On Wednesday the 22nd October 2014, Index on Censorship and the Frontline Club hosted a debate on the future of journalism.
About the debate:
As part of the launch of the autumn edition of the Index on Censorship magazine, a lively, participatory discussion of the future of journalism took place at London’s Frontline Club.
This sold-out event was chaired by columnist, author and Index on Censorship chairman David Aaronovitch. The panel also included professor of journalism, Richard Sambrook; director of Hostage UK, Rachel Briggs; former Reuters Afghanistan correspondent, Amie Ferris-Rotman; and Raymond Joseph, a data journalist and former regional editor of the South African Sunday Times, who appeared via Skype from South Africa.
The ensuing discussion looked at serious issues affecting journalists today – from surveillance and encryption, to kidnappings and how the media themselves cover such emotive events – as the panel sought to tackle questions about whether changes within journalism will leave the public knowing more or less than they have in the past.
Key questions which the participants looked to address were:
– Will new technologies bring us more substantial, in depth information?
– Will news survive or will celebrity gossip take over?
– And, will citizen journalism come to carry more weight than traditional TV channels?
Participants:
The debate was introduced by the Index on Censorship magazine editor, Rachael Jolley, and hosted by the columnist, author and chairman of the Index on Censorship organisation, David Aaronovitch.
Rachel Briggs is the director of Hostage UK and deputy director of London’s Institute of Strategic Dialogue.
Amie Ferris-Rotman is a John S. Knight journalism fellow at Stanford University and a former senior correspondent for Reuters in Afghanistan.
Raymond Joseph is a data journalist and a former regional editor of the South African Sunday Times.
Richard Sambrook is a professor of journalism, the director of the Centre for Journalism at Cardiff University and a former director of global news at the BBC.
Organisers:
This was an Index on Censorship magazine debate at London’s Frontline Club. For more information on the Index on Censorship magazine, visit the official website at: http://www.indexoncensorship.org/.
For more information on both the topic of this debate and the related autumn edition of the Index on Censorship magazine, click here.
