Ian Silvera
@iansilvera.bsky.social
Edit Tech, Power & Media 🤖📰, looking at innovation in technology, its impact on media and politics, and how policy-makers deal with it all. news-future.com
Wouldn’t SuperBowl be even bigger if it was on Saturday? Perhaps I’m just being a dim Brit
February 7, 2026 at 9:01 AM
Wouldn’t SuperBowl be even bigger if it was on Saturday? Perhaps I’m just being a dim Brit
A new @ippr.org report (Roa Powell and Carsten Jung) has found that OpenAI's flagship LLM product, ChatGPT, heavily relies on The Guardian for news referrals. The British-headquartered outlet signed a deal with the US AI company back in Feb 2025, but...
January 30, 2026 at 4:09 PM
A new @ippr.org report (Roa Powell and Carsten Jung) has found that OpenAI's flagship LLM product, ChatGPT, heavily relies on The Guardian for news referrals. The British-headquartered outlet signed a deal with the US AI company back in Feb 2025, but...
My main challenge to Lobby reporters and political commentators: how would you describe ‘the centre’ in UK politics today and what is your empirical evidence? Cc @stephenkb.bsky.social
January 29, 2026 at 9:41 AM
My main challenge to Lobby reporters and political commentators: how would you describe ‘the centre’ in UK politics today and what is your empirical evidence? Cc @stephenkb.bsky.social
With 180 million users, Strava is now planning an IPO. Here's why I think it's the future of social networking. www.news-future.com/p/teetotal-a...
Teetotal and Terribly Positive, Why Strava is The Future of Social Networking
With 180 million users, the fitness tracking app is now planning an IPO
www.news-future.com
January 14, 2026 at 3:06 PM
With 180 million users, Strava is now planning an IPO. Here's why I think it's the future of social networking. www.news-future.com/p/teetotal-a...
Surgical strikes, minimal casualties, night-time raids. We’ve been here before. But this time we’re not watching cable news correspondents embedded inside the American War Machine at prime time.
open.substack.com/pub/futurene...
open.substack.com/pub/futurene...
War in The Age of The Meme
Social media has encouraged us to become bit part players in conflicts
open.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Surgical strikes, minimal casualties, night-time raids. We’ve been here before. But this time we’re not watching cable news correspondents embedded inside the American War Machine at prime time.
open.substack.com/pub/futurene...
open.substack.com/pub/futurene...
Just turned on BBC Three for the first time in forever and it's literally just re-runs of old Top Gear and Tommy Furry. Make of that what you will...
December 4, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Just turned on BBC Three for the first time in forever and it's literally just re-runs of old Top Gear and Tommy Furry. Make of that what you will...
DMGT buying The Telegraph would create a super Tory-affiliated outlet, w/ the latter title getting closer to Reform over the years while the Mail continually backed the Conservatives. Business-wise, Mail+ was launched far too late, so now DMGT could have a very strong subscription offering.
November 22, 2025 at 9:31 AM
DMGT buying The Telegraph would create a super Tory-affiliated outlet, w/ the latter title getting closer to Reform over the years while the Mail continually backed the Conservatives. Business-wise, Mail+ was launched far too late, so now DMGT could have a very strong subscription offering.
Berkshire Hathaway, a long-time backer of Apple, has now thrown its considerable weight behind one its tech rivals, Alphabet, with a $4.3.bn stake. It has also increased its stake in SiriusXM. The biz is targeting $1.5bn of free cash flow by 2027.
www.news-future.com/p/why-berksh...
www.news-future.com/p/why-berksh...
Why Berkshire Hathaway Loves Radio
Mr Warren E. Buffett and Co. are on manoeuvres with the media again
www.news-future.com
November 16, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Berkshire Hathaway, a long-time backer of Apple, has now thrown its considerable weight behind one its tech rivals, Alphabet, with a $4.3.bn stake. It has also increased its stake in SiriusXM. The biz is targeting $1.5bn of free cash flow by 2027.
www.news-future.com/p/why-berksh...
www.news-future.com/p/why-berksh...
Today, the international currency and bond markets have turned on Britain. After much obfuscation and unsound media briefings, it increasingly looks like the UK’s Chancellor will merely tinker with income tax thresholds at her next Budget...
November 14, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Today, the international currency and bond markets have turned on Britain. After much obfuscation and unsound media briefings, it increasingly looks like the UK’s Chancellor will merely tinker with income tax thresholds at her next Budget...
If someone could actually build a proper political party in the US, something akin to the parliamentary systems across the UK, Canada and Australia, they would do extremely well. As it stands, the American Republic looks wedded to personality politics for at least the next electoral cycle.
November 5, 2025 at 9:52 AM
If someone could actually build a proper political party in the US, something akin to the parliamentary systems across the UK, Canada and Australia, they would do extremely well. As it stands, the American Republic looks wedded to personality politics for at least the next electoral cycle.
The Financial Times launches The AI Shift, written by John Burn-Murdoch and Sarah O'Connor. It's a weekly deep-dive into how AI is reshaping work, productivity and society. The newsletter promises to combine original reporting, fresh data and visual storytelling.
October 23, 2025 at 11:51 AM
The Financial Times launches The AI Shift, written by John Burn-Murdoch and Sarah O'Connor. It's a weekly deep-dive into how AI is reshaping work, productivity and society. The newsletter promises to combine original reporting, fresh data and visual storytelling.
The flotilla celebrations are just bizarre. Perhaps I’m just getting too old, but aren’t activists meant to achieve something? It’s all v performative. Maybe that’s the schtick — more shows, more dead ends, and more ‘celebrations’. Rinse and repeat, then move onto the next cause.
October 8, 2025 at 6:03 PM
The flotilla celebrations are just bizarre. Perhaps I’m just getting too old, but aren’t activists meant to achieve something? It’s all v performative. Maybe that’s the schtick — more shows, more dead ends, and more ‘celebrations’. Rinse and repeat, then move onto the next cause.
A new world was created in the 1950s & we are still discovering how it was really formed today. If anything else, this story should give you a sense of the powers at play & the high stakes which had to be navigated at the start of what we now call the Cold War.
www.news-future.com/p/the-shadow...
www.news-future.com/p/the-shadow...
The Shadow General, The Press Baron and The CIA - a Cold War Story
How The Daily Express went to war with two intelligence services, enraged Winston Churchill and found itself in the middle of an international spy scandal
www.news-future.com
October 5, 2025 at 1:02 PM
A new world was created in the 1950s & we are still discovering how it was really formed today. If anything else, this story should give you a sense of the powers at play & the high stakes which had to be navigated at the start of what we now call the Cold War.
www.news-future.com/p/the-shadow...
www.news-future.com/p/the-shadow...
If I ever wanted to watch the wrestling, I had to pop around my cousins as a kid. They had NTL, a now defunct US-listed British broadcaster which carried Sky Sports. My father refused to pay the Murdoch levy and we subsequently used to catch any major football games on the radio. (1/3)
October 2, 2025 at 8:04 AM
If I ever wanted to watch the wrestling, I had to pop around my cousins as a kid. They had NTL, a now defunct US-listed British broadcaster which carried Sky Sports. My father refused to pay the Murdoch levy and we subsequently used to catch any major football games on the radio. (1/3)
Woke up to the US' Secretary of War Pete Hegseth berating his military over its sartorial standards. The message was to the point: get leaner, look meaner. I was cheering along, dear reader, until I happened upon a tragedy. Hegseth was wearing brown shinny shoes
October 1, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Woke up to the US' Secretary of War Pete Hegseth berating his military over its sartorial standards. The message was to the point: get leaner, look meaner. I was cheering along, dear reader, until I happened upon a tragedy. Hegseth was wearing brown shinny shoes
The Digital ID debate has exposed large knowledge gaps in SW1. Some of the biggest & best think-tanks don’t have a singular tech policy expert, while top political hacks — who have to scrutinise the government in real-time — don’t have a high-level understanding of the issue
September 28, 2025 at 4:50 PM
The Digital ID debate has exposed large knowledge gaps in SW1. Some of the biggest & best think-tanks don’t have a singular tech policy expert, while top political hacks — who have to scrutinise the government in real-time — don’t have a high-level understanding of the issue
As is typical with the PM, he's sent someone else to defend this major policy and he hasn't announced it to the Commons, where our elected representatives could debate it. The good news: the plan and its messaging aren't surviving impact this morning
September 26, 2025 at 9:00 AM
As is typical with the PM, he's sent someone else to defend this major policy and he hasn't announced it to the Commons, where our elected representatives could debate it. The good news: the plan and its messaging aren't surviving impact this morning
September 25, 2025 at 10:15 PM
The type of announcement which prompts emergency board meetings in Silicon Valley
www.axios.com/2025/09/23/m...
www.axios.com/2025/09/23/m...
Scoop: Microsoft looks to build AI marketplace for publishers
Copilot would be the first buyer in the Publisher Content Marketplace.
www.axios.com
September 23, 2025 at 7:28 PM
The type of announcement which prompts emergency board meetings in Silicon Valley
www.axios.com/2025/09/23/m...
www.axios.com/2025/09/23/m...
I’ve responded to James Marriott’s intriguing new essay on the impact of technology and media on our post-industrial society below. In doing so, I’ve adopted a slightly different format than usual, but, as ever, I do hope readers enjoy it
open.substack.com/pub/futurene...
open.substack.com/pub/futurene...
The Post-Literate Society?
An Annotated Critique
open.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 5:33 AM
I’ve responded to James Marriott’s intriguing new essay on the impact of technology and media on our post-industrial society below. In doing so, I’ve adopted a slightly different format than usual, but, as ever, I do hope readers enjoy it
open.substack.com/pub/futurene...
open.substack.com/pub/futurene...
Favourable coverage for access isn’t a new tactic from The Pentagon. The US broadcast media was especially exposed to such deals during the Vietnam War, when light-travelling press reporters could find their own way into the conflict. A camera crew, however, is a different logistical feat. (1/4)
September 21, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Favourable coverage for access isn’t a new tactic from The Pentagon. The US broadcast media was especially exposed to such deals during the Vietnam War, when light-travelling press reporters could find their own way into the conflict. A camera crew, however, is a different logistical feat. (1/4)
Judge Steven Merryday, who has a fairly sound record, is a George H.W. Bush appointee and is potentially a bit of an Anglophile. He cited Hyde Park Speakers' Corner as he effectively told Trump to bore off as part of the POTUS' legal dispute with the New York Times.
September 19, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Judge Steven Merryday, who has a fairly sound record, is a George H.W. Bush appointee and is potentially a bit of an Anglophile. He cited Hyde Park Speakers' Corner as he effectively told Trump to bore off as part of the POTUS' legal dispute with the New York Times.
The New York Times has already spent more than $10mn suing Microsoft and OpenAI as part of a potentially landmark generative AI suit, the publisher is now facing another legal challenge from none other than the President of the United States. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Trump files defamation and libel lawsuit against New York Times
President Donald Trump accuses the newspaper and its reporters of defaming him in a book and three articles he said were “false, malicious, defamatory, and disparaging.”
www.washingtonpost.com
September 16, 2025 at 4:51 PM
The New York Times has already spent more than $10mn suing Microsoft and OpenAI as part of a potentially landmark generative AI suit, the publisher is now facing another legal challenge from none other than the President of the United States. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
NEW: How and why the British media is picking its winners as party politics evolves into a five-horse race www.news-future.com/p/in-a-multi...
In a Multi-Party World, the British Media is Picking its Winners
Reflections on Reform, the opinion polls and the state of political journalism
www.news-future.com
September 11, 2025 at 7:47 AM
NEW: How and why the British media is picking its winners as party politics evolves into a five-horse race www.news-future.com/p/in-a-multi...
Axel Springer, which was one of the first major global publishers to sign a partnership with OpenAI, is going to give Sam Altman an award for being an “outstanding individual”.
August 18, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Axel Springer, which was one of the first major global publishers to sign a partnership with OpenAI, is going to give Sam Altman an award for being an “outstanding individual”.