Reply from BBC Complaints regarding Feedback on 1/5/25

 This reply was received on 23 May 2025.

Thank you for contacting us about Feedback on 1 May.

We note your concerns regarding the inclusion of listener comments about the BBC’s coverage of the Pope’s death and funeral, and the impression this may have given about the nature of radio coverage.

The programme aimed to explore the BBC’s editorial approach to a major global event, rather than focus solely on where it was broadcast. Listener correspondence featured in the programme related to the BBC’s overall coverage of “the death and funeral” of Pope Francis, across television, radio, and online platforms.

On BBC radio, regular news updates were provided throughout the day of the funeral. The inclusion of an interview with the BBC’s Religion Editor was intended to offer broader context on how such events are covered across the BBC.

We do hope this provides further clarification, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with us.

Complaints are sent to senior management and we’ve included your points in our overnight reports. These reports are among the most widely read sources of feedback in the BBC. This ensures that your concerns have been seen by the right people quickly, and helps to inform decisions about current and future content.

If you’d like to understand how your complaint is handled at the BBC, you might find it helpful to watch this short film https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints. It explains the BBC’s process for responding to complaints, what to do if you aren’t happy with your response and how we share the feedback we receive.

Thanks again for getting in touch.

Kind regards, 
BBC Complaints Team 

Partial transcript of Feedback (BBC Radio 4, 1/5/25)

First section of the programme only. AC = Andrea Catherwood, AM = Aleem Maqbool. I've omitted most of AM's responses as they're not relevant to the point at issue.

AC: Hello and welcome. It's the last Feedback of the series, but that doesn't mean you can't tell the BBC what you think. You may already have received a questionnaire asking for your views on the future of the BBC. Well you've been letting me know what you thought about the coverage of the death and funeral of Pope Francis. And on Radio 3, Clive Myrie's Music on the Front Line has fired up your interest.

From early morning on Easter Monday, when it was announced that Pope Francis had died, that news and coverage of his funeral in Rome has been a major story across the BBC.

[Clips of Radio 4 coverage, including Jane Steel reading news, Paddy O'Connell, Edward Stourton]

AC: Even though the Pope was an elderly man who'd been seriously ill in recent weeks, the news was still a momentous event. After the solemnity and drama of the funeral, the thoughts of those in the Vatican, the wider Catholic church and the media have turned to what lies ahead. Well in a minute I'll be talking to the BBC's Religion Editor, Aleem Maqbool, about the preparations and coverage, but first here's some of your comments.

Voice 1: Hi, this is Susan Teggart in Leeds. I want to thank the BBC for the amazing coverage of the requiem mass and the removal of the coffin of Pope Francis. The commentary was respectful, knowledgeable and informative. I'm certain no other broadcasting corporation would have covered it so brilliantly. It was wonderful to be able to see the whole mass and hear the detailed explanations given.

Voice 2: This is Iris Waugh. I'd like to comment on the death of Pope Francis and the subsequent formalities and services, including the formal funeral procession and laying of the Pope in his preferred spot. I thought the British-based media coverage was professional, courageous, well-researched with expert commentary. Thank you to all involved in this sad event.

Voice 3: Hello, this is Agnes Mack from Glasgow. I would like to thank the BBC for their coverage of the funeral of Pope Francis. It was very much appreciated to have the opportunity to take part in the service. The whole team did a great job.

AC: Well after a very busy time in Rome, Aleem Maqbool, the BBC's Religion Editor, has still found time for Feedback. So Aleem firstly, thank you very much indeed for this. As you've heard, many of the comments from listeners to Feedback have been complimentary about the radio coverage. Words like "knowledgeable", "praise for the detailed explanations". Now obviously you've known for some time that the late Pope was unwell, but I wonder just how much preparation you and the team had been able to do before the news of his death?

AM: Well it's lovely to hear those comments of course. We knew he was a man of 88, he had various complications in terms of his health over recent years [etc.]

AC: Of course the tone is so important at events like this. For some listeners, this is such an emotional, spiritual and profoundly sad occasion, and of course for others it's just a news story. So how do you go about getting that balance?

[Reply from AM]

AC: It's interesting that you brought that up, because one of our listeners said they were very offended. Because they were mourning the passing of an amazing caring man, and they said that all the BBC wanted to talk about was its scandal. Now this is not the day, they said, and yet of course there are others who would be appalled if you were to report on Pope Francis and the Catholic church more broadly without mentioning its many controversies.

[Reply from AM]

AC: Now of course for many listeners, even those with no affiliation to the Catholic church, the next chapter holds a lot of interest. All of those of us who have read or watched conclave will know how much intrigue and politics may be taking place behind the closed doors as cardinals choose the next Pope. I suppose there's a balance too in how you cover that.

[Reply from AM]

AC: Aleem, good luck with all that research, and we look forward to the next chapter. Aleem Maqbool, religion editor of the BBC, thank you so much for joining us on Feedback.

AM: It's been a pleasure.

Misleading item on Feedback (BBC Radio 4, 1/5/25) concerning the Pope's funeral

This is a version of an email that I sent on 7th May to Whistledown Productions, who are responsible for Feedback on BBC Radio 4, including a few explanatory links that weren't necessary for the email.

Update (17th May): There was no reply from Whistledown. A version was submitted to the BBC on 17th May as an official complaint (slightly edited to meet the 2000-character limit).

On Thursday 1st May BBC Radio 4 broadcast an edition of Feedback, the programme devoted to listeners' views on BBC Radio. The first section of the programme consisted of correspondence from a number of listeners apparently complimenting BBC Radio on its coverage of the Pope's funeral, followed by an interview with Aleem Maqbool, Religion Editor for BBC News. The programme is available to hear here.

There was no indication on the programme that there had been no live coverage of the Pope's funeral on the BBC's domestic radio services. As indicated here, there was television coverage on BBC One and on the BBC News channel, but the only radio coverage was on the BBC World Service. This was in an extended edition of the news programme "Weekend" and the service was not covered in full. The World Service coverage was also carried on the "Live News" stream on BBC Sounds but there wasn't much publicity about this.

As Feedback doesn't normally cover either television or the BBC World Service, it seemed an odd thing for listeners to be writing to the programme about. The first comment broadcast by Feedback appeared to be about the TV coverage, as it referred to an opportunity to "see the whole mass".

The second comment was almost certainly about the World Service coverage, as it referred to the "British-based media coverage", so was presumably from an overseas listener. Exactly the same audio clip was played on Over to You, the World Service's equivalent programme, and it can be heard at around 3:40 here. Over to You and Feedback are both made by Whistledown Productions so it's possible that correspondence sent to one programme may have been included in the other. However there was no mention on the programme that the correspondence wasn't sent directly to Feedback.

I'm not sure where the third comment came from.

The comments made by Andrea Catherwood at the start of the interview gave the clear impression that listeners had written to Feedback complimenting BBC Radio on its coverage of the funeral. Some listeners may have been misled into thinking that there had actually been live coverage on Radio 4, 5 Live or elsewhere. There was no correspondence commenting on the lack of coverage, which I had been expecting when I tuned in to the programme.

Please could you explain how Feedback was able to present such a misleading item?