The Frontline Club

If the role of journalists is to bear witness to history, can they ever justify participating in the events they are reporting? A new publication by Stewart Purvis and Jeff Hulbert brings together the stories of 15 journalists caught between covering the story and stepping beyond journalistic conventions.

We will be joined by the authors and some of the journalists featured to debate the boundaries and parameters of journalistic coverage, and when the rules of reporting can be bent and broken.

We will be examining the lengths to which journalists on the front lines are prepared to go. In the extreme situation of war and political conflict rules are broken and ethics abandoned but where do you draw the line?

Chaired by veteran foreign affairs correspondent, Martin Bell.

The panel:

Stewart Purvis is Professor of Television Journalism at City University London.

Penny Marshall is Social Affairs Editor for ITV News. She has previously held positions as International Correspondent, Home/Media Affairs Correspondent, Moscow Reporter and Defence and Diplomatic Correspondent.

Jeff Hulbert is a media historian and an honorary research fellow in the Journalism Department at City University London.

Frederick Forsyth is one of the world’s leading thriller writers and former journalist at Reuters and the

This event is organised by International Alert, in partnership with Sussex University’s School of Global Studies.

In the media, lead coverage is often given to stories and images from the front lines. As the old newsroom saying goes: “If it bleeds, it leads.” But what happens when a conflict fades from the headlines and the long path to peace begins? Can the power of the media be harnessed to highlight positive stories of peacebuilding, reconciliation and change?

Join us to explore how the media depicts the stories of both conflict and peace, with:

Martin Bell, veteran war correspondent.

Timothy Large, Editor-in-Chief, Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Cynthia Weber, Professor of International Relations, University of Sussex.

Chaired by Dan Smith, Secretary General, International Alert.

The event is free to attend and will be followed by a drinks and canapés reception.

This event is organised by International Alert, in partnership with Sussex University’s School of Global Studies.

In the media, lead coverage is often given to stories and images from the front lines. As the old newsroom saying goes: “If it bleeds, it leads.” But what happens when a conflict fades from the headlines and the long path to peace begins? Can the power of the media be harnessed to highlight positive stories of peacebuilding, reconciliation and change?

Join us to explore how the media depicts the stories of both conflict and peace, with:

Martin Bell, veteran war correspondent.

Timothy Large, Editor-in-Chief, Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Cynthia Weber, Professor of International Relations, University of Sussex.

Chaired by Dan Smith, Secretary General, International Alert.

The event is free to attend and will be followed by a drinks and canapés reception.

This event is organised by International Alert, in partnership with Sussex University’s School of Global Studies.

In the media, lead coverage is often given to stories and images from the front lines. As the old newsroom saying goes: “If it bleeds, it leads.” But what happens when a conflict fades from the headlines and the long path to peace begins? Can the power of the media be harnessed to highlight positive stories of peacebuilding, reconciliation and change?

Join us to explore how the media depicts the stories of both conflict and peace, with:

Martin Bell, veteran war correspondent.

Timothy Large, Editor-in-Chief, Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Cynthia Weber, Professor of International Relations, University of Sussex.

Chaired by Dan Smith, Secretary General, International Alert.

The event is free to attend and will be followed by a drinks and canapés reception.

Anabel Hernández is one of Mexico’s leading investigative journalists. It was the kidnap and murder of her father and the subsequent refusal by the police to investigate unless her family paid a bribe that led her to journalism. She will be joining us in conversation with Ed Vulliamy, a writer for The Guardian and Observer, and author of Amexica: War Along the Borderline, to talk about the work she does recording and investigating the shocking brutality of narco violence and the complexity of the cartels, their rivalries and their links to government and business.

In Mexico officials put the number of deaths from narco violence at 70,000 in the last six years, with another 27,000 missing. In her new book Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their God Fathers, Hernández explores how Mexico has become a base for the mega-cartels of Latin America, and the links between the cartels and government and business complicity at the very highest levels.

Anabel Hernández has worked on national daily newspapers including Reforma, Milenio, El Universal and its investigative supplement La Revista. She currently contributes to the online news site Reporte Indigo. Her previous books include La familia presidencial, Fin de fiesta en los pinos, and Los cómplices del presidente. In 2012, she was awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom by the World Association of Newspapers in recognition of her fearless work exposing drug cartels.

Anabel Hernández is one of Mexico’s leading investigative journalists. It was the kidnap and murder of her father and the subsequent refusal by the police to investigate unless her family paid a bribe that led her to journalism. She will be joining us in conversation with Ed Vulliamy, a writer for The Guardian and Observer, and author of Amexica: War Along the Borderline, to talk about the work she does recording and investigating the shocking brutality of narco violence and the complexity of the cartels, their rivalries and their links to government and business.

In Mexico officials put the number of deaths from narco violence at 70,000 in the last six years, with another 27,000 missing. In her new book Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their God Fathers, Hernández explores how Mexico has become a base for the mega-cartels of Latin America, and the links between the cartels and government and business complicity at the very highest levels.

Anabel Hernández has worked on national daily newspapers including Reforma, Milenio, El Universal and its investigative supplement La Revista. She currently contributes to the online news site Reporte Indigo. Her previous books include La familia presidencial, Fin de fiesta en los pinos, and Los cómplices del presidente. In 2012, she was awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom by the World Association of Newspapers in recognition of her fearless work exposing drug cartels.

Anabel Hernández is one of Mexico’s leading investigative journalists. It was the kidnap and murder of her father and the subsequent refusal by the police to investigate unless her family paid a bribe that led her to journalism. She will be joining us in conversation with Ed Vulliamy, a writer for The Guardian and Observer, and author of Amexica: War Along the Borderline, to talk about the work she does recording and investigating the shocking brutality of narco violence and the complexity of the cartels, their rivalries and their links to government and business.

In Mexico officials put the number of deaths from narco violence at 70,000 in the last six years, with another 27,000 missing. In her new book Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their God Fathers, Hernández explores how Mexico has become a base for the mega-cartels of Latin America, and the links between the cartels and government and business complicity at the very highest levels.

Anabel Hernández has worked on national daily newspapers including Reforma, Milenio, El Universal and its investigative supplement La Revista. She currently contributes to the online news site Reporte Indigo. Her previous books include La familia presidencial, Fin de fiesta en los pinos, and Los cómplices del presidente. In 2012, she was awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom by the World Association of Newspapers in recognition of her fearless work exposing drug cartels.

On 20 August last year President Barack Obama gave a speech declaring that if Bashar al-Assad’s government used chemical weapons it would cross a ”red line”. It appears that line has now been crossed. Secretary of State John Kerry has said it is “undeniable” that the Assad government is responsible for the use of chemical weapons after an attack on 21 August left hundreds dead.

With the shadow of Iraq hanging over them, MPs in the UK voted against possible military action in Syria. We will be asking what are the implications of this move towards inaction, and whether it will have any impact on a US-led attack.

As the rhetoric about intervention in Syria escalates, we will be bringing together a panel of experts to examine the arguments for and against, and the implications of action or inaction.

If intervention were to occur, what form would it take? What reaction would we see from Syria’s neighbours and other countries already involved in the conflict?

Chaired by Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4′s Broadcasting House.

With:

Lina Sinjab was the BBC’s correspondent in Syria until a few months ago. She has been reporting for the BBC since 2007 and closely covered the uprising in Syria since it sparked in March 2011.

Scott Lucas is professor of American Studies at the University of Birmingham and editor-in-chief of EA WorldView. He is a specialist in US and British foreign policy and international relations, especially the Middle East and Iran.

Shiraz Maher is a Senior Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, King’s College London, and a contributor to The Spectator. He studies terrorism and Islamic groups in the Middle East, and is currently working on project to map the Syria opposition.

Jonathan Steele is a columnist at The Guardian, roving foreign correspondent and author. He has reported on Afghanistan, Russia, Iraq, and many other countries. He was Washington Bureau Chief, Moscow Bureau Chief, and Chief Foreign Correspondent for The Guardian. He is author of many books, most recently Ghosts of Afghanistan.

On 20 August last year President Barack Obama gave a speech declaring that if Bashar al-Assad’s government used chemical weapons it would cross a ”red line”. It appears that line has now been crossed. Secretary of State John Kerry has said it is “undeniable” that the Assad government is responsible for the use of chemical weapons after an attack on 21 August left hundreds dead.

With the shadow of Iraq hanging over them, MPs in the UK voted against possible military action in Syria. We will be asking what are the implications of this move towards inaction, and whether it will have any impact on a US-led attack.

As the rhetoric about intervention in Syria escalates, we will be bringing together a panel of experts to examine the arguments for and against, and the implications of action or inaction.

If intervention were to occur, what form would it take? What reaction would we see from Syria’s neighbours and other countries already involved in the conflict?

Chaired by Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4′s Broadcasting House.

With:

Lina Sinjab was the BBC’s correspondent in Syria until a few months ago. She has been reporting for the BBC since 2007 and closely covered the uprising in Syria since it sparked in March 2011.

Scott Lucas is professor of American Studies at the University of Birmingham and editor-in-chief of EA WorldView. He is a specialist in US and British foreign policy and international relations, especially the Middle East and Iran.

Shiraz Maher is a Senior Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, King’s College London, and a contributor to The Spectator. He studies terrorism and Islamic groups in the Middle East, and is currently working on project to map the Syria opposition.

Jonathan Steele is a columnist at The Guardian, roving foreign correspondent and author. He has reported on Afghanistan, Russia, Iraq, and many other countries. He was Washington Bureau Chief, Moscow Bureau Chief, and Chief Foreign Correspondent for The Guardian. He is author of many books, most recently Ghosts of Afghanistan.

On 20 August last year President Barack Obama gave a speech declaring that if Bashar al-Assad’s government used chemical weapons it would cross a ”red line”. It appears that line has now been crossed. Secretary of State John Kerry has said it is “undeniable” that the Assad government is responsible for the use of chemical weapons after an attack on 21 August left hundreds dead.

With the shadow of Iraq hanging over them, MPs in the UK voted against possible military action in Syria. We will be asking what are the implications of this move towards inaction, and whether it will have any impact on a US-led attack.

As the rhetoric about intervention in Syria escalates, we will be bringing together a panel of experts to examine the arguments for and against, and the implications of action or inaction.

If intervention were to occur, what form would it take? What reaction would we see from Syria’s neighbours and other countries already involved in the conflict?

Chaired by Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4′s Broadcasting House.

With:

Lina Sinjab was the BBC’s correspondent in Syria until a few months ago. She has been reporting for the BBC since 2007 and closely covered the uprising in Syria since it sparked in March 2011.

Scott Lucas is professor of American Studies at the University of Birmingham and editor-in-chief of EA WorldView. He is a specialist in US and British foreign policy and international relations, especially the Middle East and Iran.

Shiraz Maher is a Senior Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, King’s College London, and a contributor to The Spectator. He studies terrorism and Islamic groups in the Middle East, and is currently working on project to map the Syria opposition.

Jonathan Steele is a columnist at The Guardian, roving foreign correspondent and author. He has reported on Afghanistan, Russia, Iraq, and many other countries. He was Washington Bureau Chief, Moscow Bureau Chief, and Chief Foreign Correspondent for The Guardian. He is author of many books, most recently Ghosts of Afghanistan.