Mel Selfe
@melselfe.bsky.social
Lecturer in Cultural Policy at the University of Glasgow. Media history nerd. Likes archives. Not actually Eve Arden.
Reposted by Mel Selfe
The glory that is my hometown—Aberystwyth. Wales’s first UNESCO City of Literature. Y peth gorau!
unesco.org.uk/news/wales-f...
unesco.org.uk/news/wales-f...
Wales’ first UNESCO City of Literature: Aberystwyth Ceredigion joins global network of Creative Cities | UNESCO in the UK
Today, 31 October 2025, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, has become Wales’ first UNESCO City of Literature…
unesco.org.uk
November 1, 2025 at 8:44 PM
The glory that is my hometown—Aberystwyth. Wales’s first UNESCO City of Literature. Y peth gorau!
unesco.org.uk/news/wales-f...
unesco.org.uk/news/wales-f...
On tonight at the Bo’ness Hippodrome! www.hippodromecinema.co.uk/whats-on/tas...
October 30, 2025 at 3:38 PM
On tonight at the Bo’ness Hippodrome! www.hippodromecinema.co.uk/whats-on/tas...
Reposted by Mel Selfe
Humanities and social sciences are being systematically gutted while STEM disciplines rediscover their half a century-old research insights and pass them off as their own
October 26, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Humanities and social sciences are being systematically gutted while STEM disciplines rediscover their half a century-old research insights and pass them off as their own
Reposted by Mel Selfe
BREAKING: economist discovers “second shift,” a concept coined by sociologists almost 50 years ago; gives it new, stupider, and less explicitly labor-oriented name
October 26, 2025 at 1:58 PM
BREAKING: economist discovers “second shift,” a concept coined by sociologists almost 50 years ago; gives it new, stupider, and less explicitly labor-oriented name
Reposted by Mel Selfe
PPC Commentary: How Much Television Have We Lost?
Over the last few days friends, I’ve been down a deep, dark and honestly, fairly mysterious rabbit hole. I suppose, I should also add, it’s a bit of a depressing one too. You’ve been warned. The current state of the world leaves plenty of room for…
Over the last few days friends, I’ve been down a deep, dark and honestly, fairly mysterious rabbit hole. I suppose, I should also add, it’s a bit of a depressing one too. You’ve been warned. The current state of the world leaves plenty of room for…
PPC Commentary: How Much Television Have We Lost?
Over the last few days friends, I’ve been down a deep, dark and honestly, fairly mysterious rabbit hole. I suppose, I should also add, it’s a bit of a depressing one too. You’ve been warned. The current state of the world leaves plenty of room for this column to take a detour, but fear not, I’m onto my usual wackiness. …
piercingcinema.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:01 AM
PPC Commentary: How Much Television Have We Lost?
Over the last few days friends, I’ve been down a deep, dark and honestly, fairly mysterious rabbit hole. I suppose, I should also add, it’s a bit of a depressing one too. You’ve been warned. The current state of the world leaves plenty of room for…
Over the last few days friends, I’ve been down a deep, dark and honestly, fairly mysterious rabbit hole. I suppose, I should also add, it’s a bit of a depressing one too. You’ve been warned. The current state of the world leaves plenty of room for…
In the Virgin book dept in the 1990s it was the Jim Morrison biography, No One Gets Out of Here Alive. I swear I lost 3 copies for every one I sold. Hoffman’s Steal This Book couldn’t hold a candle to it.
October 1, 2025 at 10:51 AM
In the Virgin book dept in the 1990s it was the Jim Morrison biography, No One Gets Out of Here Alive. I swear I lost 3 copies for every one I sold. Hoffman’s Steal This Book couldn’t hold a candle to it.
Reposted by Mel Selfe
"Why I gave the world wide web away for free.
My vision was based on sharing, not exploitation"
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
My vision was based on sharing, not exploitation"
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Why I gave the world wide web away for free | Tim Berners-Lee
My vision was based on sharing, not exploitation – and here’s why it’s still worth fighting for
www.theguardian.com
September 28, 2025 at 10:19 PM
"Why I gave the world wide web away for free.
My vision was based on sharing, not exploitation"
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
My vision was based on sharing, not exploitation"
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
An excellent, if depressing, piece on the BBC Written Archives situation. Caversham has long been one of my favourite places to do research, and the archivists have always been magnificent. But increasingly, I fear these important records are no longer safe in BBC hands.
My latest blog for @cstonline.bsky.social , rounding up what has gone on behind the scenes over the past six months in our efforts to rescue BBC Written Archives Centre from recent policy changes. cstonline.net/is-the-bbc-a...
Defending the WAC: Is the BBC a fit and proper keeper of its own paper archive? Ian Greaves on Defending the Written Archives Centre (Part 1)
When the creation of the BBC Written Archives Centre in Caversham was agreed, at a meeting of the Board of Management on 17 November 1969, it was done so with a view to history. Kenneth Lamb…
cstonline.net
September 21, 2025 at 10:15 PM
An excellent, if depressing, piece on the BBC Written Archives situation. Caversham has long been one of my favourite places to do research, and the archivists have always been magnificent. But increasingly, I fear these important records are no longer safe in BBC hands.
Reposted by Mel Selfe
Absolutely delighted that Dan Briggs, son of the BBC's first official historian Asa Briggs, has written to The Observer supporting the need for on-request vetting to re-instated at the BBC Written Archives Centre (p.29; not I think online).
Letter's wording is in the .alt element.
#waccampaign
Letter's wording is in the .alt element.
#waccampaign
August 31, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Absolutely delighted that Dan Briggs, son of the BBC's first official historian Asa Briggs, has written to The Observer supporting the need for on-request vetting to re-instated at the BBC Written Archives Centre (p.29; not I think online).
Letter's wording is in the .alt element.
#waccampaign
Letter's wording is in the .alt element.
#waccampaign
Post some product placement.
Busby Berkeley’s first screen gig (Whoopee! 1930) was a spectacular product placement for Stetson!
Busby Berkeley’s first screen gig (Whoopee! 1930) was a spectacular product placement for Stetson!
August 25, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Post some product placement.
Busby Berkeley’s first screen gig (Whoopee! 1930) was a spectacular product placement for Stetson!
Busby Berkeley’s first screen gig (Whoopee! 1930) was a spectacular product placement for Stetson!
Reposted by Mel Selfe
Radio historians, please sign this. The BBC WAC is an invaluable resource for research not only into British and Commonwealth broadcasting history. Not vetting files upon request is cutting independent research off from a truly global history of radio that has just started to be written.
Calling historians and researchers. The BBC Written Archives Centre has changed its access rules without consultation. This means an end to proper independent research into the BBC's rich history. 178 have already signed the open letter. Please join the campaign:
tinyurl.com/bbcwaccampaign
tinyurl.com/bbcwaccampaign
Open letter BBC Written Archives - August 2025
Join the campaign to protect the future of independent research at the BBC Written Archives Centre The following text is an open letter expressing the concern of historians and researchers about chan...
tinyurl.com
August 19, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Radio historians, please sign this. The BBC WAC is an invaluable resource for research not only into British and Commonwealth broadcasting history. Not vetting files upon request is cutting independent research off from a truly global history of radio that has just started to be written.
On-demand file vetting was vital in enabling me to uncover the role of BBC Talks policy and practice in triggering a major libel case. The 1950 judgement defined the legal meaning of ‘fair comment’ in British law for well over half a century (replaced by ‘honest opinion’ only in 2013).
“They have clearly shifted to it being a resource for BBC business priorities. The corporation no longer recognises the value that working with scholars brings, despite the fact this is an archive of how public money was spent over most of a century.” #history 📚🗃️ #BBC
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Historians dismayed by ‘scandal’ of BBC cutting access to...
Critics say new limit to trove of information sounds knell for independent research
observer.co.uk
August 24, 2025 at 11:57 AM
On-demand file vetting was vital in enabling me to uncover the role of BBC Talks policy and practice in triggering a major libel case. The 1950 judgement defined the legal meaning of ‘fair comment’ in British law for well over half a century (replaced by ‘honest opinion’ only in 2013).
Reposted by Mel Selfe
The country, Americans, good businessmen and women, anybody with leadership skills, the military, women, Black people, Latino and Latina people, gay people, Trans people, disabled veterans, children, old people and dogs!
But if you think about it, the only idiot that is a common denominator is HIM!
But if you think about it, the only idiot that is a common denominator is HIM!
July 21, 2025 at 4:16 AM
The country, Americans, good businessmen and women, anybody with leadership skills, the military, women, Black people, Latino and Latina people, gay people, Trans people, disabled veterans, children, old people and dogs!
But if you think about it, the only idiot that is a common denominator is HIM!
But if you think about it, the only idiot that is a common denominator is HIM!
I still have this on VHS. I was so excited when it was released in the 90s. With hindsight, I understand why my shop colleagues thought I was a bit weird. And I probably do belong in academia.
(Nervous laugh) I'm sorry, I thought you said that the cast of this sex farce was made up of dead bugs and I said surely not--
All of them?
Stop motion?
The wife is unfaithful too? Philandering bugs all the way down, huh?
...
...
😨
All of them?
Stop motion?
The wife is unfaithful too? Philandering bugs all the way down, huh?
...
...
😨
July 21, 2025 at 5:12 AM
I still have this on VHS. I was so excited when it was released in the 90s. With hindsight, I understand why my shop colleagues thought I was a bit weird. And I probably do belong in academia.
Reposted by Mel Selfe
'“I don't think that people appreciate how few people are working to keep these collections online, even at huge institutions,” Weinberg told me. “It's usually an incredibly small team, one person, half a person, half a person, plus, like their web person who is sympathetic to what's going on.'
AI Scraping Bots Are Breaking Open Libraries, Archives, and Museums
"This is a moment where that community feels collectively under threat and isn't sure what the process is for solving the problem.”
www.404media.co
June 17, 2025 at 2:14 PM
'“I don't think that people appreciate how few people are working to keep these collections online, even at huge institutions,” Weinberg told me. “It's usually an incredibly small team, one person, half a person, half a person, plus, like their web person who is sympathetic to what's going on.'
This cannot be said loudly or often enough.
Repeat after me:
Saying someone wasn't the first is NOT an insult.
Firsts in movies don't mean nearly as much as how the innovations were used.
As is the case with modern films, someone can be a great early filmmakers without being the first anything.
Saying someone wasn't the first is NOT an insult.
Firsts in movies don't mean nearly as much as how the innovations were used.
As is the case with modern films, someone can be a great early filmmakers without being the first anything.
June 7, 2025 at 7:59 PM
This cannot be said loudly or often enough.
Ha! Yes, I read this last night and was trying to work out if it was an AI hallucination or put together by a 30 something who is close to committing murder if she has to spend another weekend and a bucket of money she doesn’t have on ‘celebrating’ other people’s love.
is the entire thing a weird troll? fascinated by some of the choices on display there - this one is ideal if the message you want to send is "I fucked the groom, and I'll try to do it again tonight if you're not careful"
June 7, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Ha! Yes, I read this last night and was trying to work out if it was an AI hallucination or put together by a 30 something who is close to committing murder if she has to spend another weekend and a bucket of money she doesn’t have on ‘celebrating’ other people’s love.
Reposted by Mel Selfe
flip book! "Dance Lesson: from the good old days" (1941) #mediaBeforeMedia
June 3, 2025 at 8:40 PM
flip book! "Dance Lesson: from the good old days" (1941) #mediaBeforeMedia
This. These are people who generally left university after their undergraduate degree and most retain an undergraduate notion of what constitutes ‘research’.
A lot of things clicked into place for me once I realized that, for a lot of journalists, podcasters, and popular nonfiction writers, "research" means "reading books other people already wrote."
I get why publishers love the "untold story" framing, but I still really hate it.
Whether this book is a good re-telling of Elizabeth Van Lew's story, I don't know.
But the idea that it's "untold" is insulting to the historians who've told it many times before.🗃️
Whether this book is a good re-telling of Elizabeth Van Lew's story, I don't know.
But the idea that it's "untold" is insulting to the historians who've told it many times before.🗃️
June 3, 2025 at 11:12 AM
This. These are people who generally left university after their undergraduate degree and most retain an undergraduate notion of what constitutes ‘research’.
Reposted by Mel Selfe
Reposted by Mel Selfe
This is such sad news. Barb was a friend and a truly extraordinary archivist, someone genuinely interested in sharing her knowledge and the collections she managed as freely and widely as possible. The exact opposite of a gate-keeping archivist. A phenomenal loss for Hollywood historians. 💔
Barbara Hall, film historian, Archivist for the Art Directors Guild, former Archivist at the Margaret Herrick Library (AMPAS), and co-author of Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking (2019), passed away on May 24, 2025, surrounded by her loving family.
May 28, 2025 at 4:38 AM
This is such sad news. Barb was a friend and a truly extraordinary archivist, someone genuinely interested in sharing her knowledge and the collections she managed as freely and widely as possible. The exact opposite of a gate-keeping archivist. A phenomenal loss for Hollywood historians. 💔
Oh wow! 👏👏👏👏👏
I feel I have really captured the majesty of this one
May 18, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Oh wow! 👏👏👏👏👏
Reposted by Mel Selfe
Nicholas Brothers klaxon 📢
April 14, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Nicholas Brothers klaxon 📢