Media Storm

Let’s talk about how the media is fuelling the rise of Reform. This is not a new topic. The News Agents called it a "lefty cop-out" to blame the media for the rise of Reform. But what about the media cop-outs? What about the media's refusal to change, even as the Far-Right returns to the mainstream? The truth, Media Storm argues, is this: our media did not just fuel the rise of Reform, they cashed in on it. So on this week's episode, while Mathilda struggles with corrupted live show audio (sorry), we bring you a special audio article on the topic instead, and introduce you to the Media Storm column in Byline Times - out every Friday. This episode is produced and presented by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall). The music is by Samfire (@soundofsamfire). Support Media Storm on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast], and follow the column [https://bylinetimes.com/columns/media-storm/] on Byline Times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Warning: this episode contains mentions of baby loss. Three years ago, we brought you the story [https://mediastormpodcast.com/podcast/episode/?episode=31]of a Nigerian fishing community suing Shell in UK courts over oil spills. This year marks 10 years since their battle began, and the year it finally goes to trial. The Niger Delta is one of the ten most important wetland ecosystems in the world, home to some 31 million people. But the river that sustains so many lives of so many species has become poisoned over decades by oil. Environmental justice is a long and winding road, but communities are standing firm in their bids to hold the world’s most powerful corporations to account. They rely on media coverage to keep their fights in the limelight, yet they often struggle to be seen. Why is that? In this episode, we are joined by Lazarus Tamana, UK president of the Movement For The Survival of The Ogoni People , and Dr Emem Okon, Executive Director of community-led NGO Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre. They help us unpick the media’s coverage of the climate crisis - examining undisclosed relationships between news outlets and corporations, a failure to understand national vs. ‘World’ news, and telling choices of media language. Follow Amnesty UK’s ‘No Clean Up, No Justice [https://www.amnesty.org.uk/niger-delta]’, read Dr Emem Okon’s research [https://www.bothends.org/uploaded_files/inlineitem/IMPACT_OF_OIL_EXTRACTION_ON_WOMEN_S_HEALTH_IN_BAYEL.pdf], with the Kebetkache [https://www.kebetkachewomencentre.com/] Women Development and Resource Centre and Both Ends [https://www.bothends.org/en/Cooperation/Partner-organisations/Kebetkache/]. The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (⁠@mathildamall⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/mathildamall/?hl=en]) and Helena Wadia (⁠@helenawadia⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/helenawadia/?hl=en-gb]) , with Lily Erwood as Assistant Producer. The music is by ⁠@soundofsamfire⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/soundofsamfire/?hl=en] Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ [https://www.patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast]! Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/mediastormpod/?hl=en-gb], ⁠Bluesky⁠ [https://bsky.app/profile/mediastormpod.bsky.social], and ⁠TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@mediastormpod?lang=en] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR LIVE SHOW TICKETS [https://www.aegpresents.co.uk/event/media-storm-podcast/]! Media Storm is back for SERIES 6! And we’re here to help you get your head around the headlines (however unhinged they are). But this week, we had a little identity crisis… should we be using the term ‘mainstream media’ when it’s become such a conspiracy buzzword? And if not, how do we point out all the mainstream media mishaps?! Let us know your thoughts... Stories we delve into this week include: Two post-Brexit trade deals got very different reactions in the UK media. Spoiler: we think race has something to do with it. We look at the UK-India trade deal, and the UK-US trade deal - and ask why one got too much scrutiny, and the other almost none at all. Next up, Gérard Depardieu was convicted for two counts of sexual assault. So why are much of the media labelling him as a 'legend' - and why is The Telegraph telling us 'all is not lost' for him? And we break down Keir Starmer’s now infamous immigration speech, likened by his own party members to Enoch Powell’s xenophobic ‘rivers of blood’. This is headline politics at its worst. As usual, we end with Eyes on Palestine. Follow the Committee to Protect Journalists here [https://cpj.org/]. Click here [https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints] to complain to the BBC about their interview with Palantir. Read [https://msf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2025-05/%E2%80%9CA%20Lonely%20Place%E2%80%9D%20How%20Wethersfield%20is%20harming%20asylum%20seekers%20May%202025.pdf] the report by Doctors of the World UK and Médecins Sans Frontières about Wethersfield. The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (⁠@mathildamall⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/mathildamall/?hl=en]) and Helena Wadia (⁠@helenawadia⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/helenawadia/?hl=en-gb])  The music is by⁠ @soundofsamfire⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/soundofsamfire/?hl=en] Support us on⁠ Patreon⁠ [https://www.patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast]! Follow us on⁠ Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/mediastormpod/?hl=en-gb],⁠ Bluesky⁠ [https://bsky.app/profile/mediastormpod.bsky.social], and⁠ TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@mediastormpod?lang=en] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Date: Tue 20 May 2025 Location: The Podcast Show, ⁠Business Design Centre⁠, [https://www.axs.com/uk/venues/133730/business-design-centre-london-tickets] 52 Upper Street London N1 0QH Doors Open: 18:30 | Show Begins: 19:00 (1hr) GET YOUR TICKETS [https://q.axs.co.uk/?c=axseu&e=12490963320370694&t_locale=en-GB&axssid=khdoksc8qrl8j73b9c4id4sefs&t_originalReferringURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F] | ACCESSIBLE TICKETS [https://q.axs.co.uk/?c=axseu&e=12490963320371231&t_locale=en-GB&axssid=khdoksc8qrl8j73b9c4id4sefs&t_originalReferringURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F] | AMEX TICKETS [https://q.axs.co.uk/?c=axseu&e=12490963320370645&t_locale=en-GB&axssid=khdoksc8qrl8j73b9c4id4sefs&t_originalReferringURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F] The descent to dictatorship, the ‘invasion’ of borders, the war on free speech… what’s a global crisis, and what’s just another media storm? Join co-hosts Helena Wadia and Mathilda Mallinson – and special guests Natasha Devon and Milo Edwards – as they storm through the most unhinged headlines of 2025. Come for a brutal biopsy of the big stories, and leave a little wiser about the media’s wily ways. Natasha Devon is writer, speaker, and broadcaster on LBC. Milo Edwards is a stand-up comedian and host of the podcasts Trash Future, Masters of Our Domain, and Glue Factory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Join us for the Media Storm LIVE SHOW with special guests Natasha Devon and Milo Edwards - Tuesday 20th May 7pm @ the Business Design Centre in Islington. Tickets are available HERE [https://www.aegpresents.co.uk/event/media-storm-podcast/]! Kim, an asylum seeker from Zimbabwe, lives on £7-a-day while supporting a newborn in cockroach-infested accommodation… HOW is she supposed to pay the £10,000 NHS bill she received after giving birth? This week, Kim shares her story, and the Media Storm team unpack the mainstream media myths that feed the wider healthcare, migration and gender injustices behind it. Myths like: * ‘Why are all asylum seekers MEN?!’ * Don’t they come for free healthcare?’ * ‘Illegal migrants are living in luxury hotels’ * ‘The asylum backlog is out of control!’ We pick apart some current, culpable headlines, and compare the stories they tell with the first-hand experiences of the people living it. Also joining us in the studio is Judith Dennis, head of policy at Maternity Action [https://maternityaction.org.uk/], which works for the rights of pregnant women and new parents irrespective of migration status, and is campaigning for changes alongside the National Childbirth Trust [https://www.nct.org.uk/courses-workshops/nct-antenatal-course?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADrTwxKaSDNiFWuaAj8d6hiIHCEHx&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqv2_BhC0ARIsAFb5Ac-6S8BkOOfG9yKnlCUzMUm5FJ1Epdfn4X4xG-227_RQFl829pUVEfkaApE1EALw_wcB]. The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall [https://www.instagram.com/mathildamall/?hl=en]) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia [https://www.instagram.com/helenawadia/?hl=en-gb]) The music is by @soundofsamfire [https://www.instagram.com/soundofsamfire/?hl=en] Support us on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast]! Follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mediastormpod/?hl=en-gb], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/mediastormpod.bsky.social], and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@mediastormpod?lang=en] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]