two from you there and one on Twitter and that that was interesting because the lady said me and said that I really don't like this program.

I don't understand it's just noisy and I was on my way to work and listen in the car and I didn't really get it and it's not for me.

That's perfectly fine nothing has to be for everybody.

Like it but you know go back and have another listen.

You might change your mind if you message me again and said actually I did sit in the car listen to it again and the sequence of that you do about male suicide jokes here which we got poignant stuff going on he did a lot on Holocaust memorial Day we've done male suicide the Grooming stuff in the north or the big issues, which he couldn't normally do on a program.

So it has given satire way of doing it on the radio, but she said and I had a very concentrated then I did and I find it really really moving ok you want but I think that's great that somebody taking the time to put the working advantage that have to ask you the question posed by Barbara Broomfield where you indulging in illegal only problem.

Is that what you were doing? Ok? Thank you very much indeed John Holmes and that's it for this week next week will be joined by the editor of The Archers to discuss the gym storyline about.

How well was it handle do let us know your thoughts until then goodbye.