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Stephen Cushion

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H-index: 23
Communication & Media Studies 60%
Political science 20%
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Reposted by: Stephen Cushion, Steve Peers

michaelsavage.bsky.social
NEW: Last month, a delegation from GB News entered the White House & met with Trump.

Senior Trump figures turned up at its US launch party. Could it now become Trump’s preferred outlet in Europe?

It’s reopened the debate over Ofcom’s oversight of impartiality.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
GB News’s US expansion feared to be new way for Trumpian views to reach UK audience
White House backing was on full display as GB News launched The Late Show Live
www.theguardian.com
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Reposted by: Stephen Cushion, Sander van der Linden, Laura K. Taylor , and 3 more

claesdevreese.bsky.social
Come work with us 🚨

We are looking for a #postdoc in our @aimediademlab.bsky.social lab.

Profile: Comm sci / poli sci/ computational social science.

Great team, timely topocs, fabulous city, good conditions.

DL 🗓️ November 1

werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
Vacancy — Postdoctoral researcher Communication Science at AI, Media & Democracy Lab
Do you want to be part of the AI, Media & Democracy Lab? We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher with a profile in communication science.
werkenbij.uva.nl
1 41 42

Reposted by: Stephen Cushion

perkinskeighley.bsky.social
The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) has ruled that the broadcast of Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set broke editorial guidelines on harm and offence – but did not breach impartiality rules or encourage crime.

🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

TLDR 👇
BBC partly upholds complaints over Bob Vylan's Glastonbury set
The broadcast of Bob Vylan's set at Glastonbury broke editorial guidelines in relation to harm and offence.
www.bbc.co.uk
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by Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
Is the rise in use of TikTok a good or bad thing? Our new @cujournmedcul.bsky.social project will be examining the impartiality of news produced on TikTok across 🇬🇧 broadcasters and comparing it to other forms of news output 👇
pressgazette.co.uk
Press Gazette @pressgazette.co.uk · 11d
20% of US adults say they now regularly get news on Tiktok, up from 3% in 2020.

By age, 43% of 18-29s often get news on Tiktok, 25% of 30-49s, 10% of 50-64s and 3% of 65+. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
1 in 5 Americans now regularly get news on TikTok, up sharply from 2020
Among adults under 30, 43% say they regularly get news from TikTok, up from 9% in 2020.
www.pewresearch.org
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Reposted by: Stephen Cushion

pressgazette.co.uk
20% of US adults say they now regularly get news on Tiktok, up from 3% in 2020.

By age, 43% of 18-29s often get news on Tiktok, 25% of 30-49s, 10% of 50-64s and 3% of 65+. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
1 in 5 Americans now regularly get news on TikTok, up sharply from 2020
Among adults under 30, 43% say they regularly get news from TikTok, up from 9% in 2020.
www.pewresearch.org
3 5

Reposted by: Stephen Cushion

perkinskeighley.bsky.social
At the Lib Dem conference, Sir Ed Davey accused the BBC of giving Nigel Farage and Reform UK too much uncritical airtime — going so far as to say its coverage sometimes looks like “copy and paste” from party press releases.

🔗 www.lbc.co.uk/article/ed-d...

TLDR 👇

#impartiality #journalism
Ed Davey accuses BBC of 'copying Reform press releases' and urges broadcaster to expose Nigel Farage | LBC
Sir Ed Davey has accused the BBC of
www.lbc.co.uk
1 9 26

Reposted by: Stephen Cushion

michaelsavage.bsky.social
NEW: Broadcasters now in no doubt about the all consuming power of YouTube - they join forces for govt/regulators to step in for fairer revenue and prominence…

YouTube take a big slice of ad revenue.

All a sign of the power YouTube now wields…

www.theguardian.com/media/2025/s...
UK’s public sector broadcasters demand more prominence on YouTube to combat misinformation
Bosses say independent news needs to be promoted on social platforms that increasing numbers of viewers are turning to
www.theguardian.com
2 8 10

Reposted by: Stephen Cushion

rasmuskleis.bsky.social
What if one could automatically monitor what politicians promise and enhance the ability to check, at scale, whether they deliver?

Pledgetracker, by @fullfact.org and researchers, tries to retrieve relevant evidence and reduce human verification effort.

Read their preprint here: lnkd.in/ec5gHYV9
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
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by Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
Important decision now for all journalists in Wales - how much scrutiny will they pay to Reform’s policies ahead of the Senedd elections even if the party won’t speak to them 🤔 👇
pressgazette.co.uk
Press Gazette @pressgazette.co.uk · 20d
Nation Cymru has claimed Reform UK faces has extended its Nottinghamshire media ban to Wales, as the party and its councillors are refusing to speak to its journalists. Editor Emily Price said it's an “undemocratic Donald Trump style wall of silence”
Nation.Cymru
A news service by the people of Wales, for the people of Wales.
Nation.Cymru
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Reposted by: Stephen Cushion

pressgazette.co.uk
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said public service media content should be prominent on major video sharing platforms like Youtube and on "fair commercial terms", saying: "If we need to regulate we will".
www.societyofeditors.org/soe_news/soc...
Society welcomes pledge by government to ensure prominence of public service media content – Society of Editors
Society of Editors. Protecting the freedom of the news media
www.societyofeditors.org
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Reposted by: Stephen Cushion

pressgazette.co.uk
Nation Cymru has claimed Reform UK faces has extended its Nottinghamshire media ban to Wales, as the party and its councillors are refusing to speak to its journalists. Editor Emily Price said it's an “undemocratic Donald Trump style wall of silence”
Nation.Cymru
A news service by the people of Wales, for the people of Wales.
Nation.Cymru
4 3

Reposted by: Stephen Cushion, Will Jennings, Steve Peers , and 5 more

jaclarner.bsky.social
Latest ITV BarnCymru 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 poll confirms trend seen over last 6 months - neck and neck race between Plaid Cymru and Reform UK for largest party, with Labour falling to even more distant third. Evidence growing of distinct realignment in Wales 🧵
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by Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
Late to this but we did a comprehensive study of how broadcasters construct public opinion, including in vox pops, revealing where journalistic assumptions can misrepresent the public - journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Using public opinion to serve journalistic narratives: Rethinking vox pops and live two-way reporting in five UK election campaigns (2009–2017) - Stephen Cushion, 2018
The news media are often accused of reporting politics in a too narrow and consensual way, excluding certain perspectives and issues that might better reflect t...
journals.sagepub.com
1

by Stephen Cushion — Reposted by: Patrick Dunleavy

stephencushion.bsky.social
With more resources, we could have gone back into 2024 but that didn’t coincide with Reform lead in opinion polls which was our focus.

I have been studying Farage for a lot longer - see this study of UKIP and its leader in 2009 and 2014 - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Interpreting UKIP's ‘Earthquake’ in British Politics: UK Television News Coverage of the 2009 and 2014 EU Election Campaigns
UK broadcasters came under fire for the amount of airtime UKIP and its leader Nigel Farage received after the party won the most votes in the 2014 EU election. Our content analysis of television news...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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by Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
Yes, we looked at and found evidence of that - (see link) - a longer and more detailed study could explore the concept of issue ownership in media coverage (immigration in particular) bsky.app/profile/step...
stephencushion.bsky.social
Stephen Cushion @stephencushion.bsky.social · 26d
Reform UK was the protagonist in almost four in ten stories they featured in (primarily in post-election coverage or in reports about internal issues with the party’s leadership). In contrast, fewer than one in ten were led by the Liberal Democrats. 3/6 public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...
Graph 2: Proportion of TV news items featuring Reform UK and Liberal Democrats as the protagonist in stories between January and July 2025
A Flourish data visualization by Maxwll Modell
public.flourish.studio
1

by Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
Agree on need for debate - hopefully our studies and data can provide some evidence to inform future debates bsky.app/profile/step...
stephencushion.bsky.social
Stephen Cushion @stephencushion.bsky.social · 26d
Our new impartiality study out and in The Guardian - We found Reform given more airtime on TV news likely due to broadcasters taking into account the party’s latest electoral performance and sustained lead in the polls over several months. Thread 1/6: www.theguardian.com/media/2025/s...
BBC under fresh pressure over extent of Reform UK coverage
Nigel Farage’s party featured in considerably more News at Ten bulletins than Lib Dems over six months, study finds
www.theguardian.com
1

by Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
Thanks - that would be really helpful and something our project can look closely at 👍

by Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
I don’t suppose you have any documentation saved from official guidance in the past about prioritising number of seats - it would be interesting to contrast that with current guidance?
1

by Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
It’s a debate that should be had - how should broadcasters allocate airtime within regulatory rules www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and...
www.ofcom.org.uk
1

by Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
It’s a complicated issue - one of our studies examining debate programmes like question time found it was mainly Lab and Con politicians featured - so limited airtime for Reform, Lib Dems etc - hopefully our project can provide hard evidence to this debate: www.enhancingimpartiality.com/blog
Blog — Researching the impartiality of political news
www.enhancingimpartiality.com
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by Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
Anyone interested in reading the full Cardiff University @cujournmedcul.bsky.social study about coverage of Reform mentioned on this week’s Newswatch can find it here: bsky.app/profile/step...
stephencushion.bsky.social
Stephen Cushion @stephencushion.bsky.social · 26d
Our new impartiality study out and in The Guardian - We found Reform given more airtime on TV news likely due to broadcasters taking into account the party’s latest electoral performance and sustained lead in the polls over several months. Thread 1/6: www.theguardian.com/media/2025/s...
BBC under fresh pressure over extent of Reform UK coverage
Nigel Farage’s party featured in considerably more News at Ten bulletins than Lib Dems over six months, study finds
www.theguardian.com
3 6

Reposted by: Stephen Cushion

rosatkins.bsky.social
Our new video on Israel's war in Gaza and proportionality is on the BBC News YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m3m...
Israel's war in Gaza and proportionality | BBC News
YouTube video by BBC News
www.youtube.com
1 10 25

by Stephen Cushion — Reposted by: Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
The traditional broadcast interview is dead - @maxwellmodell.bsky.social persuasively argues at @cujournmedcul.bsky.social #FoJ2025 - as podcast interviews offer low risk spaces for niche audiences.

We’ll be exploring the impartiality of broadcast interviews soon as part of our AHRC project 👇
1 3

by Stephen Cushion — Reposted by: Paul Bowman

stephencushion.bsky.social
Good to see our @cujournmedcul.bsky.social study informing debates about impartiality. Be interesting to hear how Newswatch audiences think broadcasters should interpret due impartiality 👇
samiraahmeduk.bsky.social
Samira Ahmed @samiraahmeduk.bsky.social · 26d
Should the BBC be giving Reform UK so much coverage? (Cardiff Uni School of Journalism found it featured in a quarter of all News at Tens in the 6 months to June).
Latest BBC Newswatch from midnight Fri on iplayer or Sat 745am BBC1/Breakfast www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
5 7

Reposted by: Stephen Cushion

scotnational.bsky.social
The BBC is coming under fresh pressure over its coverage of Reform UK after a university study found it featured in a quarter of News at Ten bulletins over six months
BBC under renewed pressure over Nigel Farage coverage following study
www.thenational.scot
6 68 99

Reposted by: Stephen Cushion, Paul Bowman

samiraahmeduk.bsky.social
Should the BBC be giving Reform UK so much coverage? (Cardiff Uni School of Journalism found it featured in a quarter of all News at Tens in the 6 months to June).
Latest BBC Newswatch from midnight Fri on iplayer or Sat 745am BBC1/Breakfast www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
33 53 83

by Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
Lib Dems featured so little they didn’t receive much scrutiny
1

Reposted by: Stephen Cushion

matthew-wright.bsky.social
reckon Ed Davey's got a point....https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/sep/12/bbc-under-fresh-pressure-over-extent-of-reform-uk-nigel-farage-coverage
BBC under fresh pressure over extent of Reform UK coverage
Nigel Farage’s party featured in considerably more News at Ten bulletins than Lib Dems over six months, study finds
www.theguardian.com
12 49 160

by Stephen Cushion

stephencushion.bsky.social
Excellent evidence based analysis from BBC Verify - much needed context/background to understand the issues
benchu.bsky.social
Ben Chu @benchu.bsky.social · 26d
Has Israel's war in Gaza been proportionate?

Comprehensive analysis of this question by Verify colleagues 👇

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ros Atkins on... Israel's war in Gaza and proportionality
BBC Verify asked experts, in the UK and elsewhere, if Israel’s actions in Gaza have been proportionate.
www.bbc.co.uk
1

Reposted by: Stephen Cushion

benchu.bsky.social
Has Israel's war in Gaza been proportionate?

Comprehensive analysis of this question by Verify colleagues 👇

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ros Atkins on... Israel's war in Gaza and proportionality
BBC Verify asked experts, in the UK and elsewhere, if Israel’s actions in Gaza have been proportionate.
www.bbc.co.uk
4 7 14

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