Covering Trump, BBC sitcom season, Vice's new TV channel

Published: Aug. 17, 2016, 4:16 p.m.

New York Times media columnist, Jim Rutenberg, has described how journalists who disagree with Donald Trump now face a dilemma in terms of their impartiality. "The American press has all but abandoned impartiality when it comes to the Republican's wildest claims", he writes. It's a similar problem to the one that faced broadcasters in the UK, especially the BBC, who were accused of 'false balance' during coverage of the EU referendum. Steve Hewlett speaks to Jim Rutenberg, and Emily Bell from Columbia Journalism school, about the challenge of covering Trump's campaign. The media company, Vice, famed for its youth-oriented outlook, is launching a new TV channel in the UK. It will be available on Sky and Now TV, and - it says - will feature all new and original content. The company launched the US version in February this year. But how successful a venture will a linear TV channel be for a young audience? Steve Hewlett speaks to Tom Harrington, analyst at Enders Analysis. BBC Comedy is reviving some much-loved sitcoms including Goodnight Sweetheart and Are You Being Served?. It's part of a season to mark 60 years since Hancock's Half Hour - considered to be the start of British situation comedy as we know it - started on BBC Television. But can this genre, which relies on innuendo, smut and difficult themes like race and sexism, exist in a modern world? Steve Hewlett speaks to Shane Allen, Controller, BBC Comedy Commissioning; writer Derren Litten who has written a new version of 'Are You Being Served', and legendary writers Lawrence Marks and Maurice Gran, famous for 'Goodnight Sweetheart' and 'Birds of a Feather'. Producer: Katy Takatsuki.