Trial by Media

Lucy Worsley continues the new series Lady on Trial, where courtroom drama meets history with a twist.

Lucy and her team are meeting women who find themselves at the centre of extraordinary legal battles, from the 18th century to the 1920s.

But in this episode, we’re putting something else on trial - the media itself.

In our first four cases, Caroline Norton, Elizabeth Chudleigh, Audrey Jacob and Annie Kenney, aren’t just judged in the courtroom. They are also judged in newspapers, pamphlets and gossip columns.

Lucy is joined by journalist and broadcaster Anoushka Mutanda Doughtery, who hosts the BBC Sounds podcast Fame Under Fire, and Professor Rosalind Crone from The Open University. They’ll discuss if it's ever really possible - either then, or now - for a woman to have a fair trial when a case goes viral. And why, three centuries on, women are still being judged in the court of public opinion.

Producer: Julia Hayball Readers: Clare Corbett, William Hope, Jonathan Keeble and Dave Mason Head of Production: Claire Myers Sound design: Chris Maclean Assistant Producer: Alice Homewood Executive Producer: Kirsty Hunter A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4