A North East journalist whose editorial career has largely been spent in specialist publishing has launched a new independent media platform promising to cover stories he believes are being overlooked by the mainstream press.
Left Field has been founded by County Durham-based journalist and communications consultant Andy Walker and is being run as a collective rather than through a conventional newsroom structure.
The platform says it will publish original journalism, interviews, opinion and analysis, with a focus on grassroots movements, trade unions and left-wing politics in the UK and beyond.
Its stated aim is to report stories it believes mainstream media organisations overlook and provide greater context around left-wing politics, trade unionism and community organising.
Walker’s professional background spans journalism, communications, campaigning and public affairs, although his editorial experience has largely been in specialist publishing rather than general news.
He spent almost six years as editor of construction industry title Infrastructure Intelligence, after previously serving as its associate editor, and currently works as a freelance communications adviser to international engineering federation FIDIC.
His wider career has included communications and campaigning roles with Keep Britain Tidy and the Association for Consultancy and Engineering, as well as almost five years as a volunteer press and communications officer at supporter-owned FC United of Manchester.
Left Field therefore represents a move into broader news and political coverage for Walker, as well as an attempt to establish an alternative to some of the conventional newsroom structures he is critical of.
The publication will not have an editor-in-chief, with editorial decisions instead made collectively by those involved. It also says it will not seek wealthy financial backers, with funding instead coming entirely from individuals and organisations that support its aims.
Walker said: “I’m really excited about the launch of Left Field. We need a publication that reports the news the mainstream media won’t – and reports it in a way that’s actually relevant to people’s lives.
“As a working journalist, trade unionist and campaigner, I’ve watched trust in the media fall away in recent years. Part of that is down to mainstream outlets peddling false balance on some stories and straightforward bias on others – not least on Gaza and migration – and all too often covering things that just don’t matter to ordinary people’s day-to-day existence.
“Left Field will be different. It’s written by and for working-class people who want to see change and who are hungry for the ideas that will help them get there. We’ll go behind the headlines to uncover what’s really going on – the social, cultural, political and trade union stories that rarely get a hearing in the establishment press.”
Rather than relying on a conventional staff newsroom, Left Field says contributions will be drawn from organisers working in communities, workplaces and campaigns across the country, with activists, organisers and community writers invited to contribute.
The publication will operate through its website and a free weekly email newsletter.
Left Field also says it intends to seek membership of the Independent Media Association and register with independent press regulator Impress.
