2010 World Press Freedom Day Debate: ‘Unregulated political comment online helps the democratic process’

How will online journalism affect this year’s UK General Election? For good or bad, it is certain the internet will carry more breaking news, more character attacks and more contentious comment than ever before. The bloggers will be busy and their stories, true or not so true, will spread like wildfire.
We have also had the arrival, since the last election, of online TV and radio channels, some of them run by newspapers, especially News International’s, which run to heavy political agendas without any regulation or legal requirements on fairness. Will all this be good for democracy and the fair conduct of the election, or not? Where will it leave the strictly regulated public broadcasting sector?

Join us for this year’s World Press Freedom Day debate as we ask, is unregulated political comment online helping the democratic process?

Moderated by William Horsley, Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM); Association of European Journalists (AEJ)

With: Sir Robert Worcester, MORI/Ipsos Group; University of Kent; Caroline Thomson, BBC; Prof Steven Barnett, University of Westminster; Sunny Hundal, Liberal Conspiracy and Nicholas Jones, author, previously BBC; Paul Bradshaw, Birmingham City University; Online Journalism Blog (OJB).

Organised by the UK National Commission for UNESCO and the Press Freedom Network, with the support of the Frontline Club.

This event is free, but registration is essential.