Mental health, lessons from lockdown and newsroom diversity panels will also feature – with diversity taking centre stage at the conference.
The Lord Chief Justice, The Right Honourable The Lord Burnett of Maldon, will deliver a keynote speech at this year’s Society of Editors’ Virtual Conference.
As the most senior figure of the judiciary in England and Wales, the Lord Chief Justice will speak as part of the conference’s keynote In Discussion With sessions on Thursday 19th November. Four other keynote speaker discussion will take place every Thursday throughout the month long virtual event, which runs into the first week of December.
Mental health, lessons from lockdown, diversity and training are all topics that will also be debated through a series of panel discussions, which will be chaired by leading figures who understand the bespoke issues the media faces in each area.
Chairing a debate on ‘Mental Health in the Newsroom’ is SoE President Alison Gow, Audience and Content Editor North West for Reach Plc. The ‘Diversity in the News Media’ discussion will be steered by Managing Director of PA Media, Polly Curtis.
‘Lockdown lessons from Leicester and beyond’; ‘The size of Wales’; ‘Tackling the increase in online abuse against our journalists’; ‘Information in lockdown’ and ‘Northern Ireland: A place apart?’ are five panel debates that will explore the most pressing issues affecting the media from the UK’s regions and nations. A dedicated training panel, held in conjunction with the NCTJ, will also look at journalism education and continuous development in the newsroom.
Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors said: “Over the past 20 years the Society’s annual conference has set the agenda by getting to grips with issues at the heart of the media.
“I’m delighted that some of the strongest voices in the industry will be joining us virtually to give their thoughts on the future and challenges facing the UK press as we come to the end of an unprecedented year for news.”
Registration for the In Discussion With series and the panel debates are now open and are free to all. For more information and direct booking for the events, please visit https://www.societyofeditors.org/events/conference-2020/programme/.
