In the wake of the Leveson Inquiry and as the debate continues to rage over the conflict between regulation of the media and freedom of speech the University of Essex is hosting a high-profile round table debate on whether the British press can be reformed.

The round table debate, organised by the Department of Sociology, on Thursday 28 November will feature leading campaigners and journalists from all sides of the debate surrounding press reform and will be chaired Lord Currie, Chair of Council at the University of Essex and one of the assessors from the Leveson Inquiry.

A plenary speech will be given by Professor James Curran, Director of the Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre, providing a history of press reform to frame the debate.

The roundtable will include:

• Professor Brian Cathcart (Hacked Off)
• Professor Natalie Fenton (Media Reform)
• Professor Julian Petley (Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom)
• Professor Richard Sambrook (former Director, BBC World Service)

Students will be encouraged to pose questions during the Question Time style event. The debate comes as the controversy continues around the proposed Royal Charter for press regulation, questions are still being raised about the list of clients of private detectives held by the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the trial continues of former News of the World editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson.

‘Is the British Press unreformable?’ will be held from 1pm to 3pm on 28 November in Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall A and is open to the general public.

Full details are available on the Department of Sociology website.