Corbyn’s failing was his dismissal of the ‘mainstream media’

Social media is invaluable, but it is better to work with the mainstream media than to blame them when things go wrong

Weeks after the Vice documentary, Corbyn's team has been caught out again

When he was elected leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn and his acolytes said it represented a victory against the mainstream media. They believed their use of social media, with its viral energy and facility for reaching voters directly without going through those old-fashioned things called reporters and editors, would change politics. In the early days of his leadership, Corbyn made several further attacks on the mainstream media, echoing Sarah Palin’s condemnation of the ‘lamestream’ media during her ridiculous political campaign of 2008.

The past week alone has exposed this view for the tosh it is. We in the media do not have some fundamental right to the time of politicians; far from it. But the point is that unless you have smart media management, including with us in the so-called mainstream media, you end up looking very silly.

Weeks after they mistakenly allowed a documentary maker for Vice News to expose his amateurishness, Corbyn’s spin doctors have been caught out this week. First there was the farce of his being caught on microphone saying “I don’t think this is a good idea, Seumas”, i.e. telling his chief media adviser that cameras ought not to be allowed to film his Shadow Cabinet meeting. Then he was pictured walking past an exit sign: an exquisite moment for assembled photographers, who promptly found their work pasted across yesterday’s front pages. This followed Corbyn’s complaint to journalists that the reason he didn’t campaign harder for the Remain side in the referendum is that he didn’t trust the media to report it fairly.

Labour’s last successful Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was reviled for his manipulation of the media. But he realised that not playing the media game is not an option: it just means you lose. With amateur advice and abysmal judgement, Blair’s latest successor at Labour’s helm has compounded his own inadequacies with a woeful media operation. Social media is invaluable, but at some point his supporters will realise that it’s better to work with the mainstream media than to blame them when things go wrong.