Charlie Beckett
@CharlieBeckett
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Journalist. LSE Media Professor. Director, Polis, LSE's journalism think-tank. Leading the LSE Journalism and AI project. Now on Threads & charlie @bsky .social
East London, UK
Joined February 2008
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Pinned Tweet
Applications are now open for our free JournalismAI Fellowships: a programme of mentored collaborative innovation open to journalists and technologists around the world - please share!
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Hey BBC, this headline is a disgrace Lee Anderson: MP suspended from Tory party over criticism of London mayor
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Fascinating new research on how people (mis) understand graphs about COVID19. Linear graphs make them much more fearful and they don't understand logarithmic charts. Food for thought for data viz journalists?
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Utterly pointless piece of ideologically-motivated vandalism. No-one wants this to happen and there's no coherent rationale. The idea that
@nadinedorries
thinks Channel 4 should compete with Netflix and Amazon shows how little she knows about C4 or media economics
Channel 4 rightly holds a cherished place in British life and I want that to remain the case. I have come to the conclusion that government ownership is holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon. 1/3
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This is outstanding journalism calling out Braverman - not for her despicable ethics but for her sheer (dangerous) ignorance - BBC journalists should do the same
Sky’s senior Ireland correspondent has just committed a murder live on
@SkyPoliticsHub
💥
#BravermanOut
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This really is the most corrupt government: this is clearly a massive conflict of interest. Appalling that the Prime Minister and the chair of the BBC - figures who should embody proper public values - should be so unethical
EXCLUSIVE🚨w/
@HarryYorke1
The BBC chairman helped arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800K for Boris Johnson weeks before then PM selected him for the role
Johnson was told to end Richard Sharp’s involvement in his financial affairs by Cab Office 1/7
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I wish influential journalists like
@Peston
would insist that their anonymous sources for vital stories like this would go on the record.
#Coronavirus
is too important for the usual briefing games.
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Extraordinary piece of investigative journalism by
@BBCAfrica
forensically examining a video from social media to track down the perpetrators of an atrocity. incredible thread.
THREAD
In July 2018, a horrifying video began to circulate on social media.
2 women & 2 young children are led away by a group of soldiers. They are blindfolded, forced to the ground, and shot 22 times.
#BBCAfricaEye
investigated this atrocity. This is what we found...
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I am sick off the predatory philistines at the
@Telegraph
and elsewhere questioning the BBC licence fee. This series alone is worth the money. And it's a hugely patriotic project. Shame on the cultural vandals
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I've been a fan of Ros and the Open Source teams at BBC for years now. Delighted to see their blend of traditional public service journalism and social/digital awareness getting mass audiences. They are a talented team but perhaps the editorial lessons are more basic? Mini 🧵
The government says “there was not a party” at No 10 last December and that no COVID rules were broken. A week into the story, this is a new 5-min video on the gap between the government’s assurances and available evidence. Produced by Michael Cox.
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@itvnews
@robertmooreitv
Can you tell us who filmed that? The whole team deserve a credit. Fantastic work
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This is a bizarre anti-journalism, anti-democracy stance. Why on earth shouldn't news organisations give people with different views a platform? Why is everyone so frightened of debate? I would love to see Corbyn being given space in the Telegraph.
Why centre-left Observer’s giving PM column inches is baffling. I first wrote for them in 2013 on “go home or face arrest” vans - handiwork of T.May. Her “centre ground” and “end of austerity” claims are complete bunkum
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This isn't a leak, it's a press release
NEW:
@itvnews
has seen WhatsApp messages sent by Boris Johnson to Tory MPs urging them "to calm down and get behind the Prime Minister".
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This is a fascinating 25 minute reading of the Cummings statement by
@davidallengreen
not as a personal or political text but as a lawyer-drafted witness statement. Journalists talk about stories or narratives but this close analysis shows it is essentially a legal document
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The fact that Zahawi hasn't resigned speaks volumes about the decline of public standards in the UK. This is criminal behaviour.
Should Nadhim Zahawi give a Commons statement about his tax affairs?
"That's a matter for him," says Deputy PM Dominic Raab. "He has been transparent about the fact that all of the tax has been paid and that he doesn't have any tax outstanding"
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75 years ago the BBC's Richard Dimbleby was the first broadcaster to report from the liberation of Belsen. His 10 minute report is an extraordinary historic act of journalism as witnessing. Listen to the way he uses 'the simple horrible facts'
#Belsen
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@theobertram
It was a special kind of British Exceptionalism: Brexit-driven refusal to learn from ‘Europe’; personal Johnsonian arrogance; and the ‘dissident’ policy posing of ppl like Cummings
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If you're going to be covering the Swedish election this anti-misinformation initiative is worth checking out.
In the countdown to Sweden’s election 100+ journalists will come together to design and implement a newsroom that will track misinformation →
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I agree with
@ggreenwald
about Assange in this excellent analysis of the risk posed by the latest legal moves against him. I don't often agree with either of them but that's the point. Journalism is not defined by its ideological leanings or the character of the person.
The indictment of Assange is a blueprint for making journalists into felons,
@GGreenwald
writes
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This by
@VTSilver
based in Rome is a disturbing account of Italy's slide into the depths of the coronavirus crisis. You know the facts but this journal gives a visceral sense of the shift in people's feelings and the social trauma
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UK media reporting of Westminster attacks has been good. Important that we don't do propaganda work for terrorists
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Another myth killed. This time the hedge fund Brexit thing. This journalism saves time for other journalists: go investigate, don’t add to conspiracy theories
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Oh
@nytimes
will you never learn? Wonderful replies to this.
Have you experienced a petty crime in London? Click to tell us your story.
(Your submission may be selected for publication.)
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Why 'fake news' is the best thing that's happened to journalism and how we can all make the most of it
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If you've every had to direct a reporter doing a piece to camera (or indeed, performed one) you'll appreciate this. Perfection.
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BBC's Paul Wood is as unfake a journalist as it comes. His take on Trump Russia files.
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I know it's an incredibly difficult time for so many people. I'm having my own little crash but, wow. I am amazed at the power of friendship. I didn't realise I had so many good people looking out for me. Thanks to them all. Don't be afraid to reach out to folks in distress.
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Gosh that was a horrible moment for Corbyn in the Commons. Stumbling, evasive, irrelevant asides and silly point-scoring. He's managed to make May look like a decisive leader.
#salisbury
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This is like a piece of performance art or surrealist theatre. The power of an empty space and architecture.
‘We are in the same boat’: Pope Francis held a dramatic solitary prayer standing in front of an empty and rainy St. Peter’s square
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Extraordinary reporting from
@robertmooreitv
from the Capitol - the best of
@itn
journalism
Watch
@robertmooreitv
's report from inside the Capitol building as the extraordinary events unfolded in Washington DC
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This should be the opening question for every interview with the UK Prime Minister
#mumsnet
Incredible opening to the Prime Minister's Mumsnet interview
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Interesting related issue about how people respond to the way facts are framed: "A disease that kills 200 out of 600 people is considered worse than one in which 400 people survive"
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This is the kind of tweet that used to make me cringe. I did four hours of inspirational teaching today and then had a massive panic attack for two hours. I spoke to colleagues and they were immensely kind. I can see what went wrong and I'm taking positive steps to sort it.
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This is ludicrous. UK local news was destroyed by the lack of investment and drastic job cuts by our major local news companies that hollowed out their own journalism to protect shareholders, not by the BBC
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The idea that the BBC was ever a brave watchdog to UK government was always idealistic. But this craven compliance is awful. And listen guys, I am a very mainstream, pro/ex BBC chap. Never said this before, but I think under Tim Davie they are screwed
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Over to you
@Ofcom
Right now anti-vax conspiracy theorist Neil Oliver is ranting on
@GBNews
about the rise of a disease called "turbo-cancer", which he implies is caused by the vaccine. This disease does not exist. It is a fiction invented by conspiracy theorists. This is pure misinformation.
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If you had spoken to anyone from Italy or other European countries dealing with coronavirus in Feb/March you'd have been told how stunned they were at UK complacency and in particular their contempt for the UK PM. The wilful incompetence is now emerging here 👇👇👇
Boris Johnson skipped five Cobra meetings on the virus, calls to order protective gear were ignored and scientists’ warnings fell on deaf ears
Failings in February may have cost thousands of lives
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Sterling plummeting, Farage soaring. It's 4am and this is like the early scenes in a bad apocalypse movie.
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Fascinating analysis of Trump's lies by
@belladepaulo
that compares them to how ordinary people lie. He does it more often (and increasingly) and he's much more cruel. And that's just his public lies.
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@HadleyFreeman
@JamesManning
I think there’s a direct correlation between that attitude and taking delight in having big rallies but losing elections
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While Germany's media are sprachlos, the rest of the world's sports hacks are having a field day. This is superb.
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Great chance to listen to someone who has been part of creating a highly effective hybrid of traditional and social journalism
@BBCRosAtkins
was not the first to make explainer online videos but his are remarkably topical and pithy - great BBC teamwork
Today we are hosting a seminar with
@BBCRosAtkins
, chaired by our own
@CaithlinMercer
. Ros will speak about his news explainers: how he and his team make the videos and what's the editorial approach behind them
🕐 13:00 🇬🇧
✏️ Sign up
🧶 Details in thread
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Have I missed the irony here? A Conservative MP is citing - it seems approvingly - a far right politician of one of the ugliest nationalist anti-immigrant parties in Europe.
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From 2016 but this is a very clear guide to reading scientific papers for non-scientists. TL/DR It's complicated. Just trying to follow this advice shows how specialist a skill reading these papers is.
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A forensic case made that
@GBNEWS
is peddling proven disinfo and conspiracy theories. Over to you
@Ofcom
So. This is a letter I sent today, via my agent, to
@marksteyneoline
and his producer
@danielhardaker4
at
@GBNews
. A Twitter thread version follows, to which I’ve attached some links.
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No, despite the headline, this wasn't written by a robot. It was written by software created by humans, with prompts from humans and then edited by humans. It's quite good.
#JournalismAI
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Wonderful to see conservative commentators proving Meghan and Harry's point about the institutional racism of much of British media/politics/court. The othering and hostility to anyone who seeks to question their norms is quite incredible. And self-defeating.
We don’t dislike Meghan because she’s black.
We dislike her because she’s rude, manipulative and insulting towards our culture and customs.
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When you believe so much in your own virtue that you don't do any research.
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The FT has developed a neat interactive tool that lets readers see connections between people featured in stories they've read. Still in beta but you can imagine all sorts of fun media literacy and engagement applications.
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When a charity goes bust it's the board that's responsible. Why isn't Yentob doing interviews instead of Camilla?
#KidsCompany
#BBCr4today
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@wizbates
It's also untrue - BBC had a voxpop in Lee's constituency yesterday and plenty of people disagreed with their MP.
@bbcnickrobinson
is a v good journalist but he appears to suffer from classic northerner in London sentimentalism
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How we report elections: time for a new agenda for political journalism after the 2017 shock?
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Amazing story, also amazing that
@FT
does it. Cultural politics is everywhere. Rightly. Great reporting.
Reporter Madison Marriage goes undercover at one of London's most successful but secretive charity dinners. The Presidents Club Charity Dinner is a fundraiser like ‘something out of the 1970s’.
Read the full story:
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You might not care...But this is turning into a dreadful chapter for
@TheSun
It's deputy political editor James Slack caught up in the biggest political scandal of the moment and it's pretending nothing is happening. Utter loss of bottle.
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Very happy to launch our new
@PolisLSE
research project at
#ijf19
on artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation and newsrooms around the world - please RT and get in touch!
#JournalismAI
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My work here is done. Having my evidence to a Lords inquiry on the future of journalism cited in a TikTok wasn't on my life goal bucket list, but it should have been. It's been a long journey from local journalism in south London, but I finally feel like I've arrived 😎👨🎓😂
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The fact that
@arusbridger
is writing this in the
@DailyMailUK
says everything. Met Police need to reverse rapidly on this attempt to chill legitimate journalism. News media needs to show a united front to protect investigative journalism
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Firstly, there is a (growing?) demand for straight-forward, explainer journalism that gives facts, different perspectives and context to complex, controversial developing stories.
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This is a very good research-based analysis of the ethics of AI and journalism by Patrícia Ventura Pocino. It is focused on Catalan but has universal lessons and includes a useful recommended code for newsrooms (I was marginally involved)
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@MarkDiStef
Odd, if true. I always thought that Derbyshire (her and the team) could have become the new Nationwide or Esther Rantzen show (before your time Mark). They could build a fantastic broadcast/online brand around her.
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I'm getting slightly weary of privately educated, Oxbridge, moneyed people telling me that
#Brexit
is anti-establishment.
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A very neat bit of fact-checking.
@EuroGuido
@brexitparty_uk
The photo was taken at 4:05pm
5 minutes after the room emptied as it was a break time
If you are going to lie about when the photo was taken, don't make your watch nice and prominent and at the forefront of the shout
#BrexitParty
#LeaveMeansLies
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And some journalists complain about being attacked on Twitter... The courage of Borrometi and his reporting on the mafia is just extraordinary.
Mafia boss convicted on appeal of threatening the life of Sicilian journalist Paolo Borrometi. Borrometi lives under protection and, currently, there are 32 trials under way against 45 defendants for threats against his life or plans to murder him.
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He doesn't just do Downing Street parties...
This week there was a coup attempt in Guinea-Bissau. There have been 6 successful coups in Africa in 18 months. The UN describes an 'epidemic of coup d-etats'. 6 minutes on what's happening and why. Produced by Briony Sowden.
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I love and admire
@BowenBBC
but wow. 'Israel could end this tonight.' Yes, and so could Hamas. Let's not pick over every report or quote but that felt odd. Objectivity isn't such a bad aspiration
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A deeply intelligent, historic analysis by
@anneapplebaum
of a vital political question: why do people collaborate with evil regimes they disagree with? and more importantly, where do some people find the courage to dissent with their own faction?
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The only joy in all this bonfire of vain garbage that we call UK politics is watching
@MarinaHyde
scale new rhetorical heights to describe each fresh horror show. Political journalism as public therapy.
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Absolutely beautiful to see advocates of press restraint demand that newspapers reveal politician's private life
#whittingdale
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Regardless of the topic I am endlessly surprised how media adopts government language cues. Tell it like it is, not as they describe it. Journalism's core task is framing . If you repeat source's phrases you might as well be a PR
The phrase, ‘EU shellfish ban,’ keeps being used by news outlets and it’s important to understand how this language is misleading and how Government is deliberately using misinformation to hide from its own failures...
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Secondly, we all need snippet news headlines and alerts but in a world of breaking, fragmented news, we also appreciate it when journalists are given the time to give a more complete, nuanced, detailed narrative. Instead of the usual 1 minute package and brief correspondent chat.
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Shorthand may be vital for some journalism, but for 90% probably not. So why is this rather than coding, law, statistics, finance, or basic science seen as some kind of professional core skill? Why are journalists so narrow in their craft aspiration?
Dear university (in Yorkshire) contemplating dropping shorthand from your syllabus as students ‘don’t like it’ nor feel it’s ‘relevant’. Here’s a thing: it is, and those who show the minerals to pass it are the ones that get jobs. End of.
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The journalist coverage of Haidt and the panic over teens and smartphones/social media is mostly subjective parental experience or moral panic instead of evidence. Here's the research. Now let's deal with real causes of teen mental health
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Wow. The body language in this is sulking nine year-old who doesn't want to talk to his auntie.
Photographers: Can we get a handshake?
Merkel (to Trump): Do you want to have a handshake?
Trump: *no response*
Merkel: *makes awkward face*
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Here's the most fun you can have today. Do what I just did and find someone who's not seen any news today. They literally don't believe you.
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This is hilarious. The Left has had a massive lucky break in that Corbyn has not had to deal with this crisis. He would have been horribly exposed politically and personally as incompetent and irrelevant. Luckily they can now retreat to the high ground of impossibilism.
Since becoming Labour leader, Starmer has so far failed to put any real pressure on Johnson over the coronavirus crisis. But Johnson is only getting an easy ride from Starmer because Starmer is getting an easy ride from the left, argues
@davidwearing
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Extraordinary. This 🧵 shows how Zelenskyy is using video speeches to mobilise mass European support while Putin pulls the plug on social media and crushes journalism. Open societies don't always win but they are always the future
Zelenskyy gives live address to massive anti-war demonstration in Georgia (and several other European cities I believe). Have you ever seen anything like this?
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We're doing a new global survey of how newsrooms are using AI. Please contact me if you'd like to be included in the research. We need less than an hour of your time. It's four years since our last report which helped us shape the
#JournalismAI
project
#AI
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They are literally queueing out of the host hotel front door for this morning's panel on AI and small newsrooms in Perugia
#ijf24
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@jimwaterson
Ironic that the Mail has made a Labour govt much more likely - genius editorial leadership
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I love how this plays at the edges of BBC idea of impartiality. And succeeds.
‘Na na na na. Na na na na. Hey hey. Goodbye.’ The story of how Republicans dealt with Liz Cheney’s concerns about Trump’s false claims of a stolen election.
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@Madz_Grant
It's a fair question. But she's not a newsreader. They are having to use the BBC news studio but Newsnight has always been seen as a discussion programme, so raising questions like this is pretty standard. She wasn't calling for a settlement, just asking what settlement we need.
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Our report on journalism and artificial intelligence is out today: based on a global survey it tells us what newsrooms are doing and thinking about AI and how it can change journalism in the future
📣 Out today: the
#JournalismAI
report, supported by
@GoogleNewsInit
We look at how artificial intelligence is used in journalism and what newsrooms think its future implications might be.
Find it here:
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This is a cracking idea from the
@FT
Until the advent of a socialist paradise it's important that young people (all of us actually) understand finance and economics and board games are rather trendy at the moment.
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The very definition of the traditional journalist who took a major news brand into the digital era with verve.
@lionelbarber
never lost touch with the value of good reporting while re-inventing the
@FT
Here is his LSE speech from 2015
Some personal news.
After 14 years, I am stepping down as editor in the New Year. It has been a rare privilege and a great pleasure to hold the best job in journalism. Full statement to follow
@FinancialTimes
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The
@BBCNews
reports on hospitals by
@CliveMyrieBBC
were outstanding journalism and hugely moving. This is a wonderful example of how a journalist can report on emotions in a respectful, sensitive way that recognises the humanity of pandemic suffering
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