The role of journalism in post-Brexit polarisation

Catherine Neilan

04:12 21st May 2021

In the years leading up to and after the referendum, journalists have often been accused of propping up the status quo.

Throughout the Brexit wars, despite numerous Leave-backing newspapers, there has been a perception of the 'Remain-backing liberal elite', the British answer to the 'lamestream media' tag that Donald Trump and his followers have assigned journalists in the US. Trust in the media, and the disconnect between the industry and the wider world, has taken a beating in recent years.

Some of this is down to explicit positions taken on Brexit and other hot topics, where nuance has been drowned out as arguments got ever more heated. But are journalists really out of touch - and is there need for new players like GB News to reach audiences that have been left behind?

To what extent are journalists fuelling polarisation, and to what extent are they being swept up in the same culture wars as everyone else?

To answer some of these questions Catherine Neilan talks to Dominic Ponsford, media editor at the New Statesman, and Chris Curtis, editor of TV trade bible Broadcast.

Listen to the interview in full below.