Reclaiming satire in The Fence magazine
“Satire is an interesting weapon, but it’s been co-opted by the establishment.” Freddie Marsh is one of the editors of The Fence, the satirical magazine that launched in London earlier this year. Frustrated by Brexit and Donald Trump, but also keen to comment on wider contemporary culture, the young team wants to produce a produce a print magazine for a millennial readership.
They started with an issue zero and then rushed out their Brexit issue in March, in time for what they (and everyone else) expected to be the date when Britain left the EU. Of course that didn’t come to pass, so Freddie and his team decided to take their time with their next issue, and the first full, properly realised issue of The Fence is due to hit shelves in early July.
In this conversation Freddie explains why he and his fellow founders were inspired to produce a new satirical magazine, why it’s important that politics is just one part of what they cover, and why The Fence needed to exist in print. If you enjoy this one, remember we’ve got lots of other conversations with independent magazine makers ready for you to uncover in our archives on Soundcloud and iTunes. And of course if you follow us while you’re there, we’ll be able to deliver next week’s episode to you as soon as it’s ready.
