Cost of living crisis book launch- 24 June

Posted on June 8, 2026 by Paul Reilly

The launch event for Bad News on the Cost of Living Crisis will be held in a few weeks’ time. It will be jointly sponsored by the Glasgow University Media Group and Red Pepper Magazine.

Please see below for details on the speakers and venue. Details on how to register can be found here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/redpepper/2233237

GUMG and RPM invite you to join them for the launch of a new book, Bad News on the Cost of Living Crisis and to discuss questions of media power, resistance, and the future of journalism in a rapidly evolving digital media landscape with special guest Laura Webster.

Both the book and magazine will be available for purchase at the event – to ensure you get a copy of the Red Pepper issue, you can purchase in advance for a discounted rate when registering for the event!

Join us from 5:30pm in the Reading Room, Glasgow University Union – the discussion will run between 6:00 and 7:30pm, with drinks and further conversation in the Reading Room bar afterwards.

Chair:

Darcy White is a co-editor of Red Pepper Media and Emeritus Fellow of Visual Culture (Sheffield Hallam University).

Panellists:

Laura Webster is the Editor of The National.
Catherine Happer is a Professor of Media Sociology (University of Glasgow) and Director of The Glasgow University Media Group.
Lluis De Nadal is a Lecturer in Media, Culture & Society (University of Glasgow) and a researcher at The Glasgow University Media Group.
Paula Lacey is a co-editor of Red Pepper Media and a PhD candidate in Sociology (University of Cambridge)

Location

Reading Room, Glasgow University Union (GUU), University Avenue, G12 8LX

Interviewed about public reaction to Nicola Sturgeon appearance on Kuenssberg show

Posted on June 2, 2026 by Paul Reilly

Memes posted in aftermath of Nicola Sturgeon interview on Laura Kuenssberg show

Yesterday I was interviewed by Steph Brawn (The National). We discussed the public reaction to former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s interview on the BBC Laura Kuenssberg show. Many online commenters have questioned her claims that she was completely unaware of estranged husband Peter Murrell’s embezzlement of SNP party funds.

The article features some excellent insight from University of Strathclyde media expert Michael Higgins. Some excerpts from my contribution are below:

“I think if a politician comes out and says ‘yes I did it’ or apologises they are viewed as weak and it’s a reflection of how partisan politics has become, particularly with people calling things online,”

“They are quick to judge, and since Nicola Sturgeon stood down I think there are probably a lot of people who are critical of her and this is another weapon to beat her with, so I don’t think there’s anything she could say that was not going to meet a certain response”

“Of course, there are people who are very pro-Nicola Sturgeon defending her online and that reflects the fact that people are in these separate camps and they’re not likely to change their mind as a result of the revelations.”

Many thanks to Steph for the interview. It can be read in full here.

Bad news on the cost of living crisis published

Posted on May 11, 2026 by Paul Reilly

I am a contributor to a Glasgow University Media Group book published last week. Bad news on the cost of living crisis explores media representations and audience responses to the COLC in the United Kingdom over the past few years.

The blurb of the book is below:

In this book, the Glasgow University Media Group bring their innovative and forensic three-dimensional methodological approach to understanding the role of media in shaping Britain’s cost of living crisis. In the context of neoliberal austerity, welfare cuts and the corporate capture of media platforms, it provides evidence of an increasing disconnect between the narratives promoted by the mainstream media and the interests, priorities and lived experiences of audiences – whilst charting the parallel emergence of new models of trust which leave them vulnerable to bad faith actors promoting disinformation online.

Big thanks to GUMG colleagues Alison Eldridge, Catherine Happer, Gavin Hawkton, Isaac Hoff, Lluis de Nadal Alsina, Cairsti Russell and Yu Sun for their hard work in bringing this to fruition. I would also like to thank the Palgrave team (especially Richard Woolley) and the reviewers for their assistance in publishing this important work.

The book can now be ordered here.

I will share details of the book launch and other promotional activities in due course.

Interviewed about online abuse directed at Scottish journalists

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Paul Reilly

This week my colleague Catherine Happer and I were interviewed about the normalisation of abuse against journalists in Scotland. The article, published in The National, explored how politicians delegitmise the media and dismiss critical coverage as ‘fake news’. There have even been recent incidents of political aides grabbing journalists mid-question. This abuse of journalists is particularly ominous as we enter the final stages of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.

A few of my quotes from the article are below:

“It feels as if we are heading in the same direction as the US under Trump,” says Dr Paul Reilly, a Senior Lecturer in Communication, Media and Democracy at the University of Glasgow. “We see UK politicians dismissing critical media coverage as ‘fake news’, trying to avoid legitimate questions from the press by questioning their integrity and motives”

Farage is a case in point, Dr Reilly argues. “Farage has issued statements claiming he was going to boycott the BBC and yet still appears on their programmes,” he says. The contradiction only makes sense if you see the boycott threat as performance: a way to present himself as a victim of a hostile establishment while continuing to use its platforms.

Dr Reilly makes the same point from a different angle. “It certainly reinforces and strengthens existing patterns of distrust in our media and political institutions,” he says.

“It is little wonder that journalists are subjected to abuse and hostility online. Social media users frequently see video footage of political leaders accusing journalists of fabricating stories or trying to smear them – all because they are asking uncomfortable questions or scrutinising the actions and policies of our politicians.”

Dr Reilly cites this evidence, adding: “I would be worried that this trend may result in journalists being threatened, or worse still, attacked by members of the public.”

“This is one of the roots of the information crisis that has seen members of the public become increasingly disillusioned with democracy,” he warns.

Many thanks to Laura Pollock for the interview, which can be read here.