News-watch Survey – Radio 4’s ‘Brexit: A Love Story?’ September 2018

News-watch monitored and analysed all thirteen editions of ‘Brexit: A Love Story?’, broadcast between March and September 2018 as part of Radio 4’s lunchtime news and current affairs programme, The World at One. The series was also made available as a podcast, and for download through iPlayer from its dedicated web page.  

News-watch Survey – Britain at the Crossroads – March 2018

On March 29, 2018 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a day of programmes about Brexit designed to reflect the issues involved one year before the EU departure date. Eight separate programmes were involved: special editions of Today, The Long View (a historical discussion programme), The World at One, Dead Ringers and the World Tonight, along with ad hoc commissions The Channel, …

Dead Ringers clangs out anti-Brexit bias

On 29 March 2018, the Radio 4 broadcast a day of programming under the title ‘Britain at the Crossroads‘ marking a year to Britain’s scheduled departure from the EU. The following is an extract from News-watch’s forthcoming report into the day’s coverage. Performers from the Radio 4 comedy impressions programme delivered six two-minute sketches broadcast at intervals throughout the day, …

News-watch Survey of Radio 4’s ‘Brexit: A Guide for the Perplexed’ – February 2018

News-watch monitored the five editions in Series 3 of BBC Radio 4’s ‘Brexit: A Guide for The Perplexed’, broadcast each lunchtime between Monday 19 and Friday 23 February, 2018. Each programme was a 12-minute pre-recorded package, presented by the BBC’s Europe Correspondent, Chris Morris. The titles were: ‘Medicines’; ‘Food’; ‘Gibraltar’, ‘Brexit’s most Vulnerable’ (principally about post-Brexit prospects in the West …

News-watch Survey – Winter 2017

This survey focuses on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme during the period of the fifth round of Brexit negotiations, 4 October – 9 November 2017.

General Election Survey – October 2017

The survey covers EU content in the campaign period (3 May to 7 June) of the 2017 General Election on BBC1’s News at Ten and BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.  

BBC Bias by Omission – Leave and the ‘Left’ – October 2017

This paper examines the BBC’s coverage, since 2002, of those on the left who wanted to leave the EU, including during the 2016 Referendum and the 2017 General Election. Data is from 30 individual News-watch surveys, analysing over 5,500 hours of BBC output, and 274 hours of EU-related content.

Today Programme – Article 50 Survey, May 2017

News-watch analysed all EU and Brexit-related coverage broadcast on the Today programme for one week between 29 March and 4 April 2017, coinciding with the delivery of the letter informing the European Union of Britain’s intention to leave, as set out in Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. The Today programme carried 5 hours and 5 minutes of EU coverage, …