Panel guests joined debate Chair Will Gore to\u00a0give\u00a0their distinct views at the annual debate in Stationers’ Hall. They navigated how social media has taken flight for storytelling and the salient influence traditional media holds.<\/p>\n
The panellists discussed the Post Office scandal and\u00a0Mr Bates vs The Post Office<\/em> TV series. \u201cIt\u2019s very much the immersive storytelling that sort of made a difference, that ignited public outrage.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough a TV series, people found compassion and were able to connect where they couldn\u2019t through traditional media,\u201d the speakers said.<\/p>\n Ahead of the debate, Mr Gore introduced to the hall television journalist Elizabeth Filippouli, former editor of the Sunday Mirror Paul Connew, Executive Director of the Society of Editors Dawn Alford and award winning journalist and mentor of young journalists Abbianca Nassar.<\/p>\n Evening Standard journalist David Cohen was also on the panel as he reflected on investigative work he has been involved in. For instance, he recently launched an investigation into knife violence and youth crime that saw him work on the ground in Glasgow. A whole host of reports that followed eventually led to City Hall announcing the first London Violence Reduction Unit.<\/p>\n Cohen said: \u201cI was thinking back on three stories like that which stood out to me and I wondered if the way I\u2019d gone about them had changed in the age of digital media \u2026 But I suppose these stories can\u2019t be done through TikTok or Facebook. So I don\u2019t think the Post Office scandal proves that traditional media doesn\u2019t have a role, because actually, that employed one of the great things about good investigation which is immersion and storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n Filippouli discussed the importance of traditional media, and argued that reporters should be adapting to media progression: \u201cI believe in the clout of traditional media and I think it\u2019s a matter of building on that clout. The world has changed and we\u2019re living in a different era than we were, say, 20, 30, 40 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Nassar echoed some of these thoughts on adapting: \u201cYoung journalists sometimes have to depend on social media. I mean it\u2019s where some of my most powerful stories came from. I was going down a sort of rabbit hole of liking posts and tweets and engaging with people – and before you know it, that itself becomes that story because you have access to the latest information everyone is talking about \u2026 So we really need to think about how we can build that social media presence and engage with young people, because that\u2019s what [traditional media] is up against.\u201d<\/p>\n Other members on the panel discussed the importance of traditional media before a Q&A wrapped up the event.\u00a0Questions were asked about handling information, along with how young journalist\u2019s are contributing to change in the media scene.<\/p>\n Guests were invited to take part in networking following the event.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/londonpressclub1.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com\/media\/2024\/03\/28124114\/Debate-panel-3-scaled.jpg\")
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