During the Labour leadership election, Guardian readers complained that the paper’s Jeremy Corbyn coverage was worse than its coverage of the Vietnam war. The paper then launched an in-house investigation into the claims, concluding that while they could have taken Corbyn more seriously in the beginning, this had since been remedied.
Now word reaches Steerpike that the Grauniad is set to go one step further. Mr S hears that the paper’s editor Katharine Viner is on a mission to make the paper even more Corbynista-friendly. Alas this appears to mean that some members of staff who are not fully at ease with the Corbynista movement are stepping away or at least moving to the sidelines.
Mr S disclosed this week that Nick Watt is in talks to join Newsnight after he was unsuccessful in his bid to succeed Patrick Wintour as the paper’s political editor. Now word reaches Steerpike that another Corbyn-sceptic is stepping back. Jonathan Freedland is standing down as executive editor of opinion.
While a spokesman says that Freedland will continue to write his Saturday column and ‘contribute widely across the Guardian‘, the move is seen by some colleagues as another sign that the paper is lurching further to the left.
‘Let’s just say, it’s a good time to be a Corbynista at the Grauniad,’ Mr S’s mole whispers. After all, it’s certainly worked out well for Seumas Milne. Corbyn’s director of comms remains on indefinite leave from the Guardian, able to return whenever he please as the paper’s associate editor. Vive la Revolution!
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