A group of Green Party activists

The revolution will not be televised – Gil Scott-Heron

These words are just as pertinent today as when they were written in 1970. Mainstream media will not give The Green Party air time for the sake of it. We are attempting to overthrow a whole system, not just tinker with it.

So how can we change the minds of the voting public if we cannot reach them?

It is my goal to answer this question if elected as Publications Coordinator for the Green Party Executive (GPEx). While platforms like TikTok have transformed political movements worldwide, we cannot rely on social media alone to carry our message. If we ignore longer form content, we are missing an opportunity to engage with a wide range of voters and our own membership. Quality content can have a powerful impact.

My journey

Publications have shaped my own journey, and likely many of those reading this post. Books such as Seeing Green by Jonathon Porritt, The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells and This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein, helped shape my understanding of climate change and its politics. Writers such as Owen Jones and Paul Mason remind us weekly of the fight for social justice. Articles by Caroline Lucas and Natalie Bennet convinced me of the need to change the system. These writers have had a lasting impact on my behaviour – becoming an active Green Party member over 10 years ago.

I’ve been working in the digital world for even longer – building websites, marketing and delivering content that matches customer needs. I’ve worked with brands big and small, such as EDF Energy, Tata Communications and startups wanting to get heard in the crowd. It is important we understand what our potential voters want and this is where I can be most effective. The Green Party needs people with these skills and experience to tackle the challenges we face.

The challenge

The Green Party has worked hard to improve our digital estate over the last 10 years. Our website, emails, and the back-end systems that keep things running have all improved. But there are still some major opportunities for us to grow, especially when it comes to digital publishing. In the past, publishing (both print and digital) have caused controversy within the party. It can be costly, time consuming and fail to deliver tangible results. This is where my commercial experience plays a role. I can help the party understand what is viable and important, over and above creating content for content’s sake.

It’s important we get going now to have a chance of standing out at the next general election. We face competition that has seemingly unlimited resources and it can take time for digital publications to have an impact. This is also their strength – articles published now can still be read in years’ to come.

By the time of the next election there will be another challenge we need to overcome – the rise of AI. Whilst many have focused on the impacts on the creative industry or jobs; platforms like ChatGPT are decimating digital publishing. The effects of this are unknown, but it is clear that the Green Party will need to adjust and adapt its approach to ensure we’re appearing in voters AI chats. Without optimising for this, we face being marginalised even further.

So how might we improve our publications, especially online?

Four-point plan

As Publications Coordinator, I will implement a four-point strategy:

The first is to energise and engage our amazing membership and activist base. There are writers, designers, creatives and thinkers amongst us who deserve to have their ideas shared. Many hands make light work – especially when we lack financial resources. We also need to ensure a diverse range of voices and opinions are heard, and getting more people involved in the publishing process will help this. I’d build a strong pool of members wanting to help, and organise the effort to make it effective.

Secondly, we must find a way to publish more digital content on our ‘owned’ platforms, specifically the Green Party website. There is a case for high quality long reads, but also shorter, quicker, easier to produce articles. This is a numbers game! The content should focus on promoting our missions – environmental justice, social justice and systems change. It should target what people are searching for and provide answers that sway their opinion towards our position. We already have the infrastructure in place to create this, so this is a low cost way to grow our audience.

Thirdly, we must work to gain exposure and reach beyond our traditional audiences. We must build a network of friendly publishers, including Bright Green! This is made easier if we produce content publishers are craving – stuff that really wakes people up. There is a lot of great work already going on around Green Party communications, my role would be to help connect this to our membership and accelerate.

Lastly, publishing should not be a burden on our party, it should be an asset. That’s why I will work to monetise our publications. This can be done through paywalls, donations and subscriptions. Publications such as Jacobin have done this successfully in the US, and we can do it here too.

Winning with words

While our revolution will not be televised, it will be written. With your vote, we’ll ensure the Green Party’s ideas don’t just trend – they transform. So if you’ve read this far, and been convinced by this article, please vote for David Lloyd as Publications Coordinator for GPEx.

David Lloyd is a candidate for the Green Party’s publications coordinator

Image credit: Jon Craig – Creative Commons