iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I wonder what she would think of dating bisexual men.

A screenshot of a paragraph from a story in The Fence, reading: "Another friend, visiting a pub in a well-to-do part of Hammersmith, recalled platonically sitting on the lap of her (straight, married) female friend, which prompted a woman to walk over and say: ‘I know what you’re doing. I’m from Sweden, we have a lot of those. It’s disgusting.’"

Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Much to admire about The Guardian publishing its corrections publicly every day, but I particularly enjoy that the corrections extend to recipes

A recipe for a summer spritz cocktail overstated the amount of elderflower liqueur by some margin: 35ml was the intended measure, not 235ml (The good mixer, 18 July, Feast, p15).

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

New: The new owners of Scientific American magazine have asked the U.S. National Labor Relations Board to halt a unionisation election count due to go ahead tomorrow. It comes after Canadian publisher LabX Media Group bought the 180-year-old mag from Springer Nature, cutting 15 roles

A copy of Scientific American is seen held in someone's hand in front of a newsstand. It reads: The Unsolvable Problem - A journey into some of the strangest ideas in modern math and physics.

(Picture: dennizn – stock.adobe.com)

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

For the avoidance of doubt, here's what he said in full:

Pina’s comments in full
Pina was responding to Le Monde’s chief digital operations officer Lou Grasser, who said that YouTube needs to let publishers “put a video under the paywall, to have a product feature that will help us to engage readers on that.”

He replied: “I mean, the model that we developed, the core model of YouTube, as everybody knows, is an ad-based model—which was, by the way, already the legacy publishing model as well, so we are following the different sets and phases of the evolution of the industry.

“And of course, we put all the priority on ads, because the ads is where typically this industry, generally speaking, monetizes—both the entertainment, as well as news, so why not start with the ads? We have a very sophisticated and very successful ads model, which we do the revenue share for.

“Subscription comes next. We have subscription products already available—we have more than 10 ways of making money on YouTube, but subscription is an important component to it. And it’s already available, paywalls are already available.

“But having a paywall that has a conversation between YouTube and the current paywall of publishers is something that has not yet been developed, but we have product and engineers working on it, thanks to great partners such as Le Monde who pushed us to start developing that solution. So I would expect it to come, and happening very soon.

“It deals with sensitivity around about privacy—there’s no reason why we say no. We are eager to share the ad money with you, and we are eager to share the subscription money as well. It’s just a question of how to handle the data, and how to be incredibly careful and thoughtful about how that data is exchanged—and how to be, of course, law-abiding and privacy-safe, which is a crucial concern that we have.”

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

It's a year since Tom McTague took over as editor of The New Statesman and it sounds as though things are going well: circulation is up around 10%, he told me, and peers at other outlets agreed the mag is doing more to set the news agenda. www.amediaoperator.com/news/the-new...

A picture of The New Statesman on some grass. The cover reads "What Britain Won't Face" and depicts Britannia, the personification of Britain, crouched on the beach with her head in the sand as a tidal wave approaches.

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Christiane Amanpour: "Clearly I'm concerned" about what might be coming if CNN comes under ownership of the Ellisons. "I'm concerned based on what's happened [for example at] CBS. I mean, do I have to list what's happening there? Haemorrhaging viewers [and] probably money"

Christiane Amanpour on stage at the Sir Harry Evans Truth Tellers Summit in London in 2026

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

I spoke to Politico co-founder Robert Allbritton about his plans to expand/rebrand his DC newsroom NOTUS in order to occupy the space ceded by The Washington Post. He's bullish on its business prospects. www.amediaoperator.com/news/robert-...

Allbritton described the expense as “significant, but it’s not huge. I did have somebody come up to me going: ‘Oh my God, you’re gonna lose all this money!’ And [I said]: ‘Yeah, I might lose like, a small, single-digit percentage from the proceeds of the sale of Politico.’”

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

After a long time saying I would get round to it, a couple of weeks ago I set up an Instagram account dedicated to discarded BuzzBallz. I'm pleased with the result, not least because my friends have taken it up and are now constantly sending me pictures of BuzzBallz www.instagram.com/ballzinnatur...

a red buzzball is seen from ground level next to a bike cart and a tree

a yellow buzzball is seen perched on the ledge of a white wall

a red buzzball is seen from directly above amid tree litter (and actual litter)

a clear buzzball is seen from above nestled amid a sort of rock garden

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

The NYT added another slab of subscribers last quarter, but the market ain't so thrilled: its share price was down 17% at one point this morning, and is still down around 8% at time of writing.

A Google Finance share price graphic showing the NYT's price down 8% versus last night's market close. It was down as low as 17% right at the start of the day.

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

wonderful banner ad placement

The City AM article about the London Stock Exchange Group axing FT subscriptions appears completely surrounded by website banner ads for the FT itself, featuring the line: "For the why: FT"

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

high quality display ad here

A New York Times web article is interrupted by a display ad comprising four pictures, three of them depicting takeaway cup lids. The fourth picture appears to be a disposable food cup or bowl.

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

a) lmao, b) it's a good question though - maybe @reutersinstitute.bsky.social, ABC or @pressgazette.co.uk can help

A screenshot from the story below, reading: "Rather embarrassingly, we’re less sure about how consumer spend splits between physical copies and paywalled subscriptions for magazines or newspapers like, erm, The Financial Times. So we’re going to have to omit reading materials from our number."

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

A song by an AI artist named Aluna, seemingly there just to promote Cap Ferret in Aquitaine, has made it onto the actual Spotify artist page for Aluna (formerly of AlunaGeorge) and from there into my Release Radar

A screenshot of a song by "Aluna" titled "Cap Ferret c'est la Magie" illustrated with a beautiful woman sat in what is quite clearly an AI generated beach

A screenshot showing the AI song included in the new releases on established artist Aluna (formerly of AlunaGeorge)'s Spotify artist page

AI Aluna's Instagram page in which it's confirmed she is a "projet IA" (an AI project)

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Very much enjoyed this from @miasato.bsky.social via embedded.substack.com/p/mia-sato-t... (I'm not sure my reporting specifically translates to TikTok virality, but "don't spend more than 30 minutes doing a TikTok explaining your story" also seems like a solid rule)

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

a thousand business journalists just cried out in alarm on.ft.com/46hWB6L

A screenshot of an FT article, illustrated with the Wall Street road sign:

Headline: Donald Trump calls on US companies to ditch quarterly reporting
Subhead: US president says taking a quarterly view on company is 'not good'
Photo caption: Trump issued his call to scrap quarterly reporting in a Truth Social post

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

when I say the media reporting I do now is niche this is what I mean www.amediaoperator.com/news/emerald...

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

had to do a double take on this one, thought for a second Meryl was doing a Scarlett Johansson

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

love the Vodafone rewards app

a reward is pictured among the options reading: '£10 towards your mortgage'

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

they're really not ambiguous, and they are definitely all examples of newspapers wrapped in ads! this has been a thing for decades: www.nytimes.com/2006/04/17/b...

rhe ad, written in the style of a guest column, will run as a special wrap-around in today's edition of the Washington Post, with distribution planned to the White House staff.

One of the initiatives includes the introduction of wrap-around ads for their newspapers, which the Times calls "wraps." These ads, which have drawn in big advertisers, provide great visibility and help boost revenue for the print division.
Typically, this includes wrapping the paper, a strip ad along the front page, and multipre run-of-paper (ROP) ads inside.

Today, many of the country's leading newspapers
-including the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle and The Dallas Morning News—will be wrapped in faux, redacted versions of their own frontpages and mastheads.

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Wirecutter, The New York Times' product review section, is advertising a role specifically focused on writing about goods for disaster and emergency preparedness. seems they've had people on this beat for a couple of years, but certainly feels very 2025! nytimes.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/NYT/de...

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

six dollars a year for PRINT??

WIRED sub plans, with an annual digital sub for $5 and print plus digital $6

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

when it got too hot they had to encase parts of the bridge in reflective material and pump cooled air in to keep it from cracking more

parts of hammersmith bridge covered in shiny reflective material and attached to a mobile air conditioning unit by a plastic tube

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

polled my IG followers (mostly young, university educated Brits and Americans) about their AI search engine use and it seems like it has pretty low uptake among a group I otherwise would have thought would be model early adopters (side note: only one of the six people who voted yes lives in the UK)

a screenshot of an Instagram poll asking whether you use an AI chatbot instead of a search engine, showing 89% voting no and 11% yes

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

...utterly unaware that his wife, ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS, is sat two rows behind me

it's kristin scott thomas, two rows behind me in the lecture theatre

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

here's me, dutifully sat at the front of a lecture by Bloomberg editor John Micklethwait...

john micklethwait speaks to a crowd in a lecture theatre (picture: Eve Lacroix, City University)

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

I hope you'll excuse me breaking the 'no posting screenshots from X' taboo for this one

charli xcx tweets: 'I just met pop crave like the irl person wtf i'm starstruck'

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

hahahahaha www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/b...

He wrote that Mr. Murdoch and Lachlan's representatives on the trust, including Mr.
Barr, "demonstrated a dishonesty of purpose and motive" in abetting their plan.
Mr. Gorman criticizes another one of their newly appointed representatives for his scant knowledge of the family and trust, writing that his research had been limited to "Google searches and watching YouTube videos about the Murdochs (or the fictional family in the show 'Succession')," as well as listening to a book by Michael Wolff about the family.

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

another year another mix of gay stuff and the Skyrim/Oblivion soundtracks

spotify wrapped summary: top artists kaytranada, jeremy soule, men i trust, charli xcx and jungle. top songs: evan finds the third room (gently cringe), von dutch, cinderella, husk and 360

top songs, extended, adding jamie xx, kaytranada, sg lewis and tove lo plus justice

more top songs: men i trust, chappell roan, etc etc

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

not generally an impulse buyer but saw this in Lidl and. come on. £10? for a camp little pineapple plant? symbol of wealth and hospitality?? a steal

it's a pineapple plant in a pineapple pot with a miniature pineapple growing out the top

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

if you enjoy stupid camp comedy I highly recommend THE SIMPLE LIFE & DEATH at the Pleasance Theatre, a surreal murder mystery that throws together Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Jennifer Coolidge, Cheryl Cole, Caitlyn Jenner and Greggs

ShayShay and Fizz Sinclair appear on stage as Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie, each wearing white t-shirts emblazoned with the words STOP BEING DEAD

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

I have never hit 'deny' faster

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Bron Maher @bronmaher.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

wild www.bbc.com/news/article...

BBC headline: Logan Paul accused of misleading fans over crypto investments

For several months, Paul refused to talk to the BBC about our investigation. Then he appeared to relent, inviting us to interview him at his gym in Puerto Rico.

However, when our crew arrived, a Logan Paul lookalike turned up in the YouTuber’s place, shortly followed by a crowd shouting abuse about the BBC.

Minutes after abandoning the interview, we received a lawyer’s letter on behalf of Paul, warning us of the possible consequences if we published our findings.

At the gym, we noticed a strange atmosphere - with a suspicious number of his own cameras pointed at us. Paul’s assistant insisted our cameras should be recording from the moment the star entered the room, because of his strict schedule and timekeeping.

Then things became even stranger. Instead of Logan Paul, a lookalike arrived and sat down in front of our reporter, Matt Shea, and began impersonating the YouTuber.

We called him out and began complaining to Paul’s assistant, asking whether the real Logan Paul would be coming. At that moment, a group of people suddenly appeared, apparently from nowhere, wielding banners and shouting that the BBC were “paedophiles”.

We had flown all that way just to be trolled.

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