The BBC’s in a mess, but it’s not the mess you think www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...

Great write-up of our latest Caerphilly by-election report by Martin Shipton and Nation Cymru

New impartiality study: Contrasting media coverage of the Caerphilly by-election in Wales with UK-wide news: how did broadcasters balance parties and leaders? Thread 1/10 www.enhancingimpartiality.com/blog/caerphi...

UK media framed the Caerphilly by-election result around Reform's defeat, terminal decline for Labour and implications for Starmer's government. Victors Plaid Cymru played second fiddle. Welsh media gave Plaid Cymru and the immediate Welsh context greater prominence 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Full story below 👇

How Sky News investigated X's algorithm for political bias

Why is the BBC calling Zohran Mamdani "radical left"? A fair description or an echo of Donald Trump's language? open.substack.com/pub/mattwals...

Surprised that BBC R4 is using the tag radical left to describe Mamdani. Sarah Smith used it yesterday in a voicer at 8am, the newsreader did today in the same bulletin. Surely echoes Trump’s language.

Thoughtful and insightful reflection from the Caerphilly Observer's Richard Gurner on his experience covering the by-election. A reminder of the importance of strong local media and the danger of political reporting becoming personalised and individual journalists targeted. tinyurl.com/3m4v576v

Interesting 🧐 BBC just released their updated AI transparency labels. They have devised a simple, neutral shape (a hexagon) which is derived from the BBC blocks. The particular disclosure label is being trialled in BBC Sport live 👇 www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...

The Trump edit in the BBC doc is bad. It links two parts of the speech in a way that is misleading. A basic journalistic error. But it’s a few seconds of archive 34 minutes into an hour long doc broadcast years after Jan 6. It doesn’t invalidate the BBC’s reporting of the day or its consequences.

Ofcom has ruled TalkTV breached its impartiality rules after host Kevin O’Sullivan claimed the UK Government had “cancelled” local elections out of fear of Reform UK’s rise in the polls. 🔗 tinyurl.com/u55jmwbp TLDR 👇 #impartialityproject #politicalnews #politicaldiscourse #Ofcom #impartality

Today on Newscast Kemi Badenoch discussed her love of the Marvel, comparing her leadership to a superhero origin story. Kemi is not the first Tory leader to do this. Rishi Sunak also presented himself as a popular nerd, talking about Star War. I wrote about this in Journalism tinyurl.com/49krntzr

Not at all surprised by this. Most of it appears to be rubbish and although I've tried training it to not surfce crap, it continues to do so. pressgazette.co.uk/platforms/go...

In Chris Mason’s report on the Caerphilly by-election result, Plaid Cymru is the fourth party mentioned, despite winning the seat comfortably. Nigel Farage is named and pictured. Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth is noticeably absent. tinyurl.com/22c7cs5c

The Caerphilly by-election is yet another reminder that polls are not the be-all and end-all. Reform UK led in polls, but Plaid Cymru won comfortably. Broadcasters should remember polls are just one indicator of support. And when it comes time to vote, the outcome is often profoundly different.

If anyone wants to hear me talk about the impartiality of broadcasters, check out Roger Bolton’s latest Beeb watch podcast 👇 I discuss the latest findings of our @cujournmedcul.bsky.social AHRC project with @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social @perkinskeighley.bsky.social @maxwellmodell.bsky.social

New research by Dr Robert Jones (Cardiff University) & Dr Gregory Davies (University of Liverpool) reveals troubling accounts from Welsh-speaking inmates at Berwyn — Wales’ largest prison — who describe “outright hostility” to the Welsh language. 🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... TLDR 👇 #langsky

We've updated our analysis of media coverage of the Caerphilly by-election to go in-depth on the final week of campaigning. Including an analysis of Chris Mason's BBC News at Ten report which gave Reform UK's candidate twice the airtime of Labour's or Plaid Cymru's. tinyurl.com/4kw6m5a6

Our new @cujournmedcul.bsky.social research featured in the I paper showing news audiences want tougher scrutiny of Nigel Farage and Reform UK given the party could be heading for government. Thread 1/6

Thoughtful write-up of our latest audience study in @politicshome.bsky.social. We found the public supports the principle of impartiality, wants more balanced representation of political parties, and believe that more can be done to scrutinise the major political parties. tinyurl.com/yke8pkek

Our new AHRC @cujournmedcul.bsky.social research now focused on the impartiality of broadcasters in Wales during the by-election in Caerphilly - lots to debate and well covered in the Nation.Cymru 👇With @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social @perkinskeighley.bsky.social @maxwellmodell.bsky.social

The Impartiality Project (@stephencushion.bsky.social, @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social, @maxwellmodell.bsky.social & me) recently commissioned YouGov to survey public attitudes towards impartiality. The findings reveal audiences view trust, scrutiny & media regulation. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3tfm6rvf TLDR 👇

Following on from our Conversation article, Dr @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social, Dr @maxwellmodell.bsky.social, Prof. @stephencushion.bsky.social & I have just published a deeper dive into the Ofcom and BBC complaints data for 2025 on our website. 🔗 www.enhancingimpartiality.com/blog/ofcom-b... TLDR 👇

@perkinskeighley.bsky.social has done a brilliant job taking the lead on this report. It was a pleasure to be involved

Oh my god. Have I Got News For You just referred to this completely false claim as a fact!!

This coverage should provide a glimpse of what we can expect from the BBC going into the Senedd elections in 2026. Let's see what it has in store for us

I wonder if and when the #BBC will take a deep, thorough look at the past, the ideology and associations of the leader of #Reform? If we can’t rely on our national public service broadcaster to scrutinise in detail a person who wants to be our PM, then what’s the point of defending it?

It is probably a rash decision, but I've written about why the BBC - and especially BBC News - isn't all bad. And now, I'd best retreat to my bunker. open.substack.com/pub/mattwals...

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There's a wrong way and a right way to report this

At the Lib Dem conference, Sir Ed Davey accused the BBC of giving Nigel Farage and Reform UK too much uncritical airtime — going so far as to say its coverage sometimes looks like “copy and paste” from party press releases. 🔗 www.lbc.co.uk/article/ed-d... TLDR 👇 #impartiality #journalism

Committee To Protect Journalists says preliminary investigations show at least 201 journalists/media workers were among the those killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel & Lebanon since October 2023, making it the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.

Following Reform UK's shocking yet unsurprising media blackout in Nottinghamshire, NationCymru's news editor ✍️Emily Price discusses the party's recent behaviour towards the press in Wales

I wrote my own Charlie Kirk obituary, and about valuing truth over manners: www.thenation.com/article/poli...

Should the BBC be giving Reform UK so much coverage? (Cardiff Uni School of Journalism found it featured in a quarter of all News at Tens in the 6 months to June). Latest BBC Newswatch from midnight Fri on iplayer or Sat 745am BBC1/Breakfast www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

The BBC is coming under fresh pressure over its coverage of Reform UK after a university study found it featured in a quarter of News at Ten bulletins over six months

Amazing write up of our new study on the coverage Reform and Liberal Democrats on bulletin news. We found prior to the local elections in May coverage of Reform and the Lib Dems was low and broadly balanced. After Reform's success in locals their coverage spiked and sustained at a higher level

I had a great time test driving my new project on politicians being interviewed on celebrity podcasts. Podcasts are transforming the dynamics of set-piece political interviews. Moving from news logic to content logic. We need to start integrating this new set of practices and their consequences.

Day 1 of the Future of Journalism conference 2025 at @cujournmedcul.bsky.social It's time to get nerdy!

Another great write up of our balance on political panel and debate programme study, feeding into the news cycle about Tim Davie's appearance before the Culture, Media and Sport committee earlier today

The BBC are taking a strong stance to defend the prominence they are giving Reform UK in coverage given their recent success in local elections and opinion poll lead. But is there more they could be doing to scrutinise Reform and display a more diverse range of third party perspectives? I think so.

Great coverage of our @cujournmedcul.bsky.social study on journalistic impartiality - how should broadcasters allocate airtime to parties - should it by votes won/share or sustained polling data? Its an issue the @libdems.org.uk and @eddavey.libdems.org.uk are currently campaigning on...

Does Reform UK and Nigel Farage feature more in TV news than Lib Dems and Ed Davey? Our new study in @theipaper.com shows they do which suggests broadcasters are applying more weight to the latest polls than no. of MPs in impartial news reporting (thread 1/5): inews.co.uk/culture/tele...

While there’s a lot of criticism focus on Chris Mason’s Reform story representing BBC News, important to acknowledge BBC Verify’s rigorous analysis- shame this story below isn’t prominently displayed on the BBC homepage because it represents high quality public service journalism👇

Great write up of our political debate show study in The Media Leader - 'Broadcast debate shows prioritising Labour and Tory guests despite third-party surge' uk.themedialeader.com/broadcast-de...

New impartiality study 🚀 We analysed which politicians appear on UK debate and panel programmes. Broadcasters prioritise balancing Labs and Cons instead of reflecting the vote share in the GE or recent opinion polls, which show growing support for third parties. (1/7) 🔗 shorturl.at/pZjwv

So excited to start sharing our research on our new website! Impartiality is the bedrock of British broadcasting. We hope to defend its principles, improve public understanding, interrogate its application and unlimited enhance the impartiality of political news. 🔗 enhancinginpartiality.com

Rewriting The Telegraph's Lucy Connolly story has left the BBC open to allegations of bias and credulousness open.substack.com/pub/mattwals...

James Harding’s MacTaggart Lecture offers a vibrant defence of the BBC and an impassioned call for it to become truly editorially independent, echoing Emily Maitlis’ 2022 lecture. Three years later, at the boardroom and political level, nothing has changed www.youtube.com/live/94W9VO_...

A recent run of shoddy stories has prompted me to grumble about The Times. open.substack.com/pub/mattwals...