Discussion

February 15, 2012

Rebuilding Libya

View in iTunes Watch the event here. By Alan Selby Much has happened since this time last year. The 15th of February 2011 saw the first Libyans take to the streets of Benghazi against a brutal dictatorship which ruled over them for 42 years. The events that followed sent shockwaves around the world, led to a […]


February 15, 2012

Rebuilding Libya

On 15 February 2011, inspired by their Tunisian and Egyptian neighbours, the people of Libya took to the streets in Benghazi calling for the end of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s brutal regime.

Join us at the Frontline Club to discuss the task of rebuilding Libya a year after the uprising began. We will be looking at the work of the National Transitional Council (NTC) and the tensions that remain. What are the prospects of a peaceful future?


February 15, 2012 7:00 PM

FULLY BOOKED Rebuilding Libya

On 15 February 2011, inspired by their Tunisian and Egyptian neighbours, the people of Libya took to the streets in Benghazi calling for the end of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s brutal regime.

Join us at the Frontline Club to discuss the task of rebuilding Libya a year after the uprising began. We will be looking at the work of the National Transitional Council (NTC) and the tensions that remain. What are the prospects of a peaceful future?


February 14, 2012 7:00 PM

THIRD PARTY SCREENING: The Ayatollah’s Seal

BBC Persian’s ground-breaking documentary, The Ayatollah’s Seal, charts the Ayatollah’s reign and, through a number of interviews with relatives, biographers and politicians, builds a profile of Iran’s most powerful man.


February 1, 2012

Part 2: Frontline Club discusses Italian press after Berlusconi

By Charlene Rodrigues Interestingly, condemnation of Berlusconi’s media involvement was not wholesale. Paolo Mancini, professor at the University of Perugia said: “Everyone here will expect me to say one thing but I don’t think Berlusconi is controlling the media. It’s overstated.” “Berlusconi tried to limit freedom of journalists but he did not succeed because there […]


January 31, 2012

Part 1: Frontline Club discusses Italian press after Berlusconi

Watch the event here. By Will Turvill The Frontline Club last night hosted a lively and informative discussion on what the future might hold for Italian media in the post-Berlusconi era. The event was hosted by BBC Radio 4 presenter Steve Hewlett who was joined on the panel by four Italians and an Anglo-Italian lecturer […]


January 31, 2012 7:00 PM

Italy after Berlusconi: What now for media freedom?

On 12 November the longest-serving post-war Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi resigned after losing his majority and public support.

While no longer Prime Minister, he continues to control one half of the countries terrestrial TV market and his company Media Set is a big player in the print and advertising sectors. Will Berlusconi continue to wield influence and manipulate the government through his party and media ownership?


January 30, 2012 7:00 PM

FULLY BOOKED Insight with Gene Sharp: From Dictatorship to Democracy

The past year has seen people take to the streets across the Middle East and North Africa to demand an end to tyranny and oppression, with their actions leading to unprecedented regime change across the region.
Less known is that the tactics used by many of these protestors come from the writings of an 83-year-old political scientist, Dr Gene Sharp. The 198 “non-violent weapons” listed in his book From Dictatorship to Democracy have now been circulated amongst dissidents around the world.
We are thrilled to announce that Dr Gene Sharp will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with Ruaridh Arrow, journalist, filmmaker and director of the award winning documentary How to Start a Revolution to discuss his work and the uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa.


January 18, 2012

Frontline Club panel optimistic about the future of Egypt

By Will Turvill There was an overall feeling of positivity in the Frontline Club last night as the panel, chaired by the Observer‘s foreign affairs editor Peter Beaumont, discussed what the future might hold for the Egyptian people after a year of military rule. Indeed, despite recognising the number of challenges facing the revolutionary movement, each […]


January 17, 2012

Egypt: After a year of military rule, what next?

Tuesday 25 January 2011 has become enshrined in Egypt’s history as the ‘day of rage’ when people took to the streets against the tyranny and oppression of President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. As we approach the one-year anniversary of that day we will be joined by a panel of Egyptians to discuss the hopes of that day and the challenges that lie ahead.


January 17, 2012 7:00 PM

FULLY BOOKED Egypt: After a year of military rule, what next?

Tuesday 25 January 2011 has become enshrined in Egypt’s history as the ‘day of rage’ when people took to the streets against the tyranny and oppression of President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. As we approach the one-year anniversary of that day we will be joined by a panel of Egyptians to discuss the hopes of that day and the challenges that lie ahead.


January 16, 2012

#FCBBCA: Voices of the revolution


IN ASSOCIATION WITH BBC ARABIC

For the first #FCBBCA event of 2012 we will be marking one year since the beginning of what has become known as the “Arab Spring” by bringing together some of the leading digital activists and bloggers across the region.

For this special event we will be asking bloggers and digital activists to select a panel that they believe are the key voices of the uprisings across the Arab region.

Further details of this remarkable event will be available in December.


January 12, 2012

How to become a freelance foreign correspondent

By Helena Williams Last year was the year of the freelance foreign correspondent. The tumultuous events of 2011 gave freelance journalists unprecedented access to breathless, breaking news stories in the Arab world – unlike Iraq and Afghanistan, where embedding restrictions applied, freelancers were free to travel and compete on the frontline. With the increasing attraction […]


January 11, 2012 7:00 PM

FULLY BOOKED On the media: Becoming a freelance foreign correspondent


This event is now fully booked but you will be able to watch it live here and follow the discussion on #fcfreelance.

With uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa setting a relentless pace in this year’s news agenda, media outlets have frequently turned to freelances to cover events in countries where they are without staff bureaus and wire services.

The Frontline Club, in association with the BBC College of Journalism, will be bringing together a panel of freelances who will discuss the practicalities of life as a freelance foreign correspondent from setting up in a country to finding and pitching stories and dealing with the realities of conflict.


January 5, 2012

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 […]


January 4, 2012 7:00 PM

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.


December 16, 2011 7:00 PM

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.


December 5, 2011 7:00 PM

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.


December 1, 2011

Part 2: Democratic Republic of Congo: Presidential elections and blood minerals

Watch the event here.  By Thomas Lowe Many of the challenges facing Congo stem from its size, mineral wealth and its social complexity. The result of the Congo elections says Mary Harper, Africa Editor at BBC World Service will not be known for months, yet an incredible 18,000 candidates have put themselves forward. One key question […]


December 1, 2011

Part 1: Democratic Republic of Congo: Presidential elections and blood minerals

Download this episode View in iTunes Watch the event here.  By Natricia Duncan As we see landmark election in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the discussion at the Frontline Club turned to the way forward for this troubled nation. Chaired by Mary Harper, Africa Editor at the BBC World Service, who opened by asking: “Why a […]


November 30, 2011 7:00 PM

FULLY BOOKED Democratic Republic of Congo: Presidential elections and blood minerals

The Presidential Elections of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are due to take place at the end of November and current President, Joseph Kabila, is standing again for what could end up being a 15 year presidency. Join us at the Frontline Club to debate the possible outcome of the Presidential election and what it might mean for the country


November 22, 2011 7:00 PM

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.


November 18, 2011

Reflections: Alex Crawford

Download this episode View in iTunes  Watch the event here.    By Thomas Lowe Three time winner of the Royal Television Society Journalist of the year award, Sky special correspondent Alex Crawford spoke on trauma, risk, the tools of her trade and why she would rather eat her own liver than be a presenter. The […]


November 17, 2011 7:00 PM

FULLY BOOKED Reflections: Alex Crawford

Alex Crawford‘s coverage from Libya won her widespread praise after she travelled into the conflict with rebel forces. The first journalist to make it into the city of Tripoli after it fell to rebel forces, she coloured her career further with the occasional arrest, detainment, bullet, IED, tear-gassing and mortar shell.

She will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with former BBC executive Vin Ray to take a look back over her career as a foreign correspondent.


November 8, 2011 7:00 PM

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.


November 2, 2011 7:00 PM

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.


November 1, 2011 7:00 PM

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.


October 26, 2011 7:00 PM

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.


October 25, 2011 7:00 PM

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.


October 24, 2011 7:30 PM

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.