Chris Waiting

Third Cyclical Review Confirms Impress Continues to Meet Charter Criteria The Board of the Press Recognition Panel (PRP) has completed its third Cyclical Review of Impress, the UK’s only Approved Regulator. Impress is required to demonstrate every three years that it contin...

📢 We have completed our third Cyclical Review of @impressorg.bsky.social, confirming its commitment to high editorial standards, freedom of expression, and robust protections for the public.

Read more about this important milestone in independent press self-regulation.

Sir, Any country pushing for growth must invest in its strengths, and Britain is no different. The UK is a global scientific powerhouse but investment in it lags behind that of our competitors. The government is facing a difficult spending review but that is exactly when a clear vision is necessary. Investment in research and innovation is investment in improved productivity, future growth and improved lives. From the development of life-saving vaccines to world-leading research in Al, clean energy and quantum technologies, this country continues to push the frontiers of global discovery and innovation. If we want UK and overseas businesses to continue to back the UK, and for our research institutions to attract and retain the best talent, the government must send a strong signal about increased long-term funding for the people and ideas that will continue to shape the world.

Dame Kate Bingham, managing partner, SV Health Investors Professor Julia Black, president, British Academy Professor Andrew Haldane, CEO, Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce Dr Hermann Hauser, co-founder, Amadeus Capital Partners and founder of Acorn Sir John Kingman, chair, Legal & General Group plc Sir John Lazar, president, Royal Academy of Engineering Professor Andrew Morris, president, Academy of Medical Sciences Henri Murison, CEO, Northern Powerhouse Partnership Professor Sir Paul Nurse, CEO, Francis Crick Institute Professor Sir Adrian Smith, president, Royal Society Sir Jonathan Symonds, chair, GSK

We are pleased to be part of this joint National Academies letter in the Times today ahead of the Spending Review making the case for investment in R&D
@royalsociety.org @britishacademy.bsky.social @raeng.org.uk @acmedsci.bsky.social

Kicking the Can on Press Accountability and Public Protection The UK Government continues to repeat its commitment to an independent self-regulatory regime for the press that supports press freedom and ensures the public has access to trustworthy information fro...

🚨 New Blog Alert! 🚨

We explore the stark contrast between the UK Government’s repeated commitments to independent press self-regulation and the reality, which leaves most of the press unaccountable and the public unprotected.

#PressRegulation #LevesonInquiry

The real history of free speech — from supreme ideal to poisonous politics [FREE TO READ] The 300-year-old doctrine is being tested by the excesses of digital oligarchs, says historian Fara Dabhoiwala

Good morning and welcome to your thread of FT Weekend highlights on this cold but mercifully bright weekend. First before you hear one more tech oligarch redefine free speech please read this fantastic essay on the history of an ideal on.ft.com/4hlBeFq

Heritage minister pitches CBC/Radio-Canada overhaul and a major funding hike | CBC News Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge announced Thursday a plan to overhaul CBC/Radio-Canada to shore up an institution she said is "at a critical crossroads" but one that is necessary as the country face...

As funding for CBC & PBS is litigated for political points, it is essential to know that there is a world of difference between 'publicly funded media' and 'state media.' See: www.cbc.ca/news/politic... & www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

"There is an art to the building up of suspense"

Bluesky growth over time

Here's Bluesky's growth over time since mostly October.

We launched when there were 300k mentions (Dec 3rd.)

Today's total is 1.22 million mentions.

Average of about 17k mentions every day. largest days were late January. The trend is heavily upwards across time.

Michael Taster, Jon Sutton, Chris Waiting, Liz Stokoe lined up against a red wall

#LSE #OpenResearch Working Group's 1st 2025 event "Publishing Beyond Academia" with panel @cwaiting.bsky.social @uk.theconversation.com, @jonsutton.bsky.social @psychmag.bsky.social, @michaeltaster.bsky.social @lseimpactblog.bsky.social, & me (having published with all three) - 🎥 to follow #SciComm

The UK should take a leaf from France’s book to boost arts funding Tax breaks for corporate sponsors can benefit the creative sector at a time of dwindling public funds

Can’t be repeated often enough

‘The UK’s creative industries are vital to the economy. Valued at £124bn, they are worth more than the life sciences, aerospace and automotive industries combined. Arts and culture alone contribute an impressive £34.6bn.’
on.ft.com/42hzVmL

Let us know how it goes! And if they have questions they think we should answer, they can send them in to: curiouskids@theconversation.com

Curious Kids News, Research and Analysis - The Conversation Browse Curious Kids news, research and analysis from The Conversation

Yes! Check out stories tagged as "Curious Kids". These are still written by academic experts but intended to be accessible for younger readers: theconversation.com/uk/topics/cu...

Where do you find your news? Social media serves us up an increasingly skewed perspective on the world. Some of our traditional media is extremely politically biased.
I like @theconversation.com - written by expert academics; curated but not politically steered by editors:
theconversation.com/uk

Generative AI guidelines for the classroom: A balanced approach Journalism students need to critically embrace the creative new technology, rather than being discouraged from using it altogether. But the right guardrails need to be put in place, too

The folks at @journalismnews.bsky.social have kindly produced an AI-assisted TLDR sharing my approach to generative AI use in the classroom. See how I am encouraging my @uosojc.bsky.social students to critically harness these technologies.👇

www.journalism.co.uk/news/generat...

a row of ten pens of all colours from black to red

#SciComm event!

Come to #LSE to hear & ask questions of *amazing* Editors: @jonsutton.bsky.social @psychmag.bsky.social; @cwaiting.bsky.social The Conversation UK, & @michaeltaster.bsky.social @lseimpactblog.bsky.social

📅 12-1, 4.2.25, & lunch:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/publishing...

#AcademicSky

A very important message to progressive governments:

"It is easy to imagine a situation in Britain where a far-right government defunds the BBC, where the vast majority of institutional journalism is supported by overseas and right-leaning billionaires, and where the channels for independent 1/3

Over the past 80 years, academic writing has become substantially harder to read 📉🧪 www.economist.com/science-and-... I analysed 350k PhD thesis abstracts and found that they've become more complex in every discipline, especially the humanities and social sciences

On Thursday we'll publish a report on attitudes towards platforms, authored by @waqasejaz.bsky.social @richardfletcher.bsky.social @rasmuskleis.bsky.social @shannimcg.bsky.social sky.social and funded by @knightfdn.bsky.social

Join our newsletter now politics.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...

People are often surprised when I tell them this: both Twitter and Facebook/insta/threads are now specifically engineered to downgrade, hide, suppress real journalism. If this platform is different, that's a huge change

Here's a starter pack of those (and one random editor): go.bsky.app/Jf3ZMWy

What about freedom of speech? - Press Recognition Panel When Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 was quietly put in the bin ahead of the 2024 UK general election, one of the most forceful arguments made in support of repeal was that it undermined n...

Should freedom of speech be a human right reserved only for large news publishers with deep pockets?

In our latest blog, we challenge this notion. Let us know what you think.

Paddington in Peru has been discussed & dissected with @theconversation.bsky.social here in Whitechapel

A lot of us have grown up with Paddington, across different generations. In thinking about Paddington as a story about migration & refugees, the question is whether & why we would value fables + positive stories: this idealised narrative in a children's story about Britain as a welcoming society

Check out bsky.app/profile/uk.t... - non profit, free to read, written by experts

“What is the [class] status, for example, of people who work in the gig economy? They're earning some of the lowest wages. But they are ostensibly self-employed, seen as their own masters. When, in fact, the algorithm is their boss.”

Cracking chat on class with @uk.theconversation.com's Laura Hood.

Trustwatch 2024: A playbook to rebuild trust in politics Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.

This is an interesting new report from Demos on restoring trust in politics. Among its recommendations, it revisits the Cairncross review's recommendation that a Public Interest News Institute be established to build an ecosystem of public interest providers (1/3).

‘Evidence banks’ can drive better decisions in public life From climate change to crime, repositories of good quality information are essential

‘Evidence banks’ can drive better decisions in public life - Anjana Ahuja on the value of evidence synthesis on.ft.com/486JLJn

As an editor, I help people say what they mean--and not say what they don’t mean. Here are some common not-quite-right words or expressions that I often see. This is not to embarrass anybody--I've made many of these mistakes myself. Please share your favorite fixes at the end of the thread. (1/n)

Today, the Press Recognition Panel launched a public call for information to gather views on #PressRegulation in the UK.

Have your say here: pressrecognitionpanel.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Thanks - we're on it!

The Conversation UK (@theconversationuk.bsky.social) Independent news website. Only publishes articles written by academics and researchers. No paywall, no ads. #weneedexperts Sign-up for our newsletters here: https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters...

So, as there's been quite an exodus from the other place lately I set-up the theconversationuk.bsky.social this afternoon.

Give it a follow if you think #weneedexperts