TERM CARD Hilary Term 2024 Happy New Year and welcome back to Oxford. I am so pleased to be able to welcome you to Oxford Media Society’s 20th anniversary year. I hope this term’s events will encourage and assure you that – although its forms may now be different – journalism is more vital than ever before: from explaining the world in multiple layers, to tackling big subjects with nuance and sensitivity, telling stories that matter is the history and the future of the media. An interest in the ways that people create and communicate is the spirit which drives the society. It is striking how the advent of social media around twenty years ago has taken journalism into the world in non-traditional ways. Content creation has changed, and the potential for journalistic work is unprecedented. Writers, filmmakers, photographers, and reporters capture moments which connect us to each other, continuing to deepen our understanding beyond the obvious and better informing the world. One way in which we’ll be thinking about journalism in this way is by continuing our discussion on the current events in Ukraine, and how war is reshaping a nation. Alec Russell (of the Financial Times) will be joining us at the beginning of term to reflect upon his recent return to Kyiv and the changing nature of international coverage. Looking beyond the short term news agenda will remain a focus as we consider how journalism can drive change (with Rozina Breen of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism) and, as ever, celebrate honest writing and reporting (with Jean Seaton of The Orwell Prize). Moving from print to digital, we’ll be learning from Peter Drury (of SKY SPORTS) about his flair for football commentary, from Ella Kemp (of Letterboxd), her work as a film critic, and from Jancis Robinson OBE, her fifty year career writing and broadcasting about wine – a passion first inspired by her time at Oxford as an undergraduate, where it all began. As we celebrate two decades of the Oxford Media Society, I hope that this term card continues to uncover ideas, solutions, and stories which will shape the debate about the future of journalism and the media for many years to come. Yours, Rachel Turner (University College) President
We pride ourselves on our core principles of accessibility and diversity, and we uphold these by ensuring that all of our speaker events and socials are free.
PETER DRURY
5pm, 23 Jan. (Tue. Week 2) 10 Merton Street Lecture Room, University College
PETER DRURY is a football commentator who currently works at Sky Sports and NBC Sports in the United States as the lead commentator for its Premier League coverage. Peter’s work has spanned across all areas of football, notably his role hosting the English-language world feed of the World Cup. Peter has commented on crucial matches, including both the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals, and his expressive and poetic style of commentary has undoubtedly made him a prominent personality in the field of sports commentary.
ELLA KEMP In collaboration with Oxford University Filmmaking Foundation
5:30pm, 8 Feb. (Thu. Week 4) McKenna Room, Christ Church College
ELLA KEMP is the London editor for Letterboxd and the Head of Editorial for Girls on Tops. The voice behind many of the viral ‘Four Favourites’ red carpet interviews, Ella’s freelance work has seen her published in Empire, Variety, the Evening Standard, Sight and Sound, NME, Vogue, and more. Ella’s work encompasses photography and live interviews with some of the world’s biggest stars including Isabelle Huppert, Paul Mescal, Emma Thompson, Natalie Portman and many more. You will hear Ella frequently on the Curzon Film Podcast, The Letterboxd Show, and Truth & Movies.
ALEC RUSSELL 5:30pm, 26 Jan. (Fri. Week 2) Old Lodgings Drawing Room, Hertford College In collaboration with Stubbs Society ALEC RUSSELL is Foreign Editor for the Financial Times. He is responsible for overseeing the Financial Times’s international coverage, and has reported from the Balkans, Iraq, and southern Africa (his dispatches earning him a Pulitzer Prize nomination). Named the 2008 British foreign correspondent of the year, Russell, has written three books recounting his experiences reporting from across the globe: Prejudice and Plum Brandy, about his time in the Balkans; Big Men, Little Men, a reflection on his time in South Africa in the mid 90s; and After Mandela, about South Africa under Mbeki.
ROZINA BREEN 5pm, 20 Feb. (Tue. Week 6) Garden Room, Trinity College In collaboration with Cherwell, The Oxford Blue, and The Oxford Student ROZINA BREEN is the current Editor-in-Chief at the The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), having previously worked at the BBC where, as the head of news at BBC 5 Live, she ran the largest network newsroom outside of London, covering a variety of news ranging from the EU referendum, the election of Donald Trump, the Grenfell Tower fire and the terror attacks in London and Manchester. Beyond traditional journalism, Rozina also commissioned several podcasts including Brexitcast and the Hope High podcast which went on to win an Orwell Prize for exposing Britain’s social flaws.
JANCIS ROBINSON OBE 5:30pm, 23 Feb. (Fri. Week 6) Rainolds Room, Corpus Christi College JANCIS ROBINSON is a wine writer and broadcaster. Voted the world’s most influential wine critic in various polls across the US, Europe, and internationally in 2018, for more than 30 years she has been a regular contributor to wine writing, having been the Financial Times’ wine correspondent since 1990. She also founded JancisRobinson.com in 2000 and currently works as its Editor-in-Chief. She had previously advised the wine cellar of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II between 2004 and 2022, and continues to be a member of the Royal Household Wine Committee.
20th ANNIVERSARY DINNER 6:30pm, 26 Feb. (Mon. Week 7) Hertford College
JEAN SEATON 5pm, 28 Feb. (Wed. Week 7) Garden Room, Trinity College JEAN SEATON is the Director of The Orwell Prize and the Official Historian for the BBC. Currently a Professor of Media History at the University of Westminster, Jean has authored various award-winning books including Pinkoes and Traitors, about the BBC during the tumultuous Thatcherian years ; Power without Responsibility, about the international of British media; and Politics and the Media, concerning the impact of media on politics. During her tenure as the Director of the Orwell Foundation, the prominence and reach of the Orwell Prizes have only grown, and in 2014, the Foundation launched an Orwell Youth Prize, designed to encourage literary and political engagement among the young.
Past presidents, speakers, patrons, and founders will be hosted by Tom Fletcher CMG, our Senior Member, for a dinner to mark 20 years of the Oxford Media Society. The evening will celebrate the many individuals who have contributed to the society, as we look back on how the media landscape has changed in the last two decades, and where it is going next.
PRESIDENT’S DRINKS 8pm, 4 Mar. (Mon. Week 8) Wadham Room, The King’s Arms Celebrating the end of the term (famously with an open bar), President’s Drinks this term will be at the King’s Arms. We welcome all members, collaborators, and anyone with interest in the society to join the committee for our final event!
CHECK OUT OUR PODCAST! Oxford Media Society is the foremost forum within the University of Oxford for discussion about the media industry in the 21st century, and our new podcast ‘Spotlight’ aims to bring our work to a wider audience. By interviewing leaders in the fields of broadcasting, journalism, and television, we hope to inspire the next generation of media professionals. Last term’s episodes, all available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, include conversations with Amy Hawkins (Senior China Correspondent for The Guardian), Theodore Kim (Director of Newsroom Careers at the New York Times), and Natalie Haynes (bestselling author, broadcaster, and comedian).
Confirmed for future terms: Samira Ahmed
Maria Balshaw CBE
BBC broadcaster and presenter; in collaboration with The Oxford Union
Director of Tate Museums and Galleries; in collaboration with Edgar Wind Society
(Trinity 2024)
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