If you would like to support the Frontline Fund’s work in supporting fixers donate below:

or simply email ffund@www.beta.frontlineclub.com.

The Frontline Club plus gracious hosts Christiane Amanpour, Wael al-Omar, Paul Conroy, Anthony Loyd and Ramita Navai invite you to the 2019 Annual Frontline Fund, Fundraising Dinner.

The evening will begin with a drinks reception in the Clubroom from 7pm, followed by a sit down dinner.

The Frontline Fund , also affectionately known as the ‘Fixers Fund’ and set up in 2007, aims to raise money for the families of the brave media workers killed or injured in conflict zones, while working with international press.  When the foreign media leave, these unsung heroes are left behind vulnerable, unsupported and only too often, pay the ultimate price, for their help and contribution.

Filmed in the Frontline Club, Paddington, London by Edward Lawrence with thanks to the Press Association.

The cost of your ticket will help support the Frontline Fund for another year.

If you would like to support the Frontline Fund’s work in supporting fixers donate below:

or simply email ffund@www.beta.frontlineclub.com.

The quiz champions will win three pairs of tickets to experience the show that everyone is talking about. Step right up and jump on board for this sensational musical which brings to life the extraordinary true story of nine teenagers, in a case that changed history forever. Winner of the Critics’ Circle Best Musical Award 2013 and nominated for six Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical, this is also the final collaboration of legendary composing duo Kander and Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret) and is directed and choreographed by five-time TONY Award-winner Susan Stroman (The Producers).  So try your luck and don’t miss out on this all-singing, all-dancing, exhilarating and bold new musical. Runs until Saturday 21 February 2015.

The idea is for members to round up your family and friends and test your knowledge. Teams can consist of up to six people, and there will be five rounds of 10 questions. The entry cost is £5 per person with all money raised going to the Frontline Fund, assisting families of fixers around the world killed or injured while working with the international media.

***** ‘Out of this world’ The Observer

***** ‘Extraordinary and unforgettable’ Metro

***** ‘Unmissable’ Mail on Sunday

Our Quizmasters 

Caroline Johns is a reformed historian, having given up her PhD when the roof of her garret caved in and the novelty of penury wore off. She left the hallowed groves of academe (lecturing on the BA Journalism course at City University) to cross to ‘the dark side’ that is the private sector and now works for Deloitte as speechwriter to the UK CEO and chief of staff to the global chairman.

Dr Keith Surridge is a history lecturer in several American college programmes in London. He is the co-author of The Boer War (with Denis Judd), which, if you look hard, may even still be available in some good book shops.

Teams can consist of up to six people and the entry cost is £5 per person. All money raised goes to the Frontline Fund, assisting families of fixers and support staff killed or injured while working with the international media.

Caroline Johns is a reformed historian, having given up her PhD when the roof of her garret caved in and the novelty of penury wore off. She left the hallowed groves of academe (lecturing on the BA Journalism course at City University) to cross to ‘the dark side’ that is the private sector and now works for Deloitte as speechwriter to the UK CEO and chief of staff to the global chairman.

Dr Keith Surridge is a history lecturer in several American college programmes in London. He is the co-author of The Boer War (with Denis Judd), which, if you look hard, may even still be available in some good book shops.

Frontline Club founder Vaughan Smith will be auctioneer for the evening, so make sure you bring your chequebooks for a chance to bag some of the following prizes!

For you and three friends, win a VIP visit to the new “Beefeater London – the Home of Gin”.
This will be London’s first gin visitor centre due to open in 2014 at the Beefeater distillery in Kennington. The visit includes a personal tour by the master distiller himself, a behind the scenes visit to the actual stills and secret stores of botanicals, and finally the inner sanctum of the Montford Bar – the distillery’s private cocktail bar for a private sampling of Beefeater’s range of award-winning gins in cocktail format. Complimentary goody bag to take away.

A copy of Afghanistan – A Distant War signed by Robert Nickelsberg and a print of one of the photographs.
A stunning collection of Nickelsberg’s photography – it’s a moving and indispensable book that captures the whole sweep of the country’s tumultuous modern history. Nickelsberg is also kindly donating a 11″x14″ print from the book.

A signed 16″x12″ print by Gary Knight.
The winner may choose any photograph from Gary Knight’s website: www.garyknightphotography.com. Reserve £300.

Jude armchair in white sand pure Belgian linen from Sofa.com.

Width: 59cm
Height: 80cm
Depth: 108cm
Frame: Solid beech
(Collection to be arranged from their warehouse in Hayes.)

A weekend for two at the Frontline Club, including a three-course dinner in the restaurant on Saturday night.
Enjoy a weekend of wining and dining at the Frontline Club.

A year’s subscription to two fantastic magazines: Prospect & Granta.
Prospect is Britain’s leading monthly current and foreign affairs magazine. The magazine was the only independent media organisation to win a prize at this years Foreign Press Association Awards. A subscription to Prospect also allows you to attend our exclusive reader events for a year – 2013 highlights included William Hague, Michael Sandel, Simon Schama and Jeremy Paxman. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
Granta is a magazine of new writing, showcasing the best in fiction, reportage, memoir, photography and poetry. www.granta.com 

A weekend stay at Castello di Potentino in Tuscany, Italy.
Kindly donated by Alexander Greene, the stay includes three nights for two couples at this idyllic and ancient castle nestled in an unspoilt valley in southern Tuscany. Potentino is a family home, and working wine and olive oil estate. The offer includes breakfast, wine tasting and dinner. Transfers and flights not included. www.potentino.com

Lunch with John Simpson at the Frontline Club.
Sit down for lunch with the BBC’s renowned world affairs editor John Simpson. With a career that has spanned nearly half a century I am sure you will find plenty to talk about.

A stay at Gandamack Lodge, Kabul, Afghanistan and a much sought-after Gandamack Lodge teapot.
Named after the legendary and fictional 19th century character Harry Flashman, and once home to Osama bin Laden, Gandamack is surely THE place to stay in Kabul. Courtesy of Peter Jouvenal. www.gandamacklodge.co.uk

Last night’s talk looked at the future of fixers in foreign reporting and at the relationships that develop when the ‘mad circus of the international press’ arrives to cover a news story, desperately needing to hide their ignorance of the country, culture and language.

The discussion was chaired by Charles Glass, broadcaster, journalist and writer, who was joined by Ilene Prusher, an independent journalist based in Jerusalem and author of the recently published book Baghdad Fixer; and Patrick Cockburn, senior Middle East correspondent since 1979 for the Financial Times and, presently, The Independent.

Lending some sense of reality to the discussion was Suliman Ali Zway, a Libya-based freelance journalist who switched from a career in construction to working as a fixer during the Libyan revolution. What started as translation work soon developed into ‘explaining the country, the culture and what led to such a revolution.’

Not only is a fixer’s local knowledge literally life-saving to foreign reporters, but Prusher also enjoys the camaraderie that comes through working with the often extraordinary characters who became her fixers. From Afghan poets to doctors who worked in hospitals at night and as fixers with journalists during the day, these people acted as a cultural membrane that inspired the story of Baghdad Fixer.

“I think there has been a steady progression towards recognising the important work that fixers do, that they are actually journalists in their own right. A few days ago, Lyse Doucet said to me: ‘I’m trying to ban this word.’ Part of the idea of this book is to expose it – some people really respect what they do but there are also journalists who put them in danger” said Prusher.

Glass agreed that the fixers always seem to suffer the worst fate, and are abandoned by the journalists and the news organisations that depend upon them so totally. Ali Zway was in agreement:

“Eventually the foreign journalist will leave and if they write something about someone they don’t like, you’re left behind. It’s not that the foreign journalist does not want to help you, but there is not a staff job for fixers within newspapers that would ensure your safety or ensure that your family is looked after when you’re gone. The problem is the relationship between the fixer and the organisation, not the fixer and the journalist.”

A BBC World Service producer in the audience asked what he could do in his role to try and make his fixers safer; Ali Zway’s answer was very straight forward – insure fixers the same way you would insure your staffers.

Other questions looked at the role of foreign correspondents and fixers in a future of diminishing budgets, of increasingly dangerous and scattered front lines, and of the demands of new media.

Cockburn agreed that the front lines had changed, adding that the fighters had changed too, no longer trying to cultivate the press but instead targeting the foreign reporters.

For Prusher, covering conflict was:

“…an extremely important thing to be doing with my life and that I got to be a witness through this small window in history – to see a society in the midst of conflict, in transition – is kind of a privilege …. Now, I feel overwhelmed by the pressures that new media have put on journalists. It used to be that you could go out into the field and focus on your story, and these days it seems there is a competition as to how much you can tweet whilst you’re in the field, updating all day long, this is one of the barometers by which we’re judging journalism. I wonder if that is really the recipe for great journalism.”

In 2007, following the murder of Ajmal Naqshbandi in Afghanistan, the Frontline Club set up the Fixers’ Fund, a special project to raise money for the families of fixers killed or injured around the world while working with the international media.

Watch the full event here:

The Frontline Club Awards are presented annually in recognition of the most outstanding journalism seen over a one year period. They aim to reward independence of spirit, courage and the highest standards in journalism. The shortlist for the Awards can be viewed here.

For the first time the Frontline Club Awards have been expanded into four categories:

Print | Broadcast | Photojournalism | Tribute

The Frontline Club Awards will be presented by Jon Snow at the Frontline Club at a fundraising event. The Awards are sponsored by Vodafone with prizes provided by Canon and proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Frontline Club Charitable Trust to help sustain its activities.

A Prize Draw will also take place in aid of the Fixers’ Fund, including prizes from Monocle, ITN, Photofusion, QI, Vodafone and KK Outlet, prints donated by the photographers of VII, £500 credit on imaging services at Metro Imaging and £500 of credit to spend at onefinestay.

Book a dining or non-dining ticket via the Charity Giving website here. Your donation will go directly to the Frontline Club Charitable Trust to support its work.

Dress code: Lounge suits and cocktail dresses.

You can enter as an individual or as a team of up to six. All money raised will go to the Fixers Fund which raised money for families of fixers around the world killed or injured while working with the international media.

This event is open to everyone.

Dickinson is a historical crime writer and former editor of Newsnight. The quiz will be general knowledge with a historical bias.

As another year comes to a close we warmly invite our members to join us to celebrate our eighth anniversary.

An opportunity to enjoy the company of the Club’s members and also a great night to introduce friends and colleagues who are interested in joining, so please bring a guest.

Complimentary drinks will be available courtesy of our generous sponsors, Chivas.  A set menu will be offered in the restaurant from 5.30-8pm or from 9pm, view the menu here. Space is limited so please indicate when booking if you would like to dine and at what time.

During the evening there will be a presentation of the Frontline Journalism Awards recognising excellence in journalism, which for the first time have been nominated by Frontline Club members. The Awards are sponsored by Canon. An auction will also be held in aid of the Fixers’ Fund.

The Frontline Club Award is given annually in recognition of an outstanding body of work or series of contributions over a one-year period. Work nominated for the Frontline Club Award should be for the period 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011.

The Memorial Tribute Award is given in honour of front line journalists killed in the course of their work and can be awarded to recognise lifetime achievements or work that has not received the acclaim it deserves.

You can enter as an individual or as a team of six. All money raised will go to the Fixers’ Fund which raises money for families of fixers around the world killed or injured while working with the international media. This event is open to everyone. The quiz will be general knowledge with an historical bias.