The Forum Blog
Amnesty International: 50 years of speaking out for the powerless
By Antje Bormann The executive producer for BBC Four’s international documentary strand Storyville, Kate Townsend, was at the Frontline Club last night to introduce the film Amnesty! When They Are All Free, which marks its 50th anniversary. The film goes on to tell the story of not so much an organisation, but a movement, that […]
Frontline: reporting from the world’s deadliest places
A newly revised and updated edition of Frontline by David Loyn was published this week. The acclaimed book chronicles the work of the Frontline news agency, founded by journalists Rory Peck, Peter Jouvenal, Vaughan Smith and Nicholas Della Casa. First published in 2005, the latest edition features a foreword from BBC world affairs editor John […]
World’s Oceans in Crisis – What can be done?
View in iTunes By Mariah Hamalainen “We are facing a complete collapse of ocean ecosystems, globally”, said Professor Charles Sheppard at the Frontline Club on Wednesday evening during a panel discussion on the state of the world’s oceans. The oceans have been exhibiting the effects of global warming since the late 1970s and a quarter of […]
Osama bin Laden’s death: What difference will it make?
Watch the full event here. By Patrick Smith On the day after al Qaeda’s “leader” Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces in a daring raid on a nondescript compound outside Jalalabad, BBC Urdu sent out reporters into four cities across Afghanistan and Pakistan. Not to ask questions, but to observe. To sit at […]
Insight with Zarghuna Kargar: The women of Afghanistan
Watch event here. By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi Women would be the biggest losers if Afghanistan’s peace plan includes a deal with fundamentalist elements of the Taliban, according to Rachel Reid, who hosted Frontline’s talk with Afghan journalist Zarghuna Kargar. Reid sais she had lost hope that peace in Afghanistan would include progress for women. Reid, […]
In the Picture: On your doorstep, photography and poverty
Diana Smythe, deputy editor of the British Journal of Photography, was last night joined by Save the Children’s Chris Wellings, and photographers Liz Hingley and Gideon Mendel to discuss the depiction of poverty within their work. By Sophia Spring.
War Child: helping the children of Gaza overcome the trauma of conflict
By Mike Pope Gaza is not like it is depicted in the mainstream media, its people are not doomed and it can achieve peace with Israel according to Jezza Neumann, director of War Child. Gaza is an incredibly hospitable place, the friendliest people I’ve ever met; it’s not dangerous in terms of your daily existence. […]
We feared a crackdown when they told us to leave Yemen
Portia Walker, who is now in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, describes her deportation with three colleagues from Sana’a, Yemen’s capital and how today’s shooting of protesters confirms their fears that it could mark the beginning of a government crackdown. The Yemen Four: L-R Joshua Maricich, Haley Sweetland Edwards, Oliver Holmes and Portia […]
Nick Robinson: a mission to explain the world of politics
By Camilla Groom Nick Robinson, one of the most well-known political journalists in Britain, was at the Frontline Club to talk about his fascinating career as part of the ‘Reflections’ series, which are in association with the BBC College of Journalism. He chose eleven key clips that he felt best represented his career and […]
Zimbabwe 2011: An opportunity for change?
Download this episode View in iTunes Watch the event here. By Mariah Hamalainen “I don’t think there will be free and fair elections in Zimbabwe in 2011” Geoff Hill said at a recent panel discussion on the topic at Frontline Club. Geoff Hill wasn’t alone; his fellow panelists agreed that should the elections – which […]
David E. Hoffman: Reagan, Gorbachev and the Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race
By Camilla Groom Watch the event here. With detailed insider knowledge David E Hoffman told the story of how the president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev and the US president Ronald Reagan prevented the escalation of the Cold War into a full-blown conflict. As a reporter for the Washington Post Hoffman followed Reagan throughout […]
Insight with James Brabazon: My Friend the Mercenary
View in iTunes Watch the event here. By Sarah Gibbons Few people can say that they were involved in one of the most infamous coup attempts in recent history, the foiled attempt to overthrow the government of Equitorial Guinea of 2004, let alone experienced civil war in Libera, marched for miles alongside its rebel […]
In the Picture: a discussion with World Press Photo Winner Adam Ferguson
Adam Ferguson, one of the first prize winners of the World Press Photo Awards 2010, talked about being a war photographer and recent assignments in Afghanistan at the Frontline Club.
Insight with Tariq Ali: The Obama Syndrome
View in iTunes Watch the full event here. The week following one of the worst Democrat defeats in recent history seemed the perfect opportunity to discuss novelist and International commentator Tariq Ali‘s new book The Obama Syndrome: Surrender at Home, War Abroad. The midterm polls, which gave the Republicans over 60 more seats in the House […]
A look into the US midterm election results
By: Anne Elica ño The American Republican party won a majority of Congress seats in the midterm elections. In a discussion at the Frontline Club last night, BBC Radio 4’s Broadasting House Paddy O’Connell asked Bill Barnard (chair of Democrats Abroad UK), Tom Grant (chair of Republicans Abroad UK) and Felicity Spector (American politics expert […]
Russia’s secret services: power gone out of control
Download this episode View in iTunes By Sara Elizabeth Williams A dark picture of Russian democracy emerged at the Frontline Club last night as Susan Richards spoke with journalists Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan about power, accountability and Russia’s secret services. Soldatov and Borogan, co-founders of secret service watchdog site Agentura.ru, are the authors of […]
Autumn treats…
With the winds and rain beating down- escape to the delights of the Frontline restaurant to warm up on rack of lamb, rump steak or roast cod- followed by a cheeky steamed treacle pudding with fresh Jersey cream…
10 years on: the unsettled, unsettling legacy of Slodoban Milosevic
By Sara Elizabeth Williams On 5 October 2000, Slobodan Milosevic was removed from power in a people’s revolution that ground to a halt 13 years of conflict. Watching half a million Serbians swarm the streets, the world had high hopes for Belgrade. But ten years on those hopes remain largely unfulfilled, journalists speaking at last […]
Data journalism skills at the Frontline: Why you should use data to tell a more powerful story
By Jasper Jackson Data helps journalists paint a more compelling and complete picture – but only if they can interpret and present that data effectively. That was the message from journalists with extensive experience of the benefits, challenges and pitfalls of data and journalism at the Frontline on Wednesday. If you couldn’t make the event, […]
Climate change is about people not polar bears
Download this episode View in iTunes Watch the full event here. By Christine Ottery If Amnesty International is campaigning against it, that means climate change has become a global humanitarian issue. Better known for supporting prisoners of conscience, Amnesty has recently begun to turn its attention to using human rights as a way to tackle […]
Iraq revisited: What next for the Forgotten War?
Picture: Chris King By Sara Elizabeth Williams As the last full US combat brigade rumbled out of Iraq, what comes next for the region and its people, and what is the legacy of this long and divisive conflict? A Frontline Club panel got together to discuss just that on Wednesday night, discussing Iraq’s recovery […]
Neither friend nor foe: Google is just the messenger
By Jasper Jackson Google’s online dominance puts it at the heart of forces undermining the traditional news publishing industry. But a Frontline Club panel on Google’s relationship with publishers on Wednesday focused on the wave of technological change behind the search giant that means the industry must "innovate or die". If you couldn’t be there […]
Social networking and journalism: Power to the people?
By Julie Tomlin and Sirena Bergman How have Facebook, Twitter and blogs changed changed grassroots politics? This was the question tackled at the club on Tuesday, at an event moderated by Deborah Bonello, founder of Mexicoreporter.com and video journalist for the Financial Times. If you couldn’t be with us for this event, you can watch […]
WikiLeaks founder at the Frontline: ‘We will fill the journalism vacuum’
Download this episode View in iTunes Watch the whole event here. By Heather Christie “We’re not an organisation concerned with protecting troops,” said Julian Assange. “We’re an organisation concerned with protecting human beings.” The founder of WikiLeaks, the secretive whistle-blowing website, did not mince his words at last night’s Frontline Club talk. Rather, he […]
Reflections: Jon Snow
View in iTunes Watch the full event here. One of the biggest challenges for today’s journalists is showing “the full consequences of war” Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow told a packed audience at the Frontline Club on Monday. Showing footage taken on assignment during his reporting career, Jon Snow remarked that some […]
America’s invisible government: Can a President take it on?
View in iTunes Watch the full event here. By Joseph Stashko American government is constantly in the grip of unseen forces, including the CIA and big business. That was the consensus view at last night’s Frontline Club event, ‘America’s Invisible Government’. The panel discussion was chaired by BBC Radio 4’s Paddy O’Connell and comprised of […]
Any difference between PR and journalism?
Watch the full event here. “PR has always been the get-out for journalists who want to make more money,” said Martin Veitch who is due to join Bite Communications. “Those who wanted to drink more would become journalists instead.” This arguably outdated vision of the intrinsic differences between journalism and PR is what promted Frontline […]
Drawing the Horizon line: Public apathy and the oiligarchy
Despite the recently – or temporarily – ended Gulf of Mexico oil spill debacle, governments, oil companies and the public are not going to get serious about shifting away from oil or really clamping down on the industry any time soon. That was the consensus after a well-fuelled discussion last night at the Frontline Club […]
What can the West do about the ‘information black hole’ in Sri Lanka?
By Jasper Jackson More than 30,000 civilians may have died in the final days of the Sri Lankan civil war, according to the International Crisis Group. But an “information black hole” created by the Sri Lankan government has prevented the world from uncovering the actions of both state forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil […]
What does the BP Gulf disaster tell us about the oil industry?
By Anna Chapman The BP Deepwater Horizon disaster may well be the worst US environmental disaster on record, but how does it fit into a global context? John Vidal, environment editor of The Guardian, and one of the panellists for our Politics of Oil debate on July 13, has argued that the Nigerian experience has […]