He will defend the role of journalism as a central pillar of democracy, and explain why despite those shortcomings he is optimistic that politics and media can adapt.
In two public lectures and a symposium entitled ‘A Life At The Nexus Of Media and Politics’, Campbell will expand on and qualify his statement to the Leveson Inquiry two years ago: ‘…though I admire many journalists and much journalism… I also believe that there are serious and endemic shortcomings in the culture, practices and ethics of the British media’.
But he will also defend the role of journalism as a central pillar of democracy, and explain why despite those shortcomings he is optimistic that politics and media can adapt to the changes sweeping through both.
The first lecture on 13 November will explore ‘Why journalism, and why it matters in a world in flux’. Campbell will discuss the importance, power and attraction of journalism, its rapidly changing environment and practice, and its centrality to a liberal democracy.
In the second lecture on 14 November, ‘Journalism and democracy: grounds for optimism in the face of the future?”, Campbell will address the challenges facing journalists, and the potential for positive changes in how journalism is conducted and regulated. He will attack what he calls the Big Lies told by the press to fight the planned Royal Charter, urge politicians to hold firm, and insist the public want and will benefit from regulatory and cultural change in the UK media - as will journalism.
He will also give his views on social media, Wikileaks and the Edward Snowden revelations, and emphasise that technological and political trends are pointing towards rather than away from more openness and transparency. And he will argue that for politicians, the response to a more chaotic and noisy media landscape should be to be more strategic and less tactical, not the other way round.
Campbell will participate in a follow-up symposium on 20 November, discussing the intersection between ‘Media and Politics in a Changing World’. Confirmed speakers include Natalie Fenton (Goldsmiths, University of London)
, Aeron Davis (Goldsmiths, University of London)
, Angela Phillips (Goldsmiths, University of London)
, Charlie Beckett (LSE)
, Suzie MacKenzie (Guardian).
Read the full story
Image: Alastair Campbell, Journalist; Director of Communications and Strategy, Number 10 (1997-2003) at the Chatham House event E-Leadership: Political Communication in a Digital World, 17 October 2012
Credit: Chatham House
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
___________________________________________