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

Spare a thought for the BBC's newish Director of the World Service Peter Horrocks.

No sooner has he sat down in his seat in Bush House than his paymaster, the Foreign Office, announces an unprecedented cut of 20 per cent in its funding.

No sooner has Mr Horrocks announced the inevitable closures and loss of jobs that have resulted, after tortuous negotiations with the Board of Management, the BBC Trust and the Foreign Office, than his chief lieutenant Craig Oliver announces that he is going to work for the Prime Minister whose Government has just inflicted such pain.

Mr Oliver is the new Andy Coulson or Alastair Campbell, running the media operation at No 10 and perhaps even now preparing to complain about the way his former employers have reported the latest Downing St initiative.

He certainly knows who to ring.

Craig Oliver ran the BBC's election coverage and edited its main TV news programmes, so jaws didn't just drop in the newsroom when news of his political appointment flashed up on screen, they crashed to the floor.

Of course I knew none of this when I interviewed Peter Horrocks in Bush House on Tuesday evening. I thought he looked a little distracted, but put that down to boredom with my questions, which were hardly original, as opposed of course to those which you, dear listener, had sent me.

When I talked to Mr Horrocks I asked him about the statement which William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, had made in the House of Commons, that the BBC had originally proposed that up to 13 languages should go but that the Government had refused permission for such a large cull. Was that true?

Here at Feedback we are eagerly awaiting the appointment of a new Chair for the BBC Trust, the person who is supposed, above all, to protect your interests. As soon as we know who he is (and it most likely will be a he) - we'll try to get them on the programme. Let me know what you'd like to me to ask him.

Roger Bolton is presenter of Feedback

• Listen again 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 @BBCR4Feedback.
• Peter Horrocks wrote about the cuts on the BBC Editors blog last week.
• Richard Sambrook, once a Director of Global News at the BBC, has some advice for Peter Horrocks in The Guardian. Neil Midgley in The Telegraph says that MPs are angry with the Foreign Secretary about the World Service cuts. Melanie McDonagh in The Evening Standard says that "life can carry on without the BBC World Service."
• The picture shows BBC World Service staff protesting against the cuts outside Bush House. It's by Ben Sutherland. Some rights reserved.

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.