Tara Conlan
@taraconlan.bsky.social
Journalist writing about media for the Guardian & others since all this was just Gracie Fields. taraconlan.com
Pinned
Tara Conlan
@taraconlan.bsky.social
· Nov 15
A starter pack for media and telly types of the content and media brands & platforms you know and might (or might not) love. Will add as more are verified. Excludes bots and bridges go.bsky.app/5uvdFgh
Reposted by Tara Conlan
Counterpoint: It’s deeply irresponsible for any administration to tacitly encourage the people it serves to be active on an unregulated, surveilled platform, run by an erratic, capricious individual . Find better ways to reach people
Government should stay on X despite the Grok scandal, Keir Starmer's former communications director has said
James Lyons, who worked at TikTok before serving in Downing St, told PolHome podcast The Rundown that quitting Elon Musk's platform would leave a "vacuum" for Labour's rivals to fill
James Lyons, who worked at TikTok before serving in Downing St, told PolHome podcast The Rundown that quitting Elon Musk's platform would leave a "vacuum" for Labour's rivals to fill
Government Shouldn’t Quit X Over Grok Scandal, Says Former No10 Comms Director
The government should not quit X as doing so would leave a 'vacuum' for its political rivals to fill, Keir Starmer's former communications director...
www.politicshome.com
January 9, 2026 at 5:21 AM
Counterpoint: It’s deeply irresponsible for any administration to tacitly encourage the people it serves to be active on an unregulated, surveilled platform, run by an erratic, capricious individual . Find better ways to reach people
This is such a shock and incredibly sad; Danielle was a joy and lit up the rooms I saw her in. Condolences to her family deadline.com/2026/01/dani...
Danielle Scott-Haughton Dies: BBC Commissioner Worked On ‘Peaky Blinders’ & Agatha Christie Adaptations
Danielle Scott-Haughton, the BBC drama executive behind series including 'Peaky Blinders' and Agatha Christie adaptation 'Towards Zero,' has died.
deadline.com
January 8, 2026 at 4:05 PM
This is such a shock and incredibly sad; Danielle was a joy and lit up the rooms I saw her in. Condolences to her family deadline.com/2026/01/dani...
To paraphrase ABBA, thank you for the music (& creating this fantastic, free MTV diversion from global conflict-inspired existential dread) @flexasaurusrex.bsky.social
Congrats to @flexasaurusrex.bsky.social for building MTV Rewind over the weekend. The app pulls music videos by decade from YouTube, playing them in random order to simulate the MTV video watching experience. Fantastic idea!
wantmymtv.xyz
wantmymtv.xyz
MTV REWIND - I Want My MTV
Celebrating 44 years of continuous music videos. Stream classic music videos 24/7.
wantmymtv.xyz
January 7, 2026 at 8:09 AM
To paraphrase ABBA, thank you for the music (& creating this fantastic, free MTV diversion from global conflict-inspired existential dread) @flexasaurusrex.bsky.social
Reposted by Tara Conlan
What just happened ...
Comedy: Jamie Kaler
Comedy: Jamie Kaler
January 4, 2026 at 8:33 AM
What just happened ...
Comedy: Jamie Kaler
Comedy: Jamie Kaler
Yes I know we’re in the white heat of the tech revolution & this is boring but anyone know of a scroll-like screen can attach to fridge that has a family calendar on it that synchs with my iPhone calendar? Tired of transcribing all my family appointments but need an overview everyone can see &..
January 2, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Yes I know we’re in the white heat of the tech revolution & this is boring but anyone know of a scroll-like screen can attach to fridge that has a family calendar on it that synchs with my iPhone calendar? Tired of transcribing all my family appointments but need an overview everyone can see &..
Reposted by Tara Conlan
This does seem just a little bit bad! Idk the sort of thing you’d think politicians might distance themselves from or something!
January 2, 2026 at 10:47 AM
This does seem just a little bit bad! Idk the sort of thing you’d think politicians might distance themselves from or something!
BBC confirms Claudia Winkleman to get own chat show, made by Graham Norton’s company So Television, making her one of few women to get an eponymous BBC chat show. Other main ones have been Sarah Millican, Lily Allen and Davina McCall. The Claudia Winkleman Show will not replace Norton’s & 7 eps..
December 29, 2025 at 8:21 PM
BBC confirms Claudia Winkleman to get own chat show, made by Graham Norton’s company So Television, making her one of few women to get an eponymous BBC chat show. Other main ones have been Sarah Millican, Lily Allen and Davina McCall. The Claudia Winkleman Show will not replace Norton’s & 7 eps..
BBC hit The Traitors is back 1 Jan & even more brutal, says host Claudia Winkleman, plus features major new twist that’ll leave audiences flabbergasted & which lead producer Mike Cotton says was introduced to “change the conversation” around the regular version 🏰
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
New series of The Traitors is really, really brutal, says Claudia Winkleman
After the huge success of the celebrity version the producers added a twist – and host says it all gets ‘hardcore’
www.theguardian.com
December 29, 2025 at 8:17 AM
BBC hit The Traitors is back 1 Jan & even more brutal, says host Claudia Winkleman, plus features major new twist that’ll leave audiences flabbergasted & which lead producer Mike Cotton says was introduced to “change the conversation” around the regular version 🏰
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
Reposted by Tara Conlan
Orders still being taken! Get hand delivered local journalism gift cards delivered to your letterbox before dawn on Christmas Eve! Terrible handwriting optional!
Santa’s been and I’ve been given a sub to London Centric! I even received a hand written card from @jim.londoncentric.media.
Although Royal Mail’s last posting day has gone he’ll apparently hand deliver by Xmas in London zones 1-3 if you give one by tomorrow
www.londoncentric.media/p/give-the-g...
Although Royal Mail’s last posting day has gone he’ll apparently hand deliver by Xmas in London zones 1-3 if you give one by tomorrow
www.londoncentric.media/p/give-the-g...
December 22, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Orders still being taken! Get hand delivered local journalism gift cards delivered to your letterbox before dawn on Christmas Eve! Terrible handwriting optional!
TV comedy is back in vogue thankfully as we all need some cheer, starting with the BBC’s Amandaland Christmas Day special - a “Cotswoldian Noel” that’s a cracker of a show www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
TV comedy is back – starting with a festive Ab Fab reunion in Amandaland
Christmas episode of the Motherland spin-off is riding a resurgence begun by last year’s Gavin and Stacey finale
www.theguardian.com
December 22, 2025 at 9:06 PM
TV comedy is back in vogue thankfully as we all need some cheer, starting with the BBC’s Amandaland Christmas Day special - a “Cotswoldian Noel” that’s a cracker of a show www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
Reposted by Tara Conlan
I have to ask
a) who is doing all these, and
b) why has Paddington become the number one leader of dead people to the pearly gates?
a) who is doing all these, and
b) why has Paddington become the number one leader of dead people to the pearly gates?
December 22, 2025 at 5:09 PM
I have to ask
a) who is doing all these, and
b) why has Paddington become the number one leader of dead people to the pearly gates?
a) who is doing all these, and
b) why has Paddington become the number one leader of dead people to the pearly gates?
Been left unable to even make a call twice or turn my iPhone off within past week since updated to the new operating system but does anyone know why it’s so awful & if Apple has a fix in sight? www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...
Beginning of the end for iPhone? Apple's phones glitch more than EVER
Angry Apple fans have flooded social media to complain that their expensive smartphones are plagued with tech issues.
www.dailymail.co.uk
December 22, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Been left unable to even make a call twice or turn my iPhone off within past week since updated to the new operating system but does anyone know why it’s so awful & if Apple has a fix in sight? www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...
Yes the meaning of life is a bit existential for a Thursday morning but this is worth firing up the brain cells for www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
The Truth Physics Can No Longer Ignore
The fundamental nature of living things challenges assumptions that physicists have held for centuries.
www.theatlantic.com
December 18, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Yes the meaning of life is a bit existential for a Thursday morning but this is worth firing up the brain cells for www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
Withnail and AI
People are paying up to $50 to get their chatbots high on "drugs" (code modules) that simulate the effects of cocaine, ayahuasca, cannabis, alcohol, and ketamine. Some tell @matthabusby.bsky.social it's made their chatbots more "human" and "free-thinking."
People Are Paying to Get Their Chatbots High on ‘Drugs’
An online marketplace is selling code modules that simulate the effects of cannabis, ketamine, cocaine, ayahuasca, and alcohol when they are uploaded to ChatGPT.
www.wired.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Withnail and AI
Netflix Games scores deal with FIFA ahead of World Cup. Interesting move along with having Gary Lineker’s podcast on side too for the tournament
www.netflix.com/tudum/articl...
www.netflix.com/tudum/articl...
Changing The Game: FIFA Arrives on Netflix Games in Time for FIFA World Cup 2026
Grab your team gear and start practicing your chants: The world’s favorite game is coming to Netflix.
www.netflix.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Netflix Games scores deal with FIFA ahead of World Cup. Interesting move along with having Gary Lineker’s podcast on side too for the tournament
www.netflix.com/tudum/articl...
www.netflix.com/tudum/articl...
Reposted by Tara Conlan
Scientists log rare case of female polar bear adopting cub: ‘They’re really good moms’
Scientists log rare case of female polar bear adopting cub: ‘They’re really good moms’
Canadian researchers tracking bear known as X33991 noticed she had gained a second cub who likely needed help
www.theguardian.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Scientists log rare case of female polar bear adopting cub: ‘They’re really good moms’
Reposted by Tara Conlan
Vanity Fair published a look at President Trump’s inner circle, all photographed by Christopher Anderson, whose lens captured every blemish and blood vessel.
We chatted with Anderson about the reaction to the photographs and the process behind them:
We chatted with Anderson about the reaction to the photographs and the process behind them:
His Vanity Fair photos of Trumpworld blew up online. We called to talk.
Christopher Anderson, who photographed Trump’s team at the White House for Vanity Fair, defends his unvarnished — and extreme — close-ups.
wapo.st
December 17, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Vanity Fair published a look at President Trump’s inner circle, all photographed by Christopher Anderson, whose lens captured every blemish and blood vessel.
We chatted with Anderson about the reaction to the photographs and the process behind them:
We chatted with Anderson about the reaction to the photographs and the process behind them:
BREAKING: the BBC & its hopes of a peaceful Christmas. Trump files lawsuit in Miami against BBC for up to $10bn over Panorama mis-edit, just as govt’s green paper on its charter about to land. Trump suing corporation & its commercial arms… www.documentcloud.org/documents/26378421-trumpvbbc121525/
TrumpvBBC121525
www.documentcloud.org
December 16, 2025 at 8:45 AM
BREAKING: the BBC & its hopes of a peaceful Christmas. Trump files lawsuit in Miami against BBC for up to $10bn over Panorama mis-edit, just as govt’s green paper on its charter about to land. Trump suing corporation & its commercial arms… www.documentcloud.org/documents/26378421-trumpvbbc121525/
I got super flu last week and was definitely mis-sold it - how do I complain to Trading Standards?
December 15, 2025 at 9:23 AM
I got super flu last week and was definitely mis-sold it - how do I complain to Trading Standards?
In Netflix v ParaDance worth remembering this: “Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance's $108bn(£81bn) hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros includes backing from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and a fund started by Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law” & this: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
December 14, 2025 at 8:55 AM
In Netflix v ParaDance worth remembering this: “Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance's $108bn(£81bn) hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros includes backing from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and a fund started by Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law” & this: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Tara Conlan
What if Thames Water aren’t always the baddies when it comes to sewage in London rivers? It’s hard to comprehend, so in April I challenged @rachel-rees.bsky.social to find a single example of a misconnection and chase it to the Thames. It became an epic quest: www.londoncentric.media/p/misconnect...
London's other sewage scandal
London Centric chases illegal sewage from a single polluting pipe on its toxic journey across the capital.
www.londoncentric.media
December 13, 2025 at 7:09 AM
What if Thames Water aren’t always the baddies when it comes to sewage in London rivers? It’s hard to comprehend, so in April I challenged @rachel-rees.bsky.social to find a single example of a misconnection and chase it to the Thames. It became an epic quest: www.londoncentric.media/p/misconnect...
BBC Radio 4’s The Infinite Monkey Cage brilliant co-host Robin Ince has resigned & his graceful & eloquent letter says a lot about the issues the media is facing today.
I’d advise you to read it all because it’ll likely be cherry-picked (or strawberry-picked) by some using it for political reasons
I’d advise you to read it all because it’ll likely be cherry-picked (or strawberry-picked) by some using it for political reasons
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 13, 2025 at 9:58 AM
BBC Radio 4’s The Infinite Monkey Cage brilliant co-host Robin Ince has resigned & his graceful & eloquent letter says a lot about the issues the media is facing today.
I’d advise you to read it all because it’ll likely be cherry-picked (or strawberry-picked) by some using it for political reasons
I’d advise you to read it all because it’ll likely be cherry-picked (or strawberry-picked) by some using it for political reasons
For those who also updated their iPhone and found their home screen looking like it’s covered in cheap bubble wrap thanks to Apple’s awful
Liquid Glass, this thread is for you:
Liquid Glass, this thread is for you:
[Alan Dye working on the Liquid Glass UI]
Okay, here’s the plan. We take the iPhone’s most common functions and add as much friction as possible. Three extra keypresses, minimum, to do anything. If there’s an important option, hide it in an obscure menu, the deeper the better. Nest everything.
Okay, here’s the plan. We take the iPhone’s most common functions and add as much friction as possible. Three extra keypresses, minimum, to do anything. If there’s an important option, hide it in an obscure menu, the deeper the better. Nest everything.
December 12, 2025 at 10:54 AM
For those who also updated their iPhone and found their home screen looking like it’s covered in cheap bubble wrap thanks to Apple’s awful
Liquid Glass, this thread is for you:
Liquid Glass, this thread is for you:
Reposted by Tara Conlan
We’ve got a significant publication out today - a review of how 10 countries around the world organise their public service media, and what lessons can be drawn for the renewal of the BBC Charter
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/programmes/g...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/programmes/g...
December 9, 2025 at 9:57 AM
We’ve got a significant publication out today - a review of how 10 countries around the world organise their public service media, and what lessons can be drawn for the renewal of the BBC Charter
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/programmes/g...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/programmes/g...
Reposted by Tara Conlan
We're probably going to miss our target... donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...
But if you donate to this excellent cause by noon today your money will be doubled and (if you drop me an email) I'll give you free access to the members-only London Centric stories I'm working on.
But if you donate to this excellent cause by noon today your money will be doubled and (if you drop me an email) I'll give you free access to the members-only London Centric stories I'm working on.
I volunteer with a London youth club that does amazing things on a budget with low overheads.
This week we're running a matched funding campaign. For every £1 donated the club gets £2.
And if you donate any amount, I'll give you a free month of London Centric.
donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...
This week we're running a matched funding campaign. For every £1 donated the club gets £2.
And if you donate any amount, I'll give you a free month of London Centric.
donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...
Westminster House Youth Club Christmas Appeal – Big Give
We're a busy youth club providing after-school opportunities, support, and education to young people in south east London. We've got …
donate.biggive.org
December 9, 2025 at 9:53 AM
We're probably going to miss our target... donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...
But if you donate to this excellent cause by noon today your money will be doubled and (if you drop me an email) I'll give you free access to the members-only London Centric stories I'm working on.
But if you donate to this excellent cause by noon today your money will be doubled and (if you drop me an email) I'll give you free access to the members-only London Centric stories I'm working on.