Tom Baker
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mrtombaker.bsky.social
Tom Baker
@mrtombaker.bsky.social
910 followers 350 following 140 posts
Husband, Dad, politics/campaigns/organising at @savechildrenuk.bsky.social, Christian, Reading FC, like to 🏃, help with Cubs, bad at spelling, blog at https://thoughtfulcampaigner.org/
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mrtombaker.bsky.social
4. Growth among independent creators in the US (who are increasingly important for where people get news) HAS SKEWED RIGHT-LEANING

More here - www.mediamatters.org/google/right...
November 14, 2025 at 11:24 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Excited that at @savechildrenuk.bsky.social we've opened our Young People Climate Fund

It's there to fund youth-led and climate-focused activities in London, West Yorkshire and the West Midlands.

Grants from £1k to £3k - deadline 30/11

More at - www.savethechildren.org.uk/how-you-can-...
November 11, 2025 at 11:46 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Spotted these @greenpeaceuk.bsky.social campaign posters on a recent visit to Birmingham.

Love the bright and bold design. Stood out at a busy junction.

#ArtOfActvisim
October 31, 2025 at 8:25 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Lucy Powell’s statement during Deputy Leadership election to @labourcid.bsky.social included a commitment to push the government for a timetable for a return to 0.7% ODA.

lcid.org.uk/deputyleader...
Image of a Statement from Lucy Powell taken l from https://lcid.org.uk/deputyleadership-election-2025/
October 25, 2025 at 10:00 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
“Our analysis has found that major government policy announcements fade from public attention after 24 hours, raising questions over how effectively Whitehall communicates beyond Westminster”

Fascinating research from New Britain Project ->> www.newbritain.org.uk/cananybodyhe...
October 23, 2025 at 9:53 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Replace Republican for Radical Right, and NGO/Charities for Democrats - the same is true..

Time for us to change our approach - www.fwiw.news/p/democrats-...
Text which reads: While Republicans are scripting, recording, and posting, Democrats are stuck in an approvals email chain waiting for a fifth sign-off. By the time our content goes live, the moment has passed. They’ve ripped countless long and short-form videos, shaping the narrative, and we’re playing catch up. And when our content finally goes live, it’s often a recycled TV ad, stump speech, or one-off explainer — content designed for the Obama-era, not the Trump-era algorithm.
October 3, 2025 at 10:41 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Just saying. Been talking about the ‘politics of vibes’ before it was cool…
WhatsApp message from June 2025 saying: Agreed - I have a whole ‘vibes’ theory of what makes an issue politically salient that I’ve been kicking around in my mind that the individual polling often misses that.
September 30, 2025 at 6:05 PM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Our message to everyone arriving for Labour Party Conference - it’s time to scrap the two child limit.
Image of a billboard in Liverpool which says ‘wasn’t the point of winning to lift kids out of poverty’
September 28, 2025 at 11:29 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
"But most voters are getting on with their lives, trying to look after their families and do their day job. They're not getting obsessed with what we're getting obsessed with"

Useful reminder from @chriscurtis94.bsky.social in latest Policy Unstuck > policyunstuck.castfromclay.co.uk/p/i-m-not-go...
Text which reads: The first thing I learned in polling is that there is a silent majority out there who are often very different from the noisy people that you hear from. Newspaper headlines do not represent the public view. My email inbox does not represent the public’s views. Planning consultations, which mostly hear from people who are opposed to projects, do not represent the views of the public who often appreciate, for example, the importance of building new homes or energy infrastructure. The second thing I learned is not to sweat the small stuff. Ultimately, there may be an issue here that seems like it's really big, it seems like it's the end of the world, it seems like it's the only thing everyone ever cares about. But most voters are getting on with their lives, trying to look after their families and do their day job. They're not getting obsessed with what we're getting obsessed with.
August 22, 2025 at 10:47 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Let's be honest, it's the same for most NGO comms

From www.chaoticera.news/p/opinion-zo...
Text box that reads For starters, most Democratic campaigns in recent years have struggled to compete in the attention economy. There’s an outdated school of thought in Democratic communications that goes something like this: You start by crafting your poll-tested, focus-grouped message that’s so polished and flawless that it’s utterly boring and unremarkable. Then, you try to shoehorn this perfect message wherever you can — maybe a quote in a paywalled local news article or a wordy tweet that virtually no one reads.
July 24, 2025 at 10:31 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
7% of access news podcast weekly with Spotify and BBC Sounds are main access points.

Top podcasts are:
1. The Rest is Politics
2. News Agents
3. PoliticsJOE
July 3, 2025 at 7:09 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Facebook, YouTube and X are the biggest social, messaging, and video networks for news.

In 2025 for the first time more with a right political leaning are using X/Twitter.

Bluesky has reach 2% or less for news globally
July 3, 2025 at 7:02 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
2. The BBC still dominates where we get our news from - both online (47% get news weekly from the Beeb) and offline (41%).

Behind that its more fragmented - Guardian and Mail big online, ITV, Sky and GB News offline. Commercial radio reaches more than any daily paper.
July 3, 2025 at 6:56 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
The annual Digital News Report 2025 from @reutersinstitute.bsky.social is a treasure trove of insight into news consumption.

A few snippets from the latest report for the UK.

1. Most of us now get our news online and on mobile - audiences for TV (down to 48%) and print (down to 12%) from 2013.
July 3, 2025 at 6:52 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
‘Dignity is the Starmerite code’

Useful para from this long @newstatesman.com profile of the Prime Minister on what drives his approach.

Useful summarised in this podcast - podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
June 18, 2025 at 8:04 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Helpful look at how UK voters are moving over the last 12 months.

From www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/blogs/pseph_...
June 5, 2025 at 2:58 PM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
A powerful prayer to mark the start of @christianaiduk.bsky.social Week.

An amazing institution that for decades has mobilised millions to act, give and pray for global justice
May 11, 2025 at 1:43 PM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
These personas on how different MPs are using and consuming media are both fascinating and really useful for any change maker looking to influence Parliament.

www.5654.co.uk/our-perspect...
Graphic taken from last page of report at https://www.5654.co.uk/our-perspective/influence-and-information-media-habits-of-westminster
May 7, 2025 at 1:23 PM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Important front page from the Independent highlighting @savechildrenuk.bsky.social research showing that cuts to UK Aid will mean that over 55 million people will lose access to essential services like education, food, water, and healthcare.

More at www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
April 16, 2025 at 5:06 PM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Good look at the challenges of holding the Labour electoral coalition together - and the challenge from right and left…

open.substack.com/pub/morningc...
And a wider question looms: how will a government intent on “a decade of national renewal” win re-election? Psephologists liken the broad but shallow coalition that elected Starmer last year to a Jenga tower or a sandcastle – one easily toppled. Private polling circulated by the “Unite the Right” campaign – which is discussing Reform-Conservative strategy – shows that a third of 2024 Labour supporters would consider voting Liberal Democrat or Green. Critics argue that recent decisions, such as cutting welfare, backing a third runway at Heathrow airport and reducing foreign aid by 40 per cent (to fund higher defence spending), risk unravelling the party’s delicate coalition.
March 18, 2025 at 8:31 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
What policy announcement’s the public have noticed in the first 6 months and what they think about them.

Useful research, as always, from More in Common

www.moreincommon.org.uk/latest-insig...
Graphic showing the public’s views of the policy successes and failures of the first few months of the Labour government
February 6, 2025 at 9:14 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Just finished ‘Acts of Resistance’ by Amber Massie-Bloomfield.

Really broad look at the important role of art in social change - with some good case studies.

#bookrecommendations
Front cover of book.
January 29, 2025 at 1:10 PM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Such an important read on how the media landscape for news is rapidly changing - and how it played out in the US election.

www.ft.com/content/9f2b...
Extract from FT article which reads: https://www.ft.com/content/9f2be125-ba1b-4062-ab2d-4b2977db20b0 There is a huge, and growing, media world that is hidden from sight for mainstream audiences. Today’s podcast stars are both very famous — filling up Madison Square Garden, for example — yet also unknown to large portions of Americans. My parents, who are in their seventies and still keep “the news” humming on their TV set all day, have never heard of them. For younger generations, YouTube has supplanted cable television. Media observers have been talking about this fragmentation for many years. But during the recent US election, the trend seemed to explode in plain sight, as exemplified by the influx of podcast bros inside the marbled halls of Washington this week. The reordering raises an existential question for the giant conglomerates that have dominated the US media for the past century: where will the dust settle? And what will be the role of traditional media in 10 years’ time?
January 28, 2025 at 2:16 PM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
Back to work today with this energy….

with thanks to @lifeatrally.bsky.social for the inspiration
January 6, 2025 at 8:14 AM
mrtombaker.bsky.social
📚 2024 Book Recommendations for Changemakers.

Some books that I've enjoyed this year which have helped to shape and inform my thinking and practice as a campaigner.

A quick 🧵
December 27, 2024 at 2:45 PM