A lesson here for people who think direct grant might be a replacement for the Licence Fee www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...

Terrific Lyse Doucet piece from Tehran on Today

Have a read of this. Great scoop, obviously, but it’s also an absolute masterclass in how to report on these jokers. Plenty of London-based hacks could learn a lot from Martin Shipton here. If they actually wanted to… nation.cymru/news/the-new...

Although, as May’s election in Wales is set to show, choosing the right system to replace FPTP is not straightforward

so a month ago I was reading @markpackuk.bsky.social’s speech on Twitter in the lords and there were obviously fake stats the government used to justify Twitter’s UK reach and its continued importance to British audiences Rob has now found the source of the data was… Twitter

How to be a journalist, by one of the best. Carlos Hernández died this week. @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Absolute chills

Gonna need to see a bit more detail soon from the Met Police about what exactly is being prejudiced by not releasing these docs when there is no active proceedings or charges.

Hot Take 2: if this is Mandelson's position, there is no reason for him not to issue a statement to this effect. If he has not issued a statement to this effect, the BBC's "understanding" of his actual position may be inaccurate. Stop letting people play this game.

Free speech fundamentalists latest

1) Public service broadcasting (PSB) under political attack across Europe. PSB orgs & supporters must do better at pointing out how PSB is -- by far -- the most trusted news outlets across the continent. In an EBU study of 26 markets, PSB ranked as most trusted in 16, and 2nd to 6th in 7 more.

"those running down this country, almost by force of habit, may be in for a big surprise" - I wonder who AEP has in mind... www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...

'Rough Sea.' (c1916) During WW1, Christopher Nevinson made numerous seascapes alongside more direct depictions of war. After his service was ended through shell shock he painted what one reviewer called 'really profound and pictorial expression to the emotions aroused by war.'

It’s got to be Truss, hasn’t it?

What a thing that a) people are just wandering round secretly filming women and putting their details on the internet and b) that we have devised a piece of equipment to make that sneakier www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is one of the strangest and most screwed-up stories I’ve worked on. www.londoncentric.media/p/tiktok-lon...

A new blog from the Enhancing the Impartiality of News project takes a look at who appeared on Question Time throughout 2025 & what those guest choices reveal about how the programme interprets political balance. 🔗 bit.ly/4jLeYY2 🧵👇 #BBC #QuestionTime #impartiality #impartialityproject

With Question Time returning to our screens for 2026, we decided to look back at who appeared on the programme in 2025 to assess how producers interpreted impartiality when selecting panellists, updating @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social's study of panellists from 2014-2024. tinyurl.com/yc77s5mp

I see the TACO rule has come to pass.

This is an absolutely amazing story and surely we're only going to see many more examples in the future. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Great get by Sky

media focus on Reform UK has obscured the likelihood that Plaid Cymru will lead the next Welsh government

Mind you, it's not even comparing apples and pears. More like a vast farmers' market with a specialist deli.

A significant moment. YouTube reach now higher than all BBC content combined. deadline.com/2026/01/yout...

This is really interesting. Economists think British people will do the jobs that emigrants give up. Employers are doubtful. www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/1d0e524...

Rolf’s Cartoon Club

You might have missed this if, like me, you took a break for socials over Christmas, but @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social has published his excellent analysis examining 10 years of panellists on BBC Question Time since 2014. It's a great read. We'll post an update soon with the 2025 numbers.

Who tries Maduro? Federal court? Military court? Because presumably Trump needs to be certain Maduro wont be found not guilty of the charges

Some interesting thoughts on the future of the BBC here

This is very good, realistic and sobering....

MTG on her split with Trump When you have a group of kids, you pick the one that is the most well behaved, that always does everything right, and you beat the living shit out of them. Because then the rest of them are like: ‘Oh, man, holy shit. If Dad does that to her, what would he do to me?’”

Final publication of the year: I examined 10 years of panellists on BBC Question Time. Some interesting findings - thread below: (1/6) journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Another really good data column. FT doing really good work at the moment. Almost outweighs How to Spend It…

Rise of Reform's coverage in TV coverage through 2025 well illustrated in our new @cujournmedcul.bsky.social study 👇

Our new Cardiff University study featured today in @scotnational.bsky.social 👇

In our latest blog, we (@stephencushion.bsky.social, @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social, @maxwellmodell.bsky.social & myself) analyse how BBC News at Ten & ITV News at Ten cover opposition parties & their leaders. 🔗 tinyurl.com/5ypk7wv4 #impartialityproject #politicaljournalism #mediastandards

BBC coverage of Nigel Farage and Reform UK under scrutiny on latest Newswatch. From midnight Fri on link/Sat 745am on BBC1 Breakfast www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Our new study 🚨'Are broadcasters reflecting multi-party politics in the UK? An analysis of BBC News at Ten and ITV News at Ten in 2025' written up brilliantly by @rmcunliffe.bsky.social in The @newstatesman1913.bsky.social Thread with headlines: www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Exclusive: Reform overtook the Tories as the most referenced opposition party on both the BBC and ITV. “Reform UK was the dominant party in more than twice as many stories as the Conservatives and just under four times more stories than the Liberal Democrats." www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Nuanced and engaging write up of our latest impartiality study in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social by @rmcunliffe.bsky.social Empirical evidence of how broadcasters actually cover opposition parties and how successfully they reflect an emerging multi-party system. www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

A good night for Channel 4 at the British Journalism awards - news provider and journalist of the year gongs secured pressgazette.co.uk/press-gazett...

'Vindication': Gaza film BBC refused to show wins British Journalism Award Ramita Navai told Press Gazette: "The whole process with the BBC was deeply disappointing and deeply upsetting" But she said Channel 4 stepping up was "journalism at its best" pressgazette.co.uk/press-gazett...

Great write up of our research tracking how the broadcasters have been covering the rise of Reform. Even if I seem to have lost my surname!

This was an extraordinary, spine-tingling moment, recognising fearless and crucial journalism. I don't think I've ever seen a standing ovation like that at a journalism awards do.

Let Starmer be Starmer www.thetimes.com/article/3f2e...

I hope they have a letter of marque

Gaza named deadliest place for journalists in 2025 @rsf.org report on dangers facing media globally www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...

Brighton bans The Guardian after it published reports about the owner. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

This is worth reading if you are at all interested in the future of the BBC and public service media. It's very accessibly written and informative.