Here are a couple of coming media events for your diary. The London Press Club and London School of Economics are jointly staging a panel debate entitled “Trump, Brexit... truth, trust and the news media” on 26 January.
On the panel: broadcaster and senior editor at The Economist, Anne McElvoy; Adam Smith Institute communications chief Kate Andrews; Channel 4 Europe editor Matt Frei; and CNN’s Brian Stelter (via Skype from the US). In the chair: Charlie Beckett, director of LSE’s media think tank, Polis,
They will consider the media’s role in its coverage of both Donald Trump’s election campaign and in ther lead-up to the European referendum and its aftermath.
They are bound to touch on all kinds of related subjects, such as mainstream media’s relationship with social media. Can the traditional press compete with, and possibly counter, Twitter? What can be done about fake news? Do newspapers create populism or respond to it?
Venue: LSE New Academic building, Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Please arrive by 6.15pm on Thursday 26 January. It’s free to attend but reservation here is advised.
Are we facing a threat to press freedom?
The London Press Club is also holding a panel debate jointly with the Society of Editors, entitled “Are journalism and press freedom under threat?” on 13 February.
On the panel: Sir Alan Moses, chairman of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso); Bob Satchwell, executive director of the Society of Editors; and Will Gore, deputy managing editor of the London Evening Standard and the Independent. In the chair: Roy Greenslade.
The speakers will doubtless have in mind the potential implementation of section 40 of the crime and courts act. The government’s consultation period on the matter is over, but we await the decision.
There is widespread concern among editors and their journalists about section 40 because it would mean that media organisations not regulated by a recognised regulator would be forced to pay both sides’ costs in privacy and libel claims, even if they successfully defend such actions.
Could it therefore lead, as its critics argue, to curtailment of press freedom, risks to the future of investigative journalism and the potential closure of local and regional newspapers?
The debate is being held with the support of the Stationers and Newspapermakers Livery company.
Venue: Stationers’ Hall, Ave Maria Lane, (near St Paul’s) London on Monday 13 February. Start: 6.30 for 7pm.