Richard Sambrook

Media literacy - Committees - UK Parliament This inquiry will seek to establish a clear vision for what good media literacy would look like in the UK, and examine the barriers to achieving this vision. The committee will consider the roles and ...

The House of Lords just released a major report on media literacy. Its core message is that the UK is falling behind, and it’s putting democracy at risk.
committees.parliament.uk/work/9030/me...

There are a lot of idiots enraged by this misleading Times headline.

The article itself - yes, the exact same one - points out that:

A) In any typical year, about 50 independent schools close

B) More independent schools opened than shut, so the overall number went up.

But that's far too nuanced.

The government may need to look into proscribing X if Elon Musk can not contain calls for terrorist violence

Is there a case for climate optimism? Two books argue that, despite the gloom, environmental progress is still possible through science and diplomacy

on.ft.com/4ousXn2 Is there a case for climate optimism?

Substitute tulips for crypto?

YouTube video by Cambridge Disinformation Summit Journalism & Democratic Backsliding: thoughts on responsible journalism

Cambridge Disinformation Summit webinar, from 2023 on

Journalism & Democratic Backsliding, with

NYU Prof @jayrosen.bsky.social
Cardiff Prof (former BBC) @sambrook.bsky.social &
CityU Fellow (former Haaretz) @panievsky.bsky.social

youtu.be/MrAnVd35bcE

I wish someone would invent a really cynical AI bot that responded with things like “don’t be so f#%^*ing stupid” …

No that’s not what’s meant here (or in the @thenewworldmag.bsky.social article). Applies to The Jackal or other male characters just as much. Fair point about Bond - but the new crop are pushing on-screen violence further than Bond or Bourne.

As @thenewworldmag.bsky.social said last week, the problem with TV like #TheAssassin or #Blackdoves is we are meant to sympathise with vicious mass murderers. And the comedy doesn’t really get us past that.

Would definitely have leaned over …”Actually …. But in this case you’re right, there’s no chance now !…”

If you're in or around the tech policy debate in the UK (and other places) you might be wondering what sovereign AI *actually* means, and whether it can make a meaningful difference.

Others have noted that this means foreign-born people are LESS likely than UK-born people to be in prison. What I want to note is that The Times is now referring to foreign-born UK citizens as ‘foreigners’. This includes Boris Johnson, Sir Mo Farah, Emma Watson, Rory Stewart and little old me.

The radicalisation spiral Why does it happen and can it be stopped?

Another must read from @samfr.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/blog/2025-07...

Desalination: the costly solution for a thirsty world [FREE TO READ] As water scarcity spreads governments are ploughing billions into a technology that comes with its own environmental costs

Fascinating @financialtimes.com Big Read today on a cool but imperfect (expensive, dirty) way of reclaiming fresh water for the world’s arid zones.
on.ft.com/4o7hyt9

"Is Britain about to blow?" asks Matt Goodwin promoted a two hour special event on the subject.

Their greasy desperation for violence and carnage, so they can profit off it, is so disgusting.

Britain isn't broken We have our problems but the doomerism is getting out of hand

Required reading

samf.substack.com/p/britain-is...

The billionaire and the tax evading gift shops Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital manages a row of high-profile shops at Piccadilly Circus. So why does his team keeping renting them to students who vanish without paying millions of pounds in taxes?

He's one of Britain's richest men. So why does Asif Aziz's property company keep leasing London gift shops to overseas students based in abandoned offices or flytipped car parks — before vanishing without paying millions of pounds in taxes? www.londoncentric.media/p/asf-aziz-l...

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/blog/2025-07...

How magical thinking came for net zero critics Badenoch shows the temptation of just putting all this climate unpleasantness behind us

My column in tomorrow’s paper: on the magical thinking that has emerged on net zero and what drives it:

Vaccination saves lives. The news a child has died of measles is shocking and so easily preventable. #VaccinesWork #Measles

Let’s swap notes before I come to talk on it again in October!

Thanks - interesting piece. Surprised they don’t mention @trosenstiel.bsky.social who has been writing - sensibly - about this for longer than most ….

It’ll fall under the “editorial purposes” exemption surely?

The Path of the Outsider By: Erik Rittenberry

poeticoutlaws.substack.com/p/the-path-o...

She needs to be careful with bbc independence …

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/blog/2025-07...

Collaborative journalism explained - Media Helping Media Newsroom collaborations are a powerful way to bolster and broaden journalism, allowing all types of organisations, from established global media to new digital ventures and local community sites, to p...

mediahelpingmedia.org/strategy/col...