Helen Lynn

This audio clip is from a series of 100 life history interviews with environmental campaigners in the UK, 1970-2020. A quotation from this recording features in the book Voices for Change, published by UCL Press in November 2026 (available in print as well as a free PDF download). The full interview, along with the summaries, transcripts and recordings for this and the rest of the interview collection, is available at the British Library (Sound and Moving Image Collection, under the shelf-mark C2037). For more information, including educational materials and other resources, visit the Oral History of the Environmental Movement project website at www.royalholloway.ac.uk/ohemQuotation:Helen Lynn: We had, it’s, I mean we had amazing, you know, we had amazing support from the media over a number of years and then it seemed to dwindle. And now certainly in the last I’d say, when did I leave, five, five, ten years, it’s been more and more difficult to get anything in the mainstream media. I think it’s got a lot to do with libel maybe. You know there used to be a lot more stuff around chemicals and chemical exposure. And I was told that yes that, yes, they were afraid of libel. But on the other hand I think you know newspapers like The Guardian have lost a lot of their specialist journalists. Like John Vidal passed, died, I didn’t realise that. Damien Carrington, he is really good. But a lot of the media attention, and the stories in there have been written from an American perspective. You know the chemical stories seem to be for some reason, and maybe that’s because of the expertise lies there, I don’t know. I don’t know why it is but the other forms of media, you know, I mean then with the growth of social media we can make our own news. And which is why we have put a lot of focus on when developing the social media platforms, which I think are where we get most of our information out. So you know in my time at work it’s changed completely. And if we can get online meeting, we have a new press person now.Barbara Brayshay: That’s really interesting. You know the use of social media in campaigning.Helen Lynn: Yes, definitely. It’s been-Barbara Brayshay: And so are you thinking of that, in thinking of that in terms of different pathways, one of them getting information out and also in engaging as an engagement tool.Helen Lynn: Yes. Yes.Barbara Brayshay: To, you know, spread the word if you like.Helen Lynn: Definitely. I mean it’s, and we have a really good comms person, Heidi. And she does amazing graphics and things, you know, and we do make sure there’s regular posts and engagement and this has built up a lot of the environmenstrual work I think. You know we get a lot of engagement on the environmenstrual work. But also on kind of the WEN UK social media as well, especially on Instagram.Barbara Brayshay: Yes Instagram is really popular isn’t it.Helen Lynn: It is. It is.Barbara Brayshay: And of course you know there’s a shift in, that’s, there’s, that’s very shifting as well isn’t it, how social media platforms rise and fall.Helen Lynn: Yes. Yes.Barbara Brayshay: You know and at one time Facebook was everywhere.Helen Lynn: Yes, yes, yes.Barbara Brayshay: And then no one’s on Facebook anymore.Helen Lynn: Yes, yes. And then there was Twitter.Barbara Brayshay: And then it was Twitter yes.Helen Lynn: I mean still, yes, it’s, it’s, I find, I mean I like looking at the Instagram, I find it very time-consuming to put stuff together for it. But I know how important it is as well. And that kind of reach out and you know and I think it enables you to reach out on all kinds of levels. I’m quite a visual person, I like, and I know a lot of people are, you know, they like, to see the pictures rather than read reams and reams of, you know-Barbara Brayshay: Absolutely. And social media is, actually that’s, that’s the sort of medium of it isn’t it.Helen Lynn: Yes.Barbara Brayshay: You know people don’t read tons and tons of info, text online.Helen Lynn: No. No. So it, and I think that’s been really, yes, positive.British Library catalogue number: C2037/64 Project clip number: 64