THROUGHOUT the course of this year, we’ve seen mainstream and legacy media outlets increasingly platforming hard-right figures and pandering to far-right causes.
Just last month, BBC Scotland presenter Gary Robertson was forced to apologise for echoing far-right rhetoric when he asked whether protesters outside Home Office hotels had “a point” that asylum seekers are given advantages that aren’t given to the “indigenous population”.
A few days before that, a Sky News political reporter ran an analysis piece questioning whether the Government should be considering gunboats as a way to deal with the small boat crisis. Ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana accused the broadcaster of “mainstream fascism”.
Zack Polanski was thrown into this evolving media landscape last week when he became the new leader of the Green Party of England and Wales. Despite various hostile interviews, he was unapologetic and honest in sharing his views and combative in the way he spoke about “replacing” Keir Starmer.
After being given a taste of a UK broadcast round in all its glory, I was interested to know how he plans to deal with a hostile media environment going forward.
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“Take them on, and to be unapologetic about the things I stand for,” he told The National.
“To recognise that they’re always going to write hostile stories, but actually just stand by what I say [anyway].”
Polanski spoke about how he doesn’t mind right-wing media outlets coming for him, because he thinks the public have got to a point where they see through spin.
“I got into a conversation yesterday on 5Live where they were talking about if a young single mother stole baby food or nappies, what did I think about that?
“I said I’m not in that experience and I’d like everyone to stick to the law, but if I had no way to feed my child, then of course I would shoplift and steal.
“We’ve got to a position in politics where we know the press will take you out of context and spin stories, but I think people see through that now. I think the more they come for me, I think the more people will be curious about who is this man is they hate so much.
“I’ve got a great team around me, I’m feeling great and I’ve got no problem with them coming for me because I know that I’ve got truth, people power and communities on my side.”
Creating your own media
The media might be pandering to the far-right more often, but Polanski doesn’t sound like he’s about to pander to their agenda.
As well as being willing to not hide behind any persona, Polanski spoke about how important it is for the left to create their own media as a way of fighting back.
He has launched his own podcast in the past week called Bold Politics, and had journalist Ash Sarkar on as his first guest where they spoke about transphobia, antisemitism, Palestine Action and left-wing foreign policy.
Despite getting a two-star review from The Telegraph – which claimed he had a “fawning” conversation with Sarkar in which he did not challenge her – he said he is looking forward to getting people on the show that he has met while out campaigning.
“I’ve just launched my own podcast called Bold Politics, I’m the first current England and Wales party leader with their own podcast,” he said.
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“The reason I’ve done that is, let’s face it, I’m interviewing celebrities I really admire and who I largely agree with, but as the podcast continues I want to speak to famous people I disagree with.
“But what I am really excited about is platforming people I meet in the streets.
“I went to Clacton yesterday [last week] to take the fight to Nigel Farage and speak to his constituents. I met one man who had just come out of prison who had an amazing story to tell about how he was terrified for his community and sick of the underinvestment, but he didn’t dislike migrants because of the colour of their skin or where they were coming from, he disliked them because he felt there wasn’t enough for the local communities.
“It’s a position I can understand how someone gets to, so I thought I want to have him on the podcast.”
On the criticism from the Telegraph, he added: “I see listening and learning as a central key skill [for leadership]. I think any leader should recognise we don’t know everything. It was really telling how it was written. I just thought ‘wow, they don’t get it’, because they’re living in a world that’s about power, status quo and hierarchy, and what we’re looking to do is nurture a world of community, co-operation and compassion.”
I listened to Zack’s podcast. Here’s what I thought
The conversation Polanski has with Sarkar delves into really complex subjects you would rarely, if ever, hear political leaders discuss in such detail, and it’s refreshing to hear such an analytical conversation in a political world that has become all about soundbites and TikTok followers.
While Polanski has been criticised for not challenging Sarkar during the chat, I feel as if this isn’t the point of the podcast. It’s exploratory, it’s non-judgmental. It is there to allow people on the left of politics to be heard and for people to form their own conclusions. What would be the point of launching another news platform that doesn’t allow people on the left a word in edgeways?
There is only one episode so far and it has a bit of a pilot feel to it in terms of setting the scene, so it will be interesting to see how it develops as Polanski brings on people he doesn’t necessarily agree with as promised.
But this seems like a space that is needed in the political media landscape – a place where left voices and minority groups can speak freely and strengthen our understanding of the key issues impacting society.
