Morning all, it’s Monday 10th February. Let’s kick off with the week ahead:

Monday: MPs debate Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.

France hosts Global Summit on Artificial Intelligence.

Tuesday: Andrew Bailey speech on financial markets.

Manchester City face Real Madrid in UEFA Champions League play-off.

Wednesday: UK convenes Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting.

US Senate votes on Tulsi Gabbard nomination for Director of National Intelligence.

Thursday: GDP figures for final quarter of 2024. 

High Court trial begins in Niger Delta communities’ case against Shell.

Friday: Munich Security Conference begins.

Saturday: Palestine Solidarity Campaign protest in London against Trump proposals for Gaza. 

Sunday:  BAFTAs.

“Things Learnt (Then Forgotten)” – Week 5.

How many hours will you work across your lifetime?

Ex of X

A flavour of the reaction from last week’s post on our decision to leave X…

“We discussed leaving X last year but decided to watch and wait as our engagement on there was still high and Bluesky wasn’t there yet for us. 

We are reviewing again this week…”

“Interesting to hear you’re coming off X/Twitter. I’m going to suggest that we do the same soon. To your point, the algorithms mean that our stuff is being viewed less and less, but also I find it impossible to find anything useful/relevant on the feed now.”

“X doesn’t really make much sense any more. I’m astonished that government departments and quangos still publish there.”

“I don’t think you’re alone in making this move. I’ve seen a number of businesses move their content from X & meta platforms to other places – LinkedIn being one of them.”

And the view from a Norwegian reader:

“Musk has far too much influence, even on my own country. I find that hard to swallow, especially considering we were occupied by people quite fond of such arm movements not too long ago. Thank you for being historically and politically aware. We cannot afford not to be.”

The article itself is behind a paywall, but this headline from Nature is telling…

“Alexander Armstrong is on a mission to get kids reading” announced Susanna Reid excitedly on last Monday’s Good Morning Britain, before cutting to a shot of the Pointless host holding a copy of his book. But he’s not on a mission is he? He’s just the 400 millionth celebrity this minute to think they can write (or in some cases ghost-write) this stuff.

Let’s at least call it out for what it is. 

“After over a million minutes of live tv news, more than anyone else in the world…”

Kay Burley signs off from her final show on Sky News with typical understatement… 

“After covering 12 separate General Elections I’m retiring from Sky News. Let politicians at every party just rejoice at that news.”

She’s not without her critics, but anyone who has been the face of a channel for 36 years (from its inception) deserves immense credit.

Or…

You can read this spectacularly mean-spirited piece by the Telegraph’s Camilla Tominey, who describes her as “TV’s Liz Truss.”

READ HERE (paywall)

News In Brief:

BBC Radio 4 essay series A Point Of View will come to an end in April as “part of the BBC’s need to make savings.”

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RTS News Awards nominations:

Political Journalist of the Year: 

Paul Brand (ITV) – Sam Coates (Sky) – Beth Rigby (Sky)

Network Presenter of the Year:

Susanna Reid (GMB). – Anna Foster (BBC) – Sophy Ridge (Sky)

FULL LIST

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RAJAR

Times Radio is up, GB News Radio is down, 5 Live is down. But overall, audio is doing OK according to the latest listener survey.

Footnotes:

On this day: Charles and Camilla announced their engagement on this day in 2005.

Monday weather: 5 degrees and cloudy in Edinburgh, 6 degrees and cloudy in Exeter.

Mutts: Special guest stars this week, thanks to Klare. Monty will be a mighty 17 in April, happily cuddled up with his 7 month old brother Basil.

Be part of the MMB. Thoughts on this week’s content, or interviews you’ve seen, heard, or (best of all) done. We’re @insideedgemedia or just reply to this email. 

Have a brilliant week.

All at Inside Edge

Morning all, it’s Monday 3rd February.

Ex of X

It’s a decision that will hardly leave much of a ripple in Musk’s murky pool, but after 15 years Inside Edge came off X last week. A bit like when they banned smoking in trains, it felt like something fairly obvious that should have been done ages ago. It’s partly because the place is a sewer and we don’t learn anything interesting anymore, but also – if I’m honest – because the algorithm means our content goes even less noticed than usual. Perhaps we’ll talk a little bit about Bluesky in the weeks to come, but if anyone has reached a similar decision for their organisation we’d be interested to hear your thoughts. 

“Things Learnt (Then Forgotten)” – Week 4. “Bringing the juice…”

Interview Case Study:

“I’m a Geographer so I think of it as an air river; when it slows down it meanders.”

Thanks to Charlotte who recommended we have a listen to Professor Mary Gagan talking to Evan Davis on PM last week about Storm Éowyn. This is exactly the type of interview we want to promote. A warm, authentic delivery, embracing complexity, but always accessible. As Charlotte says in her email, “I like how she draws the interviewer into her narrative.”

(She also manages to deal with a classic Davis-Non-Question-Question.)

Listen for yourself by clicking on the image of Evan and scrolling through to 43 minutes.

The week ahead:

Monday: Keir Starmer attends informal EU leaders’ meeting in Brussels.

Negotiations due to begin on second phase of Israel-Hamas agreement.

Tuesday: Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu meeting expected in Washington DC.

Wednesday: Dame Sara Khan questioned by MPs on community cohesion.

Thursday: UK interest rate decision and BoE monetary policy report.

Friday: Critics’ Choice Awards.

Saturday: Hostages released under Israel-Hamas agreement.

Invictus Games

Sunday: NFL Super Bowl LIX.

Elections in Liechtenstein, Kosovo and Ecuador.

Crufts Best in Show (see Footnotes). 

News In Brief:

Sky News is planning a major overhaul of its newsroom that will see the broadcaster focus on ‘premium’ paid-for content over its traditional linear news. David Rhodes, chief executive, unveiled the Sky News 2030 strategy in a speech to staff last week. The 24-hour linear TV news channel will continue to run unaffected. For now. 

READ MORE

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The BBC World Service has announced it will cut 130 jobs as part of a plan to save around £6m in the next financial year.

READ MORE

Journalists often get a thrill from covering wars, but it’s not without moral ambiguity. And in the end there’s usually a cost.

This is a good listen from Chris Booth. A raw account of life as a producer on the frontline.

LISTEN HERE

Footnotes:

On this day: Three young rock ‘n’ roll stars including 22-year-old singer Buddy Holly, died when their plane crashed in the United States on this day in 1959.

Monday weather: 7 degrees and sunny in Brighton, 10 degrees and sunny in Newcastle.

Mutts: As it’s Crufts Week, we return to two dogs who have never been within a sniff of Best In Show…

Be part of the MMB. Thoughts on this week’s content, or interviews you’ve seen, heard, or (best of all) done. We’re @insideedgemedia or just reply to this email. 

Have a brilliant week.

All at Inside Edge

Morning all, it’s Monday 27th January.

“Things Learnt (Then Forgotten)” – Week 3

As predictable as a trampoline on a railway line, the coverage of Storm Éowyn brought out the TV reporters delivering inaudible pieces-to-camera in 80mph winds.

A brave and important way of bringing viewers an on-the-ground perspective, or pointless grandstanding which adds little to the narrative?

The week ahead:

Monday: King Charles among world leaders at event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation.

Kemi Badenoch and Nadhim Zahawi at Covid inquiry.

Tuesday: Chris Whitty at first legislative scrutiny session for assisted dying bill.

Wednesday: Rachel Reeves delivers speech on growth.

Confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy to become US health secretary.

Thursday: Quarterly update on crime in England and Wales.

John Prescott funeral 

Friday: UK border declarations for EU imports come into effect.

Six Nations begins.

Fifth anniversary of Brexit. 

Saturday: Third group of Israeli hostages expected to be released.

Possible imposition of tariffs on Chinese, Canadian & Mexican exports to US.

Sunday: GRAMMY Awards. 

The Future Of Linear TV:

How does Channel 4 News measure success? Not with the number of people actually tuning in from 7pm. Last week they trumpeted what they described as “record digital growth in 2024, achieving over 1.83 billion total views – a 49% global increase year-on-year”.

Other numbers:

-Engaged 14.2 million social followers, with TikTok accounting for 57% of digital share

-Over 870 million minutes of Channel 4 News content viewed on YouTube, securing 430,000 new subscribers

“Devoid of personality, insight, humour, delight, it could have been done on email.”

Miranda Sawyer on new podcast Virtually Parkinson, where an AI Parky interviews celebrities. Personally I can’t think of anything worse. As Sawyer observes; “a familiar voice and a set of statements with question marks do not an interview make.”

READ MORE

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Mark Borkowski on Elon Musk:

Here’s the thing about publicity: it’s like Tabasco sauce. A drop of it makes a bland meal interesting. Pour the whole bottle on, and you’ve ruined the dinner and made yourself look like a proper plonker in the process. Our Elon’s not just emptied the bottle – he’s bought the factory.

The real tragedy? He’s actually got something worth shouting about. Electric cars. Space rockets. The stuff of proper headlines. But no, apparently it’s more fun playing the professional provocateur, serving up daily doses of outrage to an audience that’s becoming increasingly harder to shock.

You know what’s next, don’t you? This is the bit where the narrative turns. Where the ‘misunderstood genius’ storyline starts wearing thin. Trust me, I’ve seen this show before. It never ends with a standing ovation.

Footnotes:

It’s reported Jim Acosta, perhaps the most outspoken Trump critic of all the CNN anchors has been shunted to a graveyard slot on the network. It’s possibly an indication of how Mark Thompson (former BBC DG, now in charge there) might approach the next 4 years.

READ MORE

On this day: Michael Jackson was rushed to hospital with burn injuries to his head after a stunt for a Pepsi commercial went wrong on this day in 1984.

Monday weather: 6 degrees in Penrith. 9 degrees in Battle. 10 degrees in Milan.

Mutts: Silvie has put herself forward for this week’s newsletter, and who are we to stand in her way…

Be part of the MMB. Thoughts on this week’s content, or interviews you’ve seen, heard, or (best of all) done. We’re @insideedgemedia or just reply to this email. 

Have a brilliant week.

All at Inside Edge

Morning all, it’s Monday 20th January.

Let’s kick off with “Things Learnt (Then Forgotten)” – Week 2

This use of quote marks in headlines is often misleading and cruel. A number of tabloids (The Mirror and The Mail to name just two) used the old trick in their reporting of the death of comedian Tony Slattery.

Of course it’s not unreasonable to suggest his long experience of addiction may have had an impact on his health, but those quote marks (and let’s face it, they’re not exactly quoting the coroner’s report) suggest a much more explicit correlation.

The week ahead:

Monday: Donald Trump inaugurated for second term as US president.

Chris Whitty, Jonathan Van-Tam and Jenny Harries at Covid inquiry.

Tuesday: High Court trial begins in Prince Harry phone hacking case against The Sun.

Wednesday: Public sector finance statistics.

MPs vote on assisted dying bill spending motion.

Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Thailand.

Thursday: Oscars nominations announced.

Friday: IMF and ECB heads discuss economic outlook at Davos.

Saturday: National Farmers’ Day of Unity to protest inheritance tax changes.

Sunday:  60-day Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire expires.

Presidential election in Belarus.

Excellent observation from the Politico team:

Apple suspends its AI notifications summarising news headlines after making multiple errors about stories by BBC News, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Sky News, The Telegraph and many, many more…

READ MORE

Footnotes:

Times Radio political editor Kate McCann has been appointed co-presenter of the station’s breakfast show.

On this day: John F Kennedy was sworn in as the youngest ever elected president of the United States on this day in 1961.

Weather: 6 Degrees in Norwich, 7 degrees in Normanton, and 15 in Naples.

Mutts: You may remember last year we had a string of brilliant photos featuring guest dogs (and the odd cat). I’m hoping Moneypenny (thanks Sophie) will kickstart something similar in 2025. Over to you…

Be part of the MMB. Thoughts on this week’s content, or interviews you’ve seen, heard, or (best of all) done. We’re @insideedgemedia or just reply to this email. 

Have a brilliant week.

All at Inside Edge