The UK National Commission for UNESCO

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY DEBATE 2008
In a debate on 2 May to mark World Press Freedom Day in the UK, an audience of senior media practitioners, commentators and press freedom experts voted three to one that journalism is alive and well.

The event, hosted annually by the UK National Commission for UNESCO and Press Freedom Network, drew on arguments and expertise from across the world, including Iran, Mexico, Africa and the US.

In an Oxford Union style debate Andrew Keen (author of The Cult of the Amateur), Kim Fletcher (ex-Editor of the Telegraph & Independent on Sunday), Robin Lustig, (radio broadcaster for the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4) and Nazenin Ansari, (Kayhan Publishing Iran/UK, President of the Foreign Press Association), passionately debated journalism’s future in the digital age. The volley of arguments was deftly moderated by the Chair, William Horsley (Chair of the Association of European Journalists, UK).

The event was opened with the presentation of this year’s World Press Freedom Day student journalism competition award to Stuart James Ross.

Missed the debate? View a video of the event
Read press release
Download Delegate Pack 281KB; 20 pgs
UNESCO Director General's message for WPFD 2008

STUDENT JOURNALISM COMPETITION
2008 Competition Winner – Stuart James Ross

Stuart James Ross is the winner of this year’s World Press Freedom Day student journalism competition with his podcast entry arguing that new media is not killing journalism. Following a series of interviews with a media professional, blogger and campaigner Stuart concludes that “far from killing journalism, new media is helping it to flourish.”

Stuart is currently reading for an MA in Broadcast Journalism at Westminster University. Between 2003 - 2007 he was a company director and a presenter on RadioReverb 97.2FM. Brighton based RadioReverb was one of the first community radio stations in the UK to be awarded a full- time FM licence. Stuart has produced material for the BBC, commercial and community radio sectors. Stuart’s blogs at www.stuartjamesross.blogspot.com.

UNESCO celebrated World Press Freedom Day in Maputo - some 150 media professionals from around the world adopted a declaration emphasising the importance of freedom of expression and free access to information to participatory democracy. (more)

POST DEBATE
Guardian ‘Comment is Free’ section is running a discussion on world press freedom issues to mark World Press Freedom Day 2008. To view contributions and join in the discussion, please see the links below:

Thriving, despite repression (Nazenin Ansari)
The advent of new media has given Iranians a more inclusive, accurate and penetrating picture of their society...

Networked journalism (Charlie Beckett)
The public are now becoming partners with journalists in the production of news...

News from the profit centres (Geraint Talfan Davies)
Many fear the internet is killing journalism, but markets may be a more serious threat...

It's our own fault (Andrew Keen)
Instead of journalism by experts, we now prefer self-expression and the democratised interactivity of blogs and wikis...

Enquiry and further information

+44 (0)20 7766 3492 or worldpressfreedom@unesco.org.uk