09 March 2005

Hugo Young Lecture

Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, called for closer scrutiny of the press and its activities in a University Centenary Lecture organised by Sheffield University’s Department of Journalism Studies. It was the inaugural Hugo Young Lecture, set up in memory of the Guardian political columnist who died in 2003. Hugo was born and raised in Sheffield and his mother attended the lecture.

There were 400 people in the St George’s Church lecture theatre on March 9 to hear Rusbridger talk about his concerns for the British national press. Levels of trust in the press were low, circulations were falling, profits were not being made and the important news issues were often being relegated to the inside pages. He thought universities had a role to play in providing the scrutiny journalists seemed unable or unwilling to undertake. It needed to be “not a lofty, finger wagging, one sided scrutiny, but the kind of examination and review that engages those within and without the industry.”

Full text of Alan Rusbridger’s speech