Media
Fox News wins it for Trump
“When the Trump era is over, incumbent Democrats are going to have to repair US institutions that this administration has damaged. If they want to do something about the polarisation of US politics, they may…
Options and challenges for Wales’s constitutional future
In her latest European Conversations podcast the author talks to a member of the independent commission on the constitutional future of Wales about its findings – and their relevance for Scotland
The plot to kill the BBC
“What we have is smoke in mirrors designed to weaken the BBC’s independence, cow its journalists, and ripen it up for dismemberment and eventual sale to the highest bidder. It’s short-term electoral politics and strategic…
Poor Things movie: Alasdair Gray revisited – and revised
“Lanthimos’s film and Gray’s text are independent but related works. It is worth remembering that adaptations are under no obligation to be faithful to source materials. There is no governing body adjudicating and no code…
Israel and Hamas: the debasement of discourse
“To portray the Islamist fanaticism of Hamas—its radical-conservative ‘purity’ laws, its Manichean world of friend and foe—and its consequent war crimes as somehow comparable to the national liberation movements of past times is, apart from…
Impartiality and public service media
“It (BBC) also bends with the political wind, especially where—as on refugees—Labour is too cowed to offer any challenge to the dominant discourse (that the desperate journeys by raft across the channel, often ending in…
Sceptical Scot shuts up shop
The co-editors announce the closure of Sceptical Scot on its seventh anniversary….
Covid, conspiracy theories and ‘truthpapers’
“These calls to action are taking place in the context of an increasingly dangerous atmosphere. We already know that conspiracy theories have the potential to promote political polarisation, extremism and violence. Recent months have seen…
‘Strategic lies’ in Downing St
“The quality of our democracy depends on the quality of the political debate within the public sphere. New campaigning techniques represent a real threat to both the debate and our democracy and something needs to…
Is the BBC helping British democracy?
The BBC was once among the UK’s most respected institutions but no more – and it faces fresh competition from new upstarts like Andrew Neil’s GB News and Murdoch’s UK News. Break-up or renewal ahead?
A platform for young journalists
Thanks from us to you for backing our CrowdFunder for young journalists – and festive greetings.
