Media Society Term Card MT23

TERM CARD Michaelmas Term 2023

Welcome to Michaelmas with Oxford Media Society! I’m so proud to be able to share this term’s events.

As our society approaches its 20th anniversary, we are, as ever, thinking about the importance of journalism. However, in an attempt to keep up with the times, we’re expanding our definition of the term ‘media’. The work of the media is the work of political and cultural history – this year, we are thinking about that history in new ways.

One of our focuses is international reporting, and we’ll be discussing the documenting of current events in Ukraine and China – which are redefining geopolitical competition and human rights – with the journalists who are working on them.

Branching outside of traditional journalism, we’ll be looking at the influence of the media on other industries: fashion (with Alexandra Shulman CBE of British Vogue), film (with Mike Williams of Sight and Sound), and football (with Peter Drury of SKY SPORTS).

Finally, in our last event of term with Dov Forman, who advocates for teaching young people about the Holocaust, we’ll be considering the responsibility that the contemporary media holds in honouring the past.

If you are someone who is currently questioning the importance of journalism, I am confident that our events this term will help to change your mind. I hope to see you there.

Yours,

Mia Wu (St John’s) 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.

KAMAL AHMED

5pm, 13 Oct. (Fri. Week 1) The Oxford Union, Frewin Court

In collaboration with The Oxford Union

KAMAL AHMED was Editorial Director of BBC News from 2018-2021, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the News Movement, a digital news company aiming to counter misinformation. He has also worked for The Observer, The Sunday Telegraph, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. His memoir, The Life and Times of a Very British Man, charts his upbringing as a mixed-race child in the 1970s Enoch Powell era.

ALEXANDRA SHULMAN CBE

In collaboration with 8pm, 27 Oct. (Fri. Week 3)

The Isis Magazine Garden Room, Trinity College

ALEXANDRA SHULMAN CBE was the longest serving Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue, from 1992-2017. She has also worked for Tatler, GQ, and The Sunday Telegraph Famous for her professional rivalry with Anna Wintour, her December 1999 ‘Millennium Issue’ (the highest selling issue of Vogue), and her stance that, ‘I won’t tell women they need surgery or diets to be attractive,’ Shulman has remained one of the most powerful voices in the fashion industry for decades.

SPOTLIGHT SOCIAL

3-5pm, 21 Oct. (Sat. Week 2)

Garden Quad Reception Room, St John’s College

Media Society is hosting the ‘Spotlight’ event to introduce freshers and returning students to the Oxford student journalism scene! Come along for a relaxed social environment, free drinks, and stalls from all the biggest publications. During the event, we’ll be presenting a 2023 year-in-review series of spotlights, honouring the most engaging student-produced media. Featuring Cherwell, The Oxford Student, The Oxford Scientist, Oxford Review of Books & more …

LUKE HARDING

5:30pm, 24 Oct. (Tue. Week 3)

10 Merton Street Lecture Room, University College

In collaboration with Stubbs Society

LUKE HARDING is a foreign correspondent for The Guardian. He had been based in Russia between 2007 and 2011 before being deported following publishing articles criticising the Russian government. He has written books covering his expulsion, WikiLeaks, Edward Snowden, Donald Trump’s links to Russia, and the invasion of Ukraine.

REPORTING ON CHINA PANEL

with Oxford 5pm, 3 Nov. (Fri. Week 4) Asia-Pacific Society New Seminar Room, St John’s College

The panel aims to bring together journalists and researchers who specialise in reporting on China affairs to discuss the country’s complicated relationship with the press, as well as the intricacies of navigating discourse around China in the Western media:

UKRAINE PANEL

CINDY YU is a China Reporter and Broadcast Editor at the Spectator, where she also hosts the Chinese Whispers podcast.

RICHARD SPENCER is China correspondent at The Times. He has also worked as the Middle East correspondent for The Times as well as several similar roles at The Daily Telegraph

JAMES MILES is China writer-at-large at The Economist. From 2014 to 2022 he was The Economist’s China Editor, having previously worked as Beijing Bureau Chief for 13 years.

In collaboration with 5pm, 8 Nov. (Wed. Week 5) Stubbs Society Auditorium, Corpus Christi College

A panel discussing the media coverage of the Russian war in Ukraine. Journalists and commentators who specialise in reporting from both within war zones, and on defence at large, will come together to shed light on the issues surrounding their work.

ALEC RUSSELL is Foreign Editor for the Financial Times and a Pulitzer Prize nominee, as well as the 2008 British foreign correspondent of the year.

OLGA TOKARIUK is a Ukrainian freelance journalist, and was the lead author of Mythos Labs’s reports on Russian disinformation related to the invasion of Ukraine.

NINA KURYATA is Ukraine Editor for Tortoise Media. She was previously the head of the BBC News Ukrainian service.

ROLAND OLIPHANT is a Senior Foreign Correspondent for The Telegraph. He was previously the Moscow correspondent for The Daily Telegraph

MIKE WILLIAMS

5pm, 14th Nov. (Tue. Week 6)

10 Merton Street, University College

MIKE WILLIAMS is an award-winning British journalist and editor-in-chief of Sight and Sound. Between 2012 and 2018, he was editor-in-chief of music magazine NME, overseeing the publication’s transition into a digital-first brand and increasing circulation of the magazine to record levels. He has been awarded the British Society of Magazine Editors’ ‘Editor of the Year’ award on two occasions, most recently for his bold new redesign of Sight and Sound

PRESIDENT’S DRINKS

8pm, 28 Nov. (Tue. Week 8) Wadham

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!

DOV FORMAN

5pm, 21 Nov. (Tue. Week 7) Amersi Room, Brasenose College

In collaboration with Oxford Jewish Society

DOV FORMAN is a best-selling author, social media creator, and Holocaust education spokesperson. He is the great-grandson of Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor, Lily Ebert, with whom he co-authored the book Lily’s Promise; the title became a five-time Sunday Times and threetime New York Times bestseller, receiving a foreword from King Charles praising Dov’s ‘engaging and effective use of social media’ in furthering Holocaust education. Dov received the ‘Points of Light’ award from the UK Prime Minister in 2021, and is a ‘young spokesperson’ for Steven Spielberg’s USC Shoah Foundation. Dov and his great-grandmother, Lily Ebert, have over 2.1 million followers on TikTok, where they share Lily’s experiences during the Shoah.

Confirmed for future terms:

Our collaborators:

Director of Tate

and

in collaboration with Edgar Wind Society

Our sponsors: @oxfordmediasociety www.oxfordmediasociety.com

Room, King’s Arms

Peter Drury (Hilary 2024)

Premier League commentator at NBC Sports and SKY SPORTS

Maria Balshaw CBE (Trinity 2024)

Museums

Galleries;