debate
The Leveson Inquiry comes to Frontline – what have we learned?
By Thomas Lowe Passionate exchanges, heckling from the audience and caustic wit – that’s what you get when a panel of journalists sit down to discuss what Peter Wilby described as the media’s ‘truth and reconciliation commission’. Anne Diamond, who now hosts the Anne Diamond show on Berkshire radio believes she was ‘targeted’ by Rupert […]
FULLY BOOKED First Wednesday: The Leveson Inquiry – what have we learned?
Since the Leveson Inquiry hearings began on 14 November some of the worst of British journalism has been laid bare by the victims of phone hacking, politicians, journalists and editors who have spoken.
As revelations from the phone hacking investigation continue, join us for the first event of 2012 to discuss what has been revealed about the workings of the tabloid press and what the fall out will be for the journalism industry.
A lively public meeting hosted by Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House.
FULLY BOOKED #FCBBCA: Women of the revolution
IN ASSOCIATION WITH BBC ARABIC
EXTERNAL EVENT HELD AT THE RCS
The uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa were a time when the ‘revolutionary Arab woman’ grabbed the attention of the western media.
The fight for women’s rights didn’t begin with the Arab Spring and has gone on without the attention of the world’s media. We will be bringing together some of the women who took part in the Arab Spring and those who have been working to promote women’s rights to discuss if the revolutions have been good for women.
THIRD PARTY EVENT: Looking back – moving forward? A humanitarian perspective
From the popular uprisings in the Middle East, to the intervention in Libya, and now the tragedy unfolding in the Horn of Africa, many of this year’s top stories have been dominated by humanitarian issues.
In this end of year debate, leading figures from the humanitarian world gather to discuss the main challenges to protecting and assisting people caught up in conflict and disaster. They will also explore prospects for principled humanitarian action in 2012.
Kashmir: South Asia’s Palestine?
The former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir, is seen by many as South Asia’s Palestinian counterpart. Bordered by Pakistan, India, China and Afghanistan, each country has laid claim to the territory that lies in the foothills of the Himalayas. It has been caught between continuous contestation of borders and autonomy since the partition of British India.
Join us at the Frontline Club with an expert panel to discuss where Kashmir stands in its fight for freedom and the options that lay before it.
Insight with Jonathan Steele: The craft of the foreign correspondent
Jonathan Steele has been covering global events for the Guardian for over forty years. From the civil rights movement in Mississippi and Alabama to his extensive coverage of the past 30 years of Afghan history, his work has won him recognition as one of the greatest foreign correspondents of his generation.
He will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with freelance journalist Tom Finn who is currently based in Sana’a, Yemen to reflect on his 40-year career, which has taken him to Eastern Europe, Washington correspondent and Kabul, Afghanistan throughout the Soviet period until 1992.
FULLY BOOKED First Wednesday: #Occupy – What do they want?
What began in the financial district of New York City in mid September under the name Occupy Wall Street has become a movement that is spreading across the globe. But what do they want and how do they intend to achieve their goals? Are their aims realistic? Can they have any impact?
Join us at the Frontline Club to debate the aims and objectives of the Occupy movement and to discuss whether it can bring about any change.
POSTPONED The Arab Spring: Have the torturers been stopped?
The brutal torture and murder of Khaled Said by Egyptian police in June 2010 and the Facebook page We Are All Khaled Said served as a catalyst to the uprising that eventually ousted president Hosni Mubarak in February this year.
The message the Egyptian people were sending was that they were no longer prepared to live under a regime that used torture as a weapon against dissent.
A panel of experts will be discussing the importance of resistance to the use of torture by authoritarian regimes in the protests of the Arab Spring.
FULLY BOOKED Russia – A mafia state?
In 2007 Luke Harding arrived in Moscow to take up a new job as a correspondent for The Guardian. Not long after, mysterious agents from Russia’s Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB, broke into his flat. He was followed, bugged, and even summoned to Lefortovo, the FSB’s notorious prison.
Luke Harding will be joined by a panel at the Frontline Club to discuss his experiences as The Guardian’s Moscow correspondent and what they tell us about Russia today.
THIRD PARTY EVENT: Is Blue the New Green?
Overfishing and dying oceans are in the media spotlight as never before. Will it change anything?
‘End of the Line’, the film about overfishing, has been screened across the globe. Channel 4’s “Fish Fight’ series this year prompted a huge public response in the UK. London department store Selfridges’ “Project Ocean” event mixed scientists and royalty in discussing ocean issues. Celebrity chefs have taken up the cause, and stories about the dying oceans now seem to dominate environmental reporting by the media.
Will the increased spotlight on marine damage bring real change? Or is the ocean just the latest ‘fad’, as climate change issues fall out of favour with editors and politicians? Media, campaigning and policy experts will discuss the growing focus on ‘blue’ issues.
FULLY BOOKED THIRD PARTY EVENT: Inside Unreported World
To mark the launch of this Autumn’s Unreported World series, Channel 4 invite you to join Siobhan Sinnerton, Commissioning Editor for News & Current Affairs for an exclusive talk. With reporters Evan Williams, Seyi Rhodes, Jenny Kleeman, Oliver Steeds, Peter Oborne and Ramita Navai as they reveal the highlights, challenges and dangers of their extraordinary jobs.
FULLY BOOKED: Insight with Nawal El Saadawi
The internationally renowned Egyptian writer, novelist and activist Nawal El Saadawi will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with special correspondent and presenter for BBC News, Razia Iqbal on her 80th birthday to discuss her life’s work and the launch of a foundation that will embody the themes, ethos and characteristics that have shaped it.
Reporting conflict: competition, pressures and risks
IN ASSOCIATION WITH BBC COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM
After the headlines trumpeting that Alex Crawford and Sky News were clear winners of the battle for reporting Tripoli, we will be taking stock of this recent chapter in covering modern warfare.
With a panel of newsroom executives and frontline journalists we will discuss how the conflict in Libya was reported and what its legacy is likely to be.
#FCBBCA: Should Israel fear the Arab spring?
Download this episode View in iTunes By Eva Dumontet Should Israel fear the Arab spring? When asked the same question, the majority of the audience agreed that Israel should be concerned about the changes that were taking place across the region. Yitzhak Lior stressed the “physical and psychological vulnerability” of Israel, while Miri Weingarten argued that […]
#FCBBCA Israel and the Arab Spring: will democracy bring peace?
By Thomas Lowe The focus of this lively and at times tempestuous debate was whether democracy would be the endpoint of the Arab Spring and how this would impact Israeli relations in the region. “Who could speak against democracy”? asked former Israeli Ambassador, Yitzhak Lior, it’s “easy” to deal with dictatorships” but despite the dangers “we will […]
#FCBBCA: Israel and the Arab spring
EXTERNAL EVENT HELD AT THE ROYAL INSITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN
IN ASSOCIATION WITH BBC ARABIC
With leaders toppled in Tunisia and Egypt, continuing uprisings in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, the Arab world has seen tumultuous change in recent months. Where does all this upheaval leave Israel? We will be focusing on the response of Israel to the revolutions sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa.
With a panel of Israeli experts and journalists we will explore how Israel and its people view the demands for democracy which are ousting friends in the region such as President Hosni Mubarak.
Abdulnasser Gharem: Saudi Arabia – art and war
As both a conceptual artist and lieutenant colonel in the Saudi army, Abdulnasser Gharem is somewhat of an unusual figure. Described as the “rock star of Saudi contemporary art”, he recently made history when his installation Message/Messenger sold for a record price at auction in Dubai.
Abdulnasser Gharem will be joining us at the Frontline Club to discuss the inspiration behind his work, which is now in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture & Information. He will also reflect on how he reconciles being a soldier and an artist, shedding light on Saudi’s secretive society and culture.
First Wednesday: Where has war left the people of Afghanistan?
How do the Afghan people view the last ten years since the US-led invasion and how have their lives have been changed?
Is it just another chapter in nearly half a century of conflict and instability? Is civil war avoidable? Is there any hope for the future and what might that future look like?
Another opportunity to join in a lively public meeting, hosted by Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House, bringing together experts and commentators and mixing their views with contributions from our audience.
Insight with Robert King: The Angola 3 and their fight for justice
Robert King the only free member of the Angola 3 will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with founder and director of Reprieve, Clive Stafford Smith to tell his story and discuss his life’s focus; to campaign against abuses in the criminal justice system and for the freedom of Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox who are now serving their 40th year in solitary confinement.
REACTIVE: The battle for press freedom in Iran
Almost two weeks after their arrest, little has been heard about the fate of the six Iranian filmmakers who are currently being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison with no access to their lawyers.
Accused of collaborating secretly with BBC Persian and illegally supplying content portraying Iran in a negative light, they have been condemned as “a group of terrorists, Bahais, communists and devil worshippers” by Iran’s Minister of Intelligence.
Join us at the Frontline Club for this reactive briefing to discuss the detainment of the filmmakers, the battle for press freedom in Iran and the regime’s relationship with foreign media.
Reflections: Martin Bell at the Frontline Club
Veteran war correspondent and winner of the Royal Television Society’s Reporter of the Year Award, Martin Bell has reported from over 80 countries and 11 wars in his time as a BBC journalist. Making his name in journalism for his work during the Vietnam war, and later on as an Independent MP for Tatton in 1997 during a landslide win against the Conservatives.
He will be joining former BBC executive Vin Ray to take a look back at his career as a journalist, MP and UNICEF Ambassador.
Bang Bang Bang: a special preview reading at the Frontline Club
A seasoned human rights defenders and her idealistic young colleague embark on a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo. For Mathilde it’s an induction into a life less ordinary. For Sadhbh it’s back to madness and chaos away from her lover and London – exactly as she likes it.
A special preview reading of Bang Bang Bang, which is coming to the Royal Court Theatre in October.
David Carr in conversation with Richard Gizbert: The media machine
Drawing on their experiences working with two very different global media players, David Carr of the New York Times and Richard Gizbert of Al Jazeera English will be discussing the future of the news industry.
From the future of newspapers like the New York Times and whether they can adapt quickly enough to survive to the emergence of new business models offering alternative sources of funding. They will be addressing some of the big questions that are exercising many minds within the media.
A remarkable opportunity to debate the future of the news industry with two of its key players.
Understanding extremism: What are the real dangers?
When reports began coming in of the bombing in Oslo on 22 July the general consensus among experts appeared to be that the attack had all the hallmarks of Islamic extremism.
It was only when news came through of a gunman on Utøya that it began to become clear that something quite different was taking place in Norway.
As we mark the ten year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, we will be examining the extent of our understanding of extremism.
FIRST WEDNESDAY SPECIAL: Changing world – conflict, culture and terrorism in the 21st century
#fcbbca
EXTERNAL EVENT HELD AT THE ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN.
To mark ten years since the terrorists attacks on the United States, the Frontline Club is holding a special event to look at the extent to which 9/11 has defined our world today and will continue to shape our future.
Can Tunisians and Egyptians reclaim their revolutions?
With the world watching the latest uprisings in Syria and the continued intervention in Libya, the media has largely turned its attention away from the catalyst of the Arab spring, Tunisia and the next country to oust its president, Egypt. But what does the future hold for these fledgeling democracies?
Join us at the Frontline club with a panel of experts to discuss what the future holds for Tunisia and Egypt.
FULLY BOOKED Counterinsurgency and the “War on Terror”: Doomed to fail?
As we approach the 10-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks we will be bringing together a panel of experts to discuss the “War on Terror” that was launched by the United States government in their wake.
What has been achieved in Afghanistan and Iraq and, ten years on, what could be learnt from the Arab Spring about change in the region? 5 months into a new campaign in Libya, is it time that we reassess our involvement in the Arab world?
Insight with Kamin Mohammadi: Rediscovering Iran
When nine-year-old Kamin Mohammadi fled to London with her family in June 1979 escaping Iran after the revolution that brought down the Shah little was she to know that she would not step foot in the country again for 17 years.
She will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with Pooneh Ghoddoosi from BBC Persian TV to talk about her journey back to her homeland to find the family she left behind, and to rediscover her Iranian identity after 17 years away from the country that she loved.
As an Iranian exile living in Britain, Mohammadi struggled to fit in. She will be joining us at the Frontline Club to talk about her journey back to her homeland to find the family she left behind, and to rediscover her Iranian identity after almost 18 years away from the country that she loved.
FULLY BOOKED First Wednesday: Where now for the people of Syria?
Since mid – March when the Arab Spring reached Syria there have been continuous crack downs on protestors by Syrian forces. There are claims more than 1,700 civilians have been killed. The authorities in Syria claim 500 soldiers and police have been killed by armed gangs, which they also blame for most of the civilian deaths.
Join us with Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House to discuss the situation in Syria and what the future holds for the Syrian people.
FULLY BOOKED Phone hacking – ethics and tabloid journalism
LATER START TIME OF 8.15PM
The closure of the News of the World following further revelations that schoolgirl Milly Dowler’s phone was allegedly hacked by private investigators has failed to draw a line under the growing crisis.
The print media has long defended its freedom from outside regulation. Is there a future for statutory regulation of the press or is it time for the Press Complaints Commission to be scrapped as actor and recent privacy crusader Hugh Grant has claimed?
Join us at the Frontline Club with an expert panel to discuss this ever-deepening scandal, as we consider what ‘hackgate’ might mean for the future of British journalism.