Upcoming Events

EVENT RESCHEDULED TO Thursday 28th April at 6pm

Boris, Partygate and the Media

The UK media has played a crucial role in the recent political upheavals that have shaken Downing Street and undermined Boris Johnson’s position as PM.
 
The Media Society is holding a special Zoom event to delve into the role of the media in this extraordinary political crisis

What can we can we make of the fact that it was legacy mainstream media that broke most of the Partygate exclusives?
 
Indeed, what impact did social media and the new news websites have on the roll out of the story?
 
Have some media outlets gone over the top, and focused too much on Downing Street parties, at the expense of major stories such as Ukraine and the economy?
 
And how have the spin doctors in Downing Street performed?
 
These and other questions will be discussed by a high-profile panel – including the former No 10 Director of Communications Sir Craig Oliver and the ITV News journalist who broke many of the Partygate exclusives, Paul Brand.

Our chair for the evening:

Daisy McAndrew
Daisy is an experienced journalist and presenter. Under her maiden name Daisy Sampson, she co-hosted the weekly lunchtime show The Daily Politics with Andrew Neil - and in 2005 she became Chief Political Correspondent for ITV News. She is currently a royal commentator on NBC News and a presenter on Times Radio.

Our Panel:

Paul Brand (ITV News)
Paul is UK Editor for ITV News, covering the biggest stories facing the country, as well as the politics and policy behind them. He was named Political Journalist of the Year at the British Journalism Awards 2020 for his work uncovering the Covid-19 crisis in care home. He has broken three of the Partygate exclusives - including the video of the Allegra Stratton press conference rehearsal. 

Pippa Crerar 
Pippa is Daily Mirror Political Editor and chair of the Parliamentary Press Gallery - and the journalist who broke the Dominic Cummings/Barnard Castle story. Pippa also broke the Partygate story in November and followed it with further revelations of Boris Johnson hosting a Christmas quiz for staff. She is also presenter of BBC Radio 4's Week in Westminster. 

Sir Craig Oliver
Craig is the former Director of Communications at No 10 for David Cameron, and before that was an editor at ITV News and the BBC, and Controller at BBC Global News. He is soon to take up a senior communications role at Finsbury Glover Hering. He also recently launched a podcast Desperately Seeking Wisdom.

TICKETS
Entry tickets are  £10 each which helps cover our costs.
We will be making a number of free tickets available for students and anyone currently un-waged.
 
ZOOM waiting room opens at 6.15pm.
Conversation starts at 6.30pm prompt.

 We have a no refund policy The Media Society is a charity run by volunteers.

Thank you for your support.