Bradlee honoured at City University

Ben Bradlee, former Washington Post editor, now vice-president at large, received an honorary degree at City University, London, July 27, in a day of celebration to mark the 25th anniversary of its journalism department.

The degree was conferred by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Rhind, who said its recipient had made a significant contribution to British journalism through the Laurence Stern Fellowship. This had supported for the last 22 years a young British journalist working on the Post for three months during the summer. Many of the Stern Fellowship holders were at the ceremony.

In his distinguished career Ben Bradlee was executive editor of the Post for the Watergate investigations, Kennedy assassinations, the murder of Martin Luther King, and the Vietnam War.

With an audience of former students and staff, Mr Bradlee took part in a discussion panel on journalism in the 21st century. The chairman of the panel was James Naughtie, of BBC Radio 4, and the other members were Emily Bell, editor in chief of Guardian Unlimited; Richard Lambert, former editor of the Financial Times; Kirsty Lang, presenter and chief correspondent for BBC TV's new World News programme, and Robert Thomson, editor of the Times.

Rod Allen, head of the department of journalism, announced plans for a Centre for International Journalism and Society, with a Chair in Ethical Journalism, to provide scholarships for students at Master's and doctoral levels, as well as research fellowships. ------ James Brennan

Frank talk from City panel

Accusing US journalists of "hero worshipping" entrepreneurs, he said that almost every week a story broke about mismanagement and fraud at the very top of corporate America. "Where was the media when all this was brewing."

He claimed the British business press, in contrast, was much more cynical about entrepreneurs than in the US and was the "most adversarial in the world." The hostility of British journalists helped keep business honest.

Robert Thomson, editor of the Times, who has wide experience of journalism in the US and elsewhere, criticised the extent to which British newspapers were "artificially extreme" in reporting, as in the recent case of the "odd controversy over Black Rod." He said it had been portrayed as either the "defining moment of government infamy or a storm in a newspaper tea-cup." Its impact on the political outlook of readers was "next to negligible."

He said some broadsheets tended to over-analyse events to make them more significant and "more disturbing than that, they allow personal political views of an editor or a proprietor to permeate the newspapers."

In a plea to TV executives not to cut back on covering foreign news, Kirsty Lang, presenter of the international BBC 4 News, said "foreign news must not lose priority." She said ignorance over such issues as European integration and asylum seekers would lead to fear, and "keeping our audiences ignorant of the outside world will allow the agenda of the Daily Mail to prevail." .................AJB

Chat in the City Cloisters

Chatting with Hugh Stephenson about sailing was quite like old times, and lending an ear to the eternal Charles Wheeler and Godfrey Hodgson and others, including venerable staff such as the ever-present Bob Jones, was an enjoyable experience. That great American, Ben Bradlee, now no chicken but some guy, was the star performer, and was notable for his unstuffy persona compared with the average Brit London editor.

The elegant Rod Allen and of course Linda Christmas, and other key players in the fascinating City saga of media musical chairs made it a great occasion. The burning question for some was the absence of the chap who started it: Tom Welsh, Guardian man turned J-tutor, who did the real pioneering at City. But there were other familiar faces. Richard Keeble talked of the successful third edition of his book, and an earlier J Dept luminary, Richard Redden, kept his counsel on episodes past...

It was also good to see the younger generation of practitioners picking its way through the media academic maze. Two outstanding Grauniad writers, Gary Younge and David Leigh (naturally and rightly making a beeline for the diminishing pile of sandwiches), and others are so obviously on their way to greatness it would be a crime to disillusion them. The only jarring note on the catering side was struck by a former London hack (and lecturer) now a hoik hack in the provinces (north of Watford) who asked for a Guinness.

Best of all, the rumour mill was in full swing. What is the good of having a centre of journalistic excellence if there is no news of the frenetic London media world on its doorstep ? Much of it was barely fit to print, but I heard at least two items that I was assured were already in the pipeline to Private Eye.

A welcome reaction to this first offering from the House of Squares: I have had a highy-confidential telephonic communication to the effect that certain editors are offering enormous bonuses to staff to be first to get the names and addresses of the luckless parents in the amazing episode of an IVF operation which resulted in the birth of twins, both black, to a white mother. How could an editor contemplate publishing the identities of these unfortunate people ? Without difficulty. Another twist to this tale of simple media folk: a similar offer has been made to senior students at a certain institute of learning, as "an exercise in investigative journalism." The person involved has claimed a connection with City, as a guest lecturer: I can confirm that it was a single appearance, and he was promptly blacklisted. There's more: a wellknown public relations person of impeccable character ( he says) is also offering cash in hand for those names and addresses.

By the way, there were some genuine, hands-on hacks among the academics, in both print and broadcasting. I recognised just two who were taking shorthand notes. There were some newsy quotes. But did anyone hear a word of it, or see any in print, either next day or afterwards ? Except, of course in Press Gazette, and in Global Journalism Review (this page) in an early edition.