This term’s expert-led seminars announced
Press freedom, innovation, diversity and broad takes on the state of journalism are some of the topics covered in this term’s Business and Practice of Journalism Seminar Series. The talks are given by leading figures from journalism, many of whom have made headlines themselves through their work. The series is put together by Director of the Journalist Fellowship Programme Meera Selva, who will also lead one of the seminars, and is part of the fellowship programme, but the public is very welcome to attend. All seminars will be live streamed although the discussions are off the record.
The seminars take place at the University of Oxford’s Green Templeton College at 2pm on Wednesdays. Here's the list of seminars for this term:
16 October
‘Healing words - Innovations in health reporting’ – Mia Malan
Mia Malan is the founding director and editor-in-chief of the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism in South Africa. Bhekisisa syndicates health and social justice features and analysis to the country's leading publications She has won more than 20 journalism awards. Bhekisisa’s online readership and funding have increased massively under her leadership.
23 October
‘Political attacks on journalism in central and eastern Europe’ – Meera Selva
Meera Selva is the Director of the Journalist Fellowship Programme at the Reuters Institute. Prior to her current role she worked for Handelsblatt Global in Singapore, having helped launch the online business news site in Berlin in 2014. An experienced journalist, she has reported from Europe, Asia and Africa for several publications, including the Associated Press and The Independent.
30 October
‘The State of Journalism’ – Dorothy Byrne
Dorothy Byrne is head of news and current affairs at Channel 4 Television, where she has worked since 1988. Films she has commissioned have won numerous awards including Emmys, BAFTAs and Royal Television Society (RTS) awards. She blasted several leading politicians, including Boris Johnson and Donald Trump, in her MacTaggart Lecture [YouTube] at the Edinburgh TV Festival this year, for how they deal with the media.
6 November
‘Increasing women’s representation in the BBC’ – Ros Atkins
Ros Atkins presents Outside Source on BBC News. He also led the broadcaster's 50:50 project, which led to a significant increase in female representation across dozens of English language news, current affairs and topical programmes teams.
13 November - No seminar
20 November
‘Virtual reality in newsrooms’ – Zillah Watson
Zillah Watson is an industry leader in virtual reality and immersive content. She leads BBC VR strategy including setting up and leading the award-winning team at the BBC VR Hub. Her projects include developing VR and immersive journalism for news/current affairs; curation of web content; and developing web-native ways to explore dramas and soaps.
27 November
‘Putting the audience at the heart of journalism’ – Federica Cherubini
Federica Cherubini is the Engagement Manager at Hearken, Inc, which works to assist newsrooms to adjust their processes and strategies for the information age. She is a director of Hacks/Hackers London. She was previously Audience Projects Editor at Condé Nast International. She has authored several Reuters Institute publications including research on European fact-checking sites, online news video, and editorial analytics.
4 December
‘Press freedom and media censorship’ – Jodie Ginsberg
Jodie Ginsberg is the chief executive of press freedom organisation Index on Censorship. She sits on the council of global free expression network IFEX and the board of the Trust for The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. She was previously UK Bureau Chief for the Reuters news agency.
