'Northern Slant Hosts' is our new series of interviews with people in public life on key issues affecting Northern Ireland. In the first episode Roger Greer speaks with Conall McDevitt. Conall is CEO of Hume Brophy Communications, a public relations firm. He has previously served as MLA for South Belfast, a special advisor, and Director of Communications for the SDLP.

What is the typical special adviser (SpAd) like? What are the most challenging parts of the job? These are just some questions Roger Greer asked Peter Cardwell, author of the new book The Secret Life of Special Advisers. 

With just days to go before #GE2019, the final episode of The Election Bulletin considers the written aspects of the campaign so far. Jess Lawrence of Queen’s Radio is joined by Steve McGookin and Lisa Claire Whitten of Northern Slant. They ask: What have been some of the standout moments of the campaign? What do the manifestos of political parties tell us about their priorities? And how has the press covered the election? Listen to the conversation.

As we turn to the visual elements of the general election campaign, Michael Jardine of Queen’s Radio and Matt O'Neill of Northern Slant are joined by communications specialist Rebecca Toolan. They ask: Has the campaign so far been dominated by style over substance? Do we spend too much time focusing on whether candidates 'look' prime ministerial, rather than asking who would make the best Prime Minister? And how does the impact of posters and billboards compare to traditional canvassing? Listen to the conversation.

Today we begin with the online campaign, Rory Hughes of Queen’s Radio and Julia Flanagan of Northern Slant are joined by the Journalist Amanda Ferguson. They ask, does it make a difference if you watched the leaders debate on TV, or just watched clips online? How does social media change how parties target voters? And how can we make our echo chambers less echo-ey?