The Bains Agenda

The Guardian is by far the best mainstream media newspaper (note I said mainstream – I think there are far superior independent media outlets) in the UK owing to the fact that every other one is owned by a billionaire or a state.

Ultimately, I hope people read it between a choice of that or the right wing tabloid media.

I do not claim to be a working class hero and never have.

That all being said, the Guardian is the ultimate home for the London based, old, middle or upper class liberal and their articles and opinions reflect that and they seem to have no interest in changing.

It is beyond irritating and it is in their interest, as well as ours, for them to change. Despite being so clearly superior to the likes of the Daily Mail in their journalism, they still lag behind them in terms of circulation and online clicks.

One could say this is because their demographic is younger so on social media and the only people who read newspaper websites are older so lean more right wing.

That doesn’t track either because on TikTok, the Daily Mail has 22.1 million followers and the Guardian has 619,000.

To say the Guardian is out of touch is an understatement. They fundamentally do not understand the working classes, the youth or the regions because their reporters and columnists are not from those backgrounds and have no interest in learning about them.

The examples are endless however I will just focus on the most recent ones but this is an experiment anyone can run on any given day.

On their website on the day of writing they have the following articles:

“I’m feasting on the contents of hedgerows like a horse in plimsolls – and I’ve never felt so healthy” – Nell Frizzel

Thrill-seeking made me feel alive – until the day I hurtled down a volcano on a mountain bike – Gary Nunn

As a hippy-punk grandmother, here’s how I learned to stop disturbing the baby – and his parents – Rose Rouse

These are all real articles from just one day. Google the reporters and opinion columnists on the Guardian and you will find it almost impossible to see someone who is younger than 40 and who is from a working class background.

Regular columnists such as Jonathan Freedland and Martin Kettle are from near identical backgrounds and they see no issue with it.

This isn’t a problem in and of itself but when this means they only write from their perspective and besmirch anyone not from their background, it’s a huge problem.

I don’t understand what they think they gain by doing this. They don’t need to win over middle aged, middle class women who hate Brexit and watch Have I Got News for You – you already have that demographic locked down.

You need to win over the groups that don’t read your paper, are disillusioned and lean more right wing. The Guardian chooses to denigrate, generalise and to me sometimes actually hate these very people.

Young people are turning away from the mainstream media and to social media for news. So much so that in the USA, someone like Joe Rogan can effectively influence an election by himself. Is it any wonder when our mainstream left wing media does nothing for us?

The Guardian is generally left wing or at least liberal. They would the first to complain about representation, maybe they should practice what they preach or else they are doomed as much as the rest of our mainstream media.

Should that happen, I will not defend them – it’s in their control.