@maxwellmodell
Research Associate at Cardiff University School of Journalism, Media and Culture studying impartiality in UK political news. Other research interests include all things podcasts, political interviews and broadcast talk He/Him
Are you a feminist and podcaster? We are seeking women & gender-diverse podcasters (Europe, North America, Latin America) to share their experiences of podcasting as political action & transmission.
👉 Your participation in our short survey is appreciated! rug.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
With the Senedd election just months away public understanding, or lack thereof, of devolution and Welsh politics more broadly has never been more important.
Stephen's new research with YouGov provides a powerful insight into the depth of the problem.
New research by the Impartiality project team (@stephencushion.bsky.social, @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social, @maxwellmodell.bsky.social & myself) tracked coverage of the Greens on BBC & ITV News at 10.
🔗 tinyurl.com/yzmeujxm
🧵👇
#impartiality #GreenParty #GortonandDenton #byelection
Write up of our latest research on impartiality, and why the Greens are still struggling for a broadcast breakthrough
As the Greens celebrate victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election, TV news bosses might want to reflect on why the party's improving election and opinion poll results are not matched by more frequent appearances on bulletins.
A trend that's the mirror image of Reform UK.
Research team: @stephencushion.bsky.social, @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social, @perkinskeighley.bsky.social and myself.
Reform UK saw a substantial increase in news coverage following its May local elections victory.
The question now is whether broadcasters will take the Green Party’s victory in Gorton and Denton as a similar sign of its electoral significance and increase coverage over the coming months.
(5/6)
This demonstrates an inequality of treatment between the rising left and right. The BBC cited opinion polling as one of the factors behind the increased coverage of Reform UK, but the Green Party’s popularity has not received anywhere near the same recognition.
tinyurl.com/ycx9wynn
(4/6)
The Greens led four items. These stories related to the May local election campaign, Zach Polanski winning the party leadership in September and the party conference in October.
Reform UK, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and SNP led substantially more items.
tinyurl.com/bde6bf26
(3/6)
In 2025, the Greens were the 6th most covered opposition party on BBC News at Ten and ITV News at Ten. They were referenced in just 32 items, behind the Conservatives (375), Reform UK (213), the Liberal Democrats (116), the SNP (46), and ahead of Plaid Cymru (10).
tinyurl.com/ma2385pf
(2/6)
New blog!
The @greenparty.org.uk striking victory brings into focus how the broadcasters treat the party.
Despite sustained improvements in opinion ratings, our new research suggests broadcasters still treat them as a minor party of little electoral significance.
tinyurl.com/35yzcsas
(1/6)
Chris Mason describing a by-election result as "extraordinary" - I think I've seen this film before
In live broadcasting, when things go wrong, they can often be blamed on live conditions. Once a programme has been edited, this no longer applies.
I have a new article out in @uk.theconversation.com outlining my thoughts on the Bafta racial slur controversy and how the BBC failed in its editorial responsibility causing substantial and avoidable harm to the black and disabled communities.
theconversation.com/baftas-racia...
Over many pints I've pitched the idea of a book called 'Conservation Analysis for Screenwriters', merging my interest in social interaction with my love for film and theatre.
I was delighted to find out @spencerhazel.bsky.social has written something along those lines.
Perfect read to start 2026
It was a pleasure to speak at @ofcom.bsky.social's 'Making Sense of the Senedd Election' event yesterday. I discussed our upcoming @cujournmedcul.bsky.social study of impartiality in media coverage of the Senedd election campaign and our wider Enhancing Impartiality project.
The events of the last 24 hours show why it's important to build functional verification structures in public and counterpublic spaces to resist the authoritarian erosion of our democratic systems, as described in this thread.
After the killing of Alex Pretti by federal ICE officers, BBC Verify has stepped up to invalidate false accounts of the events from Trump and his representatives. This should be front and centre of all BBC coverage and give them permission to call out blatant lies.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...
With the new season of Question Time starting tonight, now's the perfect time to read the latest blog post from the Enhancing the Impartiality of News project...
A new blog from the Enhancing the Impartiality of News project takes a look at who appeared on Question Time throughout 2025 & what those guest choices reveal about how the programme interprets political balance.
🔗 bit.ly/4jLeYY2
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#BBC #QuestionTime #impartiality #impartialityproject
EXCL: SNP appearances plummet and right-wing journos appear twice as often as left-wing...🤔
Some intriguing findings by media experts at @cardiffuni.bsky.social about Question Time in 2025👀
Thanks to @maxwellmodell.bsky.social for sharing insights!
www.thenational.scot/news/2577777...
It was a pleasure to speak to @stephbrawn.bsky.social of @scotnational.bsky.social to discuss our latest analysis of Question Time guests in 2025.
Research team: @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social, @stephencushion.bsky.social, @perkinskeighley.bsky.social, and myself
www.thenational.scot/news/2577777...
Research team: @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social, @stephencushion.bsky.social, @perkinskeighley.bsky.social, and myself.
This research was part of our ongoing AHRC Enhancing Impartiality project.
@mattwalshjourno.bsky.social's original study was published in Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism.
tinyurl.com/mue5f6mn
Journalists invited onto Question Time were more likely to be right-wing, while civic society guests were more likely to be left-wing.
There was a broad ideological balance non-party guests, but with slightly more right-wing than left-leaning panel members. 38.5% of non-political guests (20) were right-leaning, 32.7% (17) had a neutral or unknown political alignment, and 28.8% (15) were left-leaning.
tinyurl.com/5z9kua7c
The SNPs’ 3 appearances represent a significant decline in prominence compared to the ten years prior, when they appeared in 7 to 14 episodes per series. This is likely a reaction to the 39 seats the SNP lost in the 2024 General Election.
Parties across the devolved nations only featured in episodes when Question Time was broadcast from Scotland (three episodes), Wales (two episodes) and Northern Ireland (one episode). As a result, they most frequently discuss issues specific to their nation rather than the UK as a whole.
The Greens appear in 4 of 33 programmes in 2025. Despite a spike in support in public opinion polls and the party's membership more than doubling since Zack Polanski was elected party leader at the beginning of September 2025, there has been no equivalent increase in Question Time representation.
Labour (33) and the Conservatives (33) feature in every episode. The Liberal Democrats (13) and Reform UK (11) featured in approximately 1 in 3 episodes.
public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...