Charlie Beckett
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charliebeckett.bsky.social
Charlie Beckett
@charliebeckett.bsky.social

LSE journalism professor
I run the LSE Polis Journalism and AI project
Hammer

Communication & Media Studies 37%
Political science 35%

This was fun. I enjoyed being grilled on 'truth'. Shows how well the BBC does that bridging role on big ideas. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Moral Maze - What Is Truth? - BBC Sounds
Debate examining the question: what is truth?
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Charlie Beckett

*Deadline extended*
💼 Come work with us!

#JournalismAI is looking for a Programme Officer (Full-time) based in 🇿🇦 South Africa to support the team and its activities.

👉 Learn more and apply before 12 January: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

#JobOpportunity

I just meant everyone's different. Dec is something of an Everyman.

That is just bs but go ahead

There is something very lovely about cooking something in Cornwall that was pulled out of the sea here last night.

The perfect gift for the film buff in your life. A wonderful book of unpublished photos and documents about the making of Don't Look Now. Packed full of visual details and insights that shed light on an extraordinary movie

I like the @lrb.co.uk because I don't like the LRB. Great articles by O'Hagan and Lancaster and a horrible, pretentious piece by Srinivasan. How can you start an article referring to October 7th and then not mention it again? Always good to be challenged...

I'm glad you are looking at this on our behalf. It's a cesspit.

An excellent lesson from history about misinformation and public media literacy: I like how O'Hagan's take on Walter Lippmann allows that you can be liberal and cynical AND optimistic. Journalism can be both highly limited and vital. [see my forthcoming book etc etc] www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Andrew O’Hagan · Fatal Realism: Walter Lippmann’s Warning
Lippmann was called the greatest journalist of his age, but his claims as an original thinker rest on his book Public...
www.lrb.co.uk

Incredible concert at the Paris Philharmonie- a 'new' Ravel, huge chorus, wonderful cello solos. The hall is great but the rest of the building interior is quite unpleasant

The Richter at Louis Vuitton is a spectacular survey but in the end, too much: exhausting as much as exhilarating

This feels like one of those highly symbolic and historic media industry moments: the Oscars are leaving terrestrial TV for YouTube in 2029 www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general...
Oscars Bolts from ABC to YouTube Starting in 2029
The world's highest-profile and most-watched awards show, which has aired on ABC since 1976, will be moving to a streaming-only platform starting as part of a deal that also includes red carpet covera...
www.hollywoodreporter.com

Job alert! We are looking for someone based in South Africa to join our JournalismAI team on a new project - please share! docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Programme Officer | JournalismAI 2025/26
Programme Officer JournalismAI is looking for a Programme Officer (Full-time) to support the execution of its grant funding programme and other activities. The Programme Officer will work closely w...
docs.google.com

Good game today. Villa are a better team but we looked good. It didn't matter for me as I was thinking how much this game has changed since I started (1970s) and my sons (2000s). Mateus Fernandes has the attributes, but there will never be another Bonzo

So the King is now a health influencer. And he's brilliant. Not sure how relatable but it feels genuine. www.bbc.com/news/article...
King Charles shares 'good news' that his cancer treatment will be reduced
The 77-year-old says the milestone is a "personal blessing" and testimony to advances in cancer care.
www.bbc.com

Last week we saw something like a German/Russian seasonal equivalent in Munich's Staatsoper - Rimsky Korsakov's Nights Before Xmas - also superbly executed www.staatsoper.de/stuecke/die-...

Had fun with my sons at the Barbican's 12th Night. It's basically Shakespearean panto with some poetry and done brilliantly. I wonder what non-Brits make of it? www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/202...
Twelfth Night | Barbican
Welcome in the festive season with this spellbinding production of Shakespeare's masterpiece, following a five star, sold-out run in Stratford-upon-Avon.
www.barbican.org.uk

Reposted by Charlie Beckett

‘The creature looks more stylish and romantic than monstrous. Like a jigsaw puzzle, let’s say, rather than our idea of a serial killer or a crime against divinity.’

Michael Wood watches Guillermo del Toro’s 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯.

www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Michael Wood · At the Movies: ‘Frankenstein’
In all versions of the story a human competes with God by creating a living being. The difference in Guillermo del Toro...
www.lrb.co.uk

You are literally describing the career path of many of our students...

Thanks...

'While collaboration between humans and generative AI does not automatically enhance their joint creativity even after multiple rounds of co-creation sessions, joint creativity does improve over time if there are instructions and guidance on idea co-development.' www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/2025/how-hum...
How human-AI interaction becomes more creative - News & insight - Cambridge Judge Business School
Cambridge Judge Business School research shows human-AI collaboration doesn’t instantly boost creativity. Over time, structured idea co-development improves joint creativity.
www.jbs.cam.ac.uk

I was wondering what the use case might be for those AI automated podcasts with generated voices. This might be it. digiday.com/media/the-wa...
The Washington Post debuts AI-personalized podcasts to hook younger listeners
The Washington Post used AI to build a pick-your-own-format news podcast, letting listeners choose the topics, hosts and duration.
digiday.com

The World Cup has been corrupt since the beginning but this is just the tip of the iceberg of monumental grifting and extortion. There is no longer any pretence that this is a real people's event www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...
World Cup ticket prices: Fifa's prices a 'monumental betrayal' says Football Supporters Europe
Fans' group Football Supporters Europe says it is
www.bbc.co.uk

Into the bowels of the BBC this morning to record a contribution to Moral Maze. It's an easy one: what is truth? Broadcast Xmas Eve 8pm

Reposted by Alfred Hermida

Refreshingly imaginative vision of what journalism could be in 2026 by @hermida.bsky.social : 'When journalists collaborate with AI in storytelling, creativity flourishes.'

Reposted by Charlie Beckett

“The lens of wonder helps journalism move past fear.”

www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/the-...
The year of wonder
"The lens of wonder helps journalism move past fear."
www.niemanlab.org

Or too much time on his hands? I'm not sure that any of those cases are so pernicious - but especially the last one - in person meetings in academia are a form of abuse. Who needs finality of it means compulsion?