Snow forecasts sunny future for journalism

by Matthew Sanderson & Nick Ford

Channel Four news anchor Jon Snow believes journalists are “poised for the golden age”, despite the industry being in the “darkest and bleakest moment it has ever known”.

Snow, 64, was the eighth media figure to give the annual Hugh Cudlipp lecture at the London College of Communication (LCC) on Monday (January 23).

Previous speakers have included Alastair Campbell, Paul Dacre, Lionel Barber and Alan Rusbridger.

Cudlipp was a pioneer of tabloid journalism during his time at the Daily Mirror, where he helped the paper become the highest selling newspaper of the time, with more than five million daily copies sold at its peak. 

Golden age

Snow focused on his background in journalism and on the future of the industry in a digital world.

He was keen to discuss what he believes will soon be the golden age of journalism.

“For the first time since Caxton, Alexander Graham Bell, Marconi or Logie Baird – the entire media has been liberated; liberated in a way that allows the reader, viewer and listener the true capacity to answer back.”

He spoke in length about his “great love affair” with Twitter and the power it holds:

“Twitter is a breaking news source, yes, but above all, far from being merely superficial, Twitter is an agent that is playing a key role in satisfying the desire for depth.

“From Egypt to Japan, from Downing Street to Brussels I have used it to build the environment in which news is breaking.”

Snow, who has 140,000 followers on Twitter, spoke about his experiences of reporting around the world and how the Internet has changed the way news is gathered.

One of the news anchor’s examples was the recent conflict in Syria; he explained how the Syrian people would offer the news team mobile phone footage or share their experiences through Skype.

He described these people as “the foot-soldiers in the fields we cannot tread in”, recalling that when President Assad’s father killed 40,000 people in similar protests 20 years ago, the story went relatively unreported.

Regulation

Snow caused some controversy when suggesting that print journalism would benefit from a credible regulator in the same way television has.

“I’m no OFCOM sycophant but I’m afraid they have done an excellent job regulating my end of television: firm, fair, intelligent. No one’s perfect, but as a regulator, hatched in our present age, they have done, and continue to do a remarkable job.”

After Snow's speech, the annual Hugh Cudlipp award was presented to Ben Bryant, a graduate from City University, for a series of articles on gang culture in London that had been published in the Evening Standard.

Chosen by the Cudlipp trustees, the £1000 award is presented to a journalism student or recent graduate who produces an article or a series of articles focusing on issues of public interest or concern.

Bryant told the audience at LCC that it was “a tremendous honour to receive this award, particularly because it is in the name of Hugh Cudlipp, who is obviously such an iconic figure".

Opinions given

A lively Q&A session followed Snow’s speech and it became clear some of the audience did not agree with all of his suggestions, most notably on the regulation of print journalism.

Lady Cudlipp, wife of the late Hugh Cudlipp, said to Snow: “Thank you for coming to talk to us and giving us your thoughts; some of which we might agree with and some which we might not.”

Jon Slattery, former deputy editor of the Press Gazette, agreed with some of Snow’s points on press regulation.

“Like many people, he believes the press should be regulated and that the tabloids went too far. But it’s trying to balance it, as there should not be too much interference with freedom of speech and that’s kind of where it’s going at the moment,” he told the Arts London News (ALN).

Bob Satchwell, director of the Society of Editors, agreed he was ‘an optimist’ like Snow and saw the digital world as the way forward for the industry. “Eventually it does seem logical that the money will follow the people,” he said. “What’s happening with digital is that the more output there is and the more Twitter there is, the more desperate interest in free information there is.

“People have just got to take the opportunity. Every time a paper folds, somebody has to fill the void. But it may not be on paper and it won’t be on television either. As Jon said, television will migrate to the internet anyway.”

Stephen Fay, a Hugh Cudlipp trustee said: “I think [Jon Snow] is quite right, we have to regulate [the press]. I think he is also right that it shouldn’t be statutory and it shouldn’t contain editors or indeed proprietors.” 

Successful evening

Head of College, Professor Sandra Kemp spoke briefly at the lecture noting that, “many fine journalists have learnt their trade at this college”.

Due to the popularity of the Hugh Cudlipp lecture the event was streamed live from the main lecture theatre to the podium lecture theatre at the college. It was also streamed live on Facebook and the University of the Arts London website.

Speaking to ALN after the main event Sandra Kemp, Head of college, said: “It was a fantastic lecture”, but suggested that in the future more discussion on Twitter should take place, clearly agreeing with Snow on the power of social media.

When ALN asked Snow how he thought the evening had gone he replied: “I survived”. Reflecting on the question and answer session, Snow believed that some members of the audience had come with a “hidden agenda”.

This year’s Hugh Cudlipp award winner, Bryant, spoke to ALN after getting his accolade: “Winning this award is the best recognition I have received to date” he said, adding that he was extremely privileged to receive the award, especially from “a complete legend”, like Snow.

While researching for his award-winning articles, Bryant spent time with the London-based youth charity, TAG. He intends to split the award money with this organisation and Kids Company – another London charity.

Those in attendance hailed the evening a success and the event sparked considerable debate on the subject of press regulation and the digital revolution.

Snow ended on a positive note as he told the audience: “The human potential is as vast as the technological ­– we are well placed to seize this golden age. Let’s go for it!”