Hardly a general election at all, it’s such a particular one
Charles Miller
edits this blog. Twitter: @chblm
Adam Boulton (left) with conference chair Charlie Beckett
When politicians and media folk gathered for the Polis conference Vote 2015! Journalism and Elections at the LSE in London just over a month ago they were as unsure as we still are today about the outcome of the election.
But that didn’t stop them having robust and revealing discussions about politics, media and the unpredictable borderlines between them.
Here you can watch our selection of sessions as a break from monitoring election news in other media:
1. Adam Boulton: 2015 - A post-TV election?
Sky News Tonight presenter Adam Boulton was introduced by Polis chair Charlie Beckett. Boulton argued for journalists to keep their distance from politicians, especially at a time when the public is disillusioned with politics.
2. The media battleground - talking tactics to spin to victory
Jo Coburn, journalist and presenter of the BBC's Daily Politics, chaired a Polis panel on politics and media strategy.
On the panel were: Miranda Green, journalist and former Lib Dem Party staffer; Daily Telegraph columnist Mary Riddell; Times columnist Tim Montgomerie; green and open democracy campaigner Adam Ramsay; and the University of Nottingham’s Matthew Goodwin, author of Revolt on the Right.
3. Significance: What’s the big story of this election?
Anne McElvoy chaired a discussion about defining the real issues in the election campaign that featured: Mary Ann Sieghart, journalist and chair of the Social Market Foundation; the Scottish musician, writer and campaigner for Scottish independence Pat Kane; Guardian columnist Rafael Behr; and Isabel Hardman, the Telegraph columnist and assistant editor at the Spectator.
4. Making history for politics and journalism, with Andrew Marr
BBC presenter Andrew Marr sees the election as offering a real choice with big consequences: the UK could leave the EU, or it might be broken up, depending on what government emerges. And yet much of the electorate says it sees not much to choose between the parties.
5. BBC v BuzzFeed? Which platform will win the election?
Alistair Stewart chaired a panel with Today programme editor Jamie Angus; Chris Birkett of the Digital Debate Campaign, formerly of Sky and BBC News 24; BuzzFeed deputy editor Jim Waterson; New Statesman deputy editor Helen Lewis; and Lucy Fisher, political correspondent at the Times.
The full playlist of sessions in the main conference theatre at the Polis conference on 27 March.
