As you may have heard, Zeteo UK has officially launched – and its star-studded team of journalists is ready to disrupt the British media empire!
That includes Zeteo UK contributors Sangita Myska and Peter Oborne, who joined Mehdi LIVE at Zeteo UK’s sold-out launch event, sponsored by Substack, at the Barbican Centre last month.
The two panellists – one a veteran broadcaster and the other a veteran Fleet Street columnist – discuss their own experiences and criticisms of the UK’s mainstream media. They also talk about whether British legacy outlets are prepared to meet this moment in UK politics – one that has been filled with failing, short-term prime ministers, the rise of hard-right Reform UK and a continuing West-backed genocide in Gaza.
“The mainstream media which I worked for and loved has become an instrument of power. It isn’t about holding governments to account. It’s about controlling information and spreading narratives which favour (a) governments and (b) the super-rich,” Oborne tells Mehdi.
Mehdi also asks Myska – who was taken off LBC in 2024 after delivering a challenging interview with an Israeli government official – whether she believes the UK media is prepared to handle the rising racism in the country.
“No, absolutely not,” Myska tells Mehdi.
Neither Oborne nor Myska holds back in this discussion with Zeteo’s editor-in-chief, with Oborne railing against “state-sponsored Islamophobia” in the UK and Myska revealing that colleagues told her she had held Israel “to account too early” in the genocide.
The conversation is revealing, provocative and engaging, with the panel even managing to offer a hopeful new vision for the future of media in the UK. The panellists also take questions from the live audience at the Barbican.
Paid subscribers can watch the nearly hour-long conversation above, while free subscribers can access a seven-minute preview. Please do become a paid subscriber today so you can read and watch all of our Zeteo UK original content without hitting a paywall – and also so you can help fund independent journalism in Britain. And if you’re currently a Zeteo UK subscriber but want to get content from Zeteo as well, consider upgrading to our bundle option.
A special thank you to Substack for sponsoring a great evening at the Barbican.
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