US Mid-Term Elections 2014 Coverage

Listeners tell the BBC what they thought of its coverage of the US mid-terms in which the Republican Party took control of both houses of congress for the first time since 2006. Some listeners allege bias in the BBC’s coverage, on both sides – it is too pro-Republican or it is too pro-Democrat. Ric Bailey, who advises on BBC Editorial Policy for elections across the world, answers those claims.

At Over to You we want you to be the media analysts and this week it is the turn of students from the Columbia School of Journalism in New York. They have been analysing the BBC’s coverage of the mid-terms and comparing it with the way the US media reported them. And, with the mid-terms over, the students look forward to the 2016 presidential elections and tell the BBC what they want from the coverage in the lead-up.

And, Newshour’s Jamie Coomarasamy talks to Rajan Datar about his experience of reporting the mid-terms from the states of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Washington DC. He discusses how the BBC is seen by both voters and political parties in America.