Steve Matthewson

Thank you! Love Digging For Britain so I’m going to enjoy your writing!

Oh goodness! That must be a real drudge. I’d never considered that use of AI. Glad to hear your publication still has a healthy reader channel like that but AI must strip all the authenticity out of their opinions. Do you get a lot? How do you even fact check all of them?

@profaliceroberts.bsky.social I have some downtime I am treating myself to 1 or more of your books for the summer. Which should I start with? Ancestors, Buried or Crypt? Does it matter if I start with Crypt and work backward?

Social media platforms now feature so much AI content - some of it slop, some of it misinformation, and some which is competent and clever - but in all cases the platforms ought to have built-in AI detectors on each post so users can immediately verify its provenance.

A New Report Takes On the Future of News and Search The Tow Center for Digital Journalism interviewed news and tech industry representatives about AI’s impact on platforms and publishers. They expressed some hope and a lot of trepidation.

"I don’t think it’s that we shouldn’t change; it’s that we shouldn’t change because [platforms] ask us to change. We should change because our users demand something different from us." www.cjr.org/the_media_to...

Having just co-supervised two MA candidates (in the social sciences, not science) I can't help but think their learning experience would have been diminished if they had used AI to construct their results and conclusions. Summarization and organization of data, sure.

There was a sense of Bond‑style drama about this. You’ve literally got Real Madrid right there, tied to a chair. So, yes, why not bring on the overly complex revolving blade death-scheme. Is this really the best option here? Put the shark tank away. Forget about the room full of deadly snakes. You don’t get another chance with these guys.

Obviously delighted to see #Arsenal win the away leg of their Champions League quarter final but this lovely writing by @barneyronay.bsky.social just cracked me up 🤣https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/apr/16/rice-finds-antidote-to-madrids-magic-and-provides-glimpse-of-his-ultimate-potential

I've known plenty of fellow journos like this ... “Tom, dear boy, let’s get a---holed. Got any doobie on you?”
www.msn.com/en-gb/health...

Americast - Goodbye, Joe: Biden's Legacy (Part 1) - BBC Sounds How will he be remembered on the world stage?

You’d think it would be pretty routine but it’s rare (and gratifying) to hear a popular independent podcaster acknowledge their actual news sources (which a lot of news “influencers” really don’t) - in this case Tommy Vietor www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Some great insights here, especially the opportunities to enhance story finding.

Paul McClean graduate trainee programme Applications will open in December for our 2025 intake

The grad trainee programme at the FT is extraordinary. We train you for THREE years you get decent money and an overseas placement. I've seen other news trainee schemes and this one is exceptional.
It's open now. Pls share with anyone you know who would benefit d/l 14/1/25 www.ft.com/content/314f...

Great anecdote here from former FT editor Richard Lambert on the time Manmohan Singh came to the FT to talk with him and Martin Wolf. H/T @andymukherjee70.bsky.social

Wow. It didn’t take long for this to hit the bargain shelf…

This reminded me of a story my mother told, about how customs officials in apartheid South Africa in the 1970s confiscated her copy of “Black Beauty” thinking it was some
seditious polemical tome. Some things have changed at least.

So here goes with Bluesky… it feels like ages since social media was genuinely fun. And a place for real discovery and connection. IDK if this solves it but I’ll give it a go.