Roy Whittaker (on the left) and David Henderson

The two Doctors: Sylvester McCoy and David Tennant

Orwell and a group of writers and critics (see below for details)

Alistair Cooke, presenter of Letter from America, in 1946

Rosie Cavaliero, Ron Cook and David Tennant

On the 5 live blog station controller Adrian Van-Klaveren has written a post detailing 5 live's coverage of the tenth anniversary of 9/11. He recalls where he was at the time (as I'm sure we've all done in the last few days):

At the time I was Head of BBC Newsgathering. I remember catching up with the breakfast news and then setting off for some meetings at the BBC's Washington office. It seemed an entirely unremarkable news day. After 15 minutes walk, I arrived in the office to find an extraordinary amount of activity for that time of the morning. The first plane had struck the Twin Towers.

Within the coverage Peter Allen and Stephen Nolan will be reporting and presenting from the United States, including special programmes from Florida where President Bush heard the news and Victoria Derbyshire will have rare access to Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, presenting her Friday programme from there. You can find more details and leave a comment on the 5 live blog.

On Monday night Radio 1's Mike Davies presented a musical history of 9/11 and its aftermath, featuring interviews, archive and the sounds of the likes of Moby, My Chemical Romance and the Beastie Boys.

Radio 2 marks the anniversary with Faith and 9/11. Journalist and Pause For Thought contributor, Abdul-Rehman Malik guides listeners through a reflective anthology combining personal reflections - past and present - with news archive including an interview given to the BBC by the Archbishop Of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, shortly after the terrorist attacks.

A Guernica for Gotham on Radio 3 investigates how New York artists have responded to the destruction of the Twin Towers. Interviewees include composer Steve Reich and writer Meg Wolitzer.

Radio 4 is currently broadcasting the second half of this year's Reith Lectures under the title Securing Freedom and you can download the first of Eliza Manningham-Buller's lectures, Terror, from the website.

There are details of Radio 4's other coverage on this page 9/11 - Ten Years On including The Saturday Play Washington, 9/11 and The Day before 9/11, a portrait of New York, America and the wider world as it was - the day before.

Gwyneth Williams, the controller of Radio 4, has written about Radio 4's coverage of 9/11 on the blog, where you can find out more and leave a comment.

Paul Murphy is editor of the Radio blog

Unless you have kept well clear of the media this week, you will have seen or heard that we have been marking the 60th anniversary of the world's longest running continuous drama. The Archers has been a central part of listener's lives since 1951 and, if nothing else, the past few days have proved that it is precious and in rude health.

As you may be aware, debate is raging, particularly over the instantly infamous death of Nigel Pargetter in the special double-episode that ran on Jan 2nd. Even before his extended scream as he fell from the roof of Lower Loxley Hall, the messageboards and Twitter were buzzing. The reaction has spanned many emotions: listeners are angry, supportive, underwhelmed, overwhelmed, shocked, sad and enthralled. Above all, what is clear is that they care, deeply, about what happens in Ambridge.

I understand that some listeners think the special episode received too much attention, but we do need to be able to showcase and highlight the wonders of radio drama. The Archers is quite different to other dramas and I agree that we should let audiences quietly find the plot (too much 'sell' can be counter-productive), but this was a special occasion and we view it as a very rare set of circumstances. We should resist the sense that there is a growing need to sensationalise to build impact.

Also, those that do not believe that recent revelations were big enough to have "shaken Ambridge to the core" (the words of the Archers' editor, Vanessa Whitburn) should listen for a year or two to see just how big these events are: not in comparison with TV spectaculars but for the residents of Ambridge (and the loyal listeners).

Meanwhile, if you have not heard the programme or want to read the comments from listeners, here are some links for you to explore. Now is a good time to immerse yourself.

Tim Davie is Director of Audio & Music at the BBC

• Listen to the dramatic anniversary double episode on the Radio 4 web site and to a full day of Archers episodes from the archive on the Radio 7 web site.
• Archers scriptwriter and web site editor Keri Davies has put together a round-up of media reactions to the anniversary episode for the Archers blog.
• The Archers web site was recently relaunched. The site hosted the weekend's celebration of the 60th anniversary, including a day-long live blog and a special 'tweetalong' during the big episode.
• The Archers messageboards are among the busiest at the BBC (over one million comments per year). There is a new Archers blog, a Facebook page and a Twitter account (the hashtag is #TheArchers). All have been hugely busy during the build-up to and the aftermath of the anniversary episode.
• Nigel Pargetter was played for 27 years by Graham Seed. He was interviewed on Today on Tuesday.
• The phrase "shake Ambridge to the core" first occurred in a formal BBC document called the 'statements of programme policy' where it was picked up and popularised by listeners. The hashtag #SATTC has been widely used.
• The picture shows the Pargetter family. Left-to-right: Nigel (played by Graham Seed), Lily, Elizabeth (played by Alison Dowling) and Freddie.

Editor's note: Jem Stone is the manager in charge of the messageboards at BBC Radio. Listen to his appearance on Radio 4's Feedback from earlier this afternoon - SB

At lunchtime today I was interviewed on the weekly Radio 4 programme Feedback for an item that covered recent changes to the design of the Radio 4 message boards. After the forums were updated last Wednesday afternoon, various threads were started by users upset with the changes and several users emailed the programme frustrated with a number of bugs and overall how the new board was working. The interview was pretty brief so I've tried to summarise. Here are the points that I discussed with Roger:

Why did you make these changes?

The change in look finally brings the messageboards in line with other pages on BBC Online. The pages have been simplified and several new features such as 'sticky threads' - which users and hosts had been asking for - have been introduced. I scheduled the work for Radio 4 as part of a change that's been going on across all the BBC's messageboards over a number of weeks.

Are the problems fixed?

I regret there were some immediate snags to do with font size, opening hours and the ability of users to start new threads. These were all fixed earlier this week thanks to board users identifying them quickly and alerting these issues to hosts. Thanks again for doing so and also helping other users who turned up on the board with similar queries and problems. The remaining batch of minor fixes are scheduled to be rolled out next Wednesday.

Why didn't you foresee these issues before you made the changes?

We always expect a number of bugs and snags when we make a change as substantial as this. It was of course, significantly tested but I'm sorry that for a few days, some users were affected.

David Williams, the product manager for blogs, responded yesterday, and explains in detail the process for launching the changes and fixing problems. There is a further update to the message board software next Wednesday which should fix the remaining bugs.

What about The Archers?

The Archers is Radio's most popular message board and I had scheduled The Archers message board to be upgraded by the end of the month. However we've now put that back until we've done some more testing and I'm satisfied that the latest round of bug fixing is successful. We will obviously be in frequent discussion with Mustardlanders throughout.

Where do message boards fit on Radio 4, alongside recent launches of blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter profiles?

We've had message boards at the BBC for a decade and they continue to be important for Radio 4 programmes such as Word of Mouth. The parodies, instant feedback, and insight we get from the large Archers community is shared regularly with scriptwriters, for example, and are an integral part of that programme's website and production. However, many users prefer to engage with Radio 4 in other ways, on Twitter or on Facebook, for instance.

We regularly update our blogs, making announcements and providing a place for managers to explain their decisions and we think this is an effective way for Radio 4 to interact with listeners and users of our digital services. You can see the full range of ways to join in with Radio 4 on our new Comment page.

It's worth saying that these days budgets are tighter than ever and, for stations where users are increasingly engaging with us in other ways or where the boards are used by a small number of listeners, then we have had to close some.

I'll be keeping an eye on comments here but also over at the board so feel free to ask questions here.

Jem Stone is Executive Producer, Social Media at BBC Audio & Music

• Listen to this week's Feedback, produced by Karen Pirie, get in touch with Feedback, find out how to join the listener panel or subscribe to the podcast on the Feedback web page.
• Feedback is on Twitter. Follow @BBCFeedback.
• All of the BBC's messageboards are listed on this page.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006slnx

Get those tweets tweeting, and those emails flying, Feedback, the show which airs listener's views and concerns relating to BBC Radio, begins a new series this Friday.

Getting your voice heard, as a listener, has never been more important. If you care about radio, make a noise about it. The BBC is grappling with a diminishing licence fee. Don't let radio play second fiddle to TV. Don't let Strictly Come Dancing steal a march on The Archers. This is a critical time for radio. It is perhaps more important than ever that listeners engage with BBC managers, producers and talent. If BBC stations are to improve and thrive, Feedback from listeners is all important.

So, as I say, Feedback is beginning a new series. Roger Bolton still stands solidly at the helm, and the programme has a new independent production team - Whistledown Productions. It'll be as rigorous as ever, representing your views to the people at the top of the BBC and demanding a response. Reaching those who ultimately make the decisions, but who often hide from the public gaze.

We'll also be looking at how programmes are made. Lifting the lid on all those little secrets that producers like to keep to themselves.

We begin this new series at a particularly interesting time. Radio 4 has a new controller. When Mark Damazer took up the reins, we knew he was into American Baseball and Bruce Springsteen; were told he had a passion for history and achieved a double first from Cambridge. Looking back now, could we have predicted any of the changes he made and the series' he commissioned? In our first edition we'll be taking a look at Gwyneth Williams, does her past offer any clues to the future of Radio 4, some analysis is called for.

There is little question that with a new controller, come new ideas. Everyone likes to leave their mark, and perhaps there is no better time to leave yours. Let us know where you think Gwyneth should focus her attention. If you were the controller of Radio 4, where would your axe fall ? Would you reorganise the schedule? During this series we will be looking at your ideas for the future of the station.

Feedback, is of course, not just about Radio 4. That is the main reason I am writing here, rather than on the Radio 4 blog. Although the programme is broadcast on 4, it's there to represent the views of listeners to all of BBC Radio. So get in touch, whichever station you're tuned to.

Kevin Dawson is Executive Producer of Feedback

• Listen to this week's Feedback, produced by Kate Taylor, get in touch with Feedback, find out how to join the listener panel or subscribe to the podcast on the Feedback web page.
• Read about Gwyneth Williams' first week in her new job, Mark Damazer's final interview about his Radio 4 career and about a highly influential earlier controller.
• Feedback is now on Twitter. Follow @BBCFeedback.
• The picture shows a BBC general staff meeting in the Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House in 1932.

As a BBC Director who is often defending the BBC's actions against critics, I often get asked if the BBC could be more vocal about its strengths. So with this in mind, forgive me if this blog is a somewhat shameless celebration of what we do best.

Last week, I hosted a drink to say goodbye to Mark Damazer, the tenth Controller of Radio 4. Apart from paying tribute to Mark's successful tenure at the helm, it was a chance to reflect on the joys of the network and celebrate the strength of radio. Despite all the changes that the digital revolution brings, the fact that Radio 4 is achieving record listening is testament to the quality of its programme teams who deliver radio across a wonderfully broad array of subjects.

But to assess the true value of the network, it is sometimes best to move away from the UK and experience a culture devoid of Radio 4. In 2001, I moved to Connecticut for 2 years and while I appreciated so much of American life, almost every evening I would go to the computer after putting the children to bed and listen to programmes such as Today or In Our Time on Listen Again (as it was once called). On returning to the UK, I can recall that my first decision in this job was to confirm that I wanted our domestic networks to continue to be available for free online across the world. It did not cost significant money and there was no clear way to commercialise the services, so it was an easy decision to make.

On this theme, an article published in the LA Times this week not only drew attention to the strength of radio but gave a perspective on how Radio 4 is perceived beyond our shores.

To radio lovers, an explanation of the appeal of the station is not likely to be surprising news. However, the LA Times article also touches on a point that is central to UK radio and stretches beyond a pure celebration of Radio 4. It makes the case that appropriate public funding in radio broadcasting can lead to a stronger overall radio market. UK listening has remained healthy versus the US because of the diversity and breadth of what we offer. Of course the BBC must remain utterly distinctive versus commercial stations but when used appropriately the Licence Fee can help build the overall size of the radio market and stimulate growth across all sectors, commercial and BBC, by ensuring that radio does not become sub-scale in an increasingly competitive, global media sector. Of course, this does not mean that growth is all down to public funding; ensuring enough space for further commercial competition and driving industry innovation is also critical.

As for Radio 4, I am sure that with the very capable Gwyn Williams now in the Controller's seat, you will hear it going from strength to strength. Meanwhile, when you do travel abroad, do try to get to a computer and have a listen. I may be a touch sentimental but when you are thousands of miles from home it is easy to agree with Stephen Fry that Radio 4 is "the best reason for living in the UK". I wonder what the second best reason is?

Tim Davie is Director of Audio & Music at the BBC

• Henry Chu's article appeared in Sunday's Los Angeles Times. It's the first in a new series by Times foreign correspondents about the ways of their host countries.
• Gwyneth WIlliams, Radio 4's new Controller, wrote about her first week in the job and Paddy O'Connell interviewed Mark Damazer on his departure, both on the Radio 4 blog.
• The picture shows Evan Davis in a Broadcasting House studio preparing for a recording of The Bottom Line.