Over to You

Live broadcast has been part and parcel of radio since its inception. For this episode of Over to You, we are behind the scenes of BBC OS to hear how live radio is made daily on one of the flagship programmes of the World Service.

Breaking news is fast moving, at one moment there is a vacuum of facts and the next a deluge, all of which must be packaged and presented to inform the public responsibly. Presenter Qasa Alom speaks to Danny Savage, BBC News Northern England correspondent, who reported live on location in the aftermath of the October 2025 Manchester synagogue attack.

With the arrival of the internet and new media came the live news blog, updating almost minute by minute of breaking news. We hear from BBC News Senior Journalist, Emily Atkinson, the editor who ran the live news blog on the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting.

A familiar companion for radio sports fans is the voice of the commentator. Building plays word by word, adding colour, spitting stats and giving words to pure emotions, a live radio sporting event does not exist without commentary. Qasa speaks to a BBC Sport commentator about what it is like to shepherd an audience through a match or game.