Clive Myrie, acclaimed British journalist, news anchor and television presenter delivered the annual Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture, co-sponsored by the Royal Television Society (RTS) and the Media Society on Monday 5 September 2022.
Clive Myrie, acclaimed British journalist, news anchor, and television presenter delivered the annual Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture, co-sponsored by the Royal Television Society (RTS) and the Media Society on Monday 5 September 2022.
The net proceeds of the lecture will go towards the Steve Hewlett Scholarship Fund for aspiring journalists, established by his widow, Rachel Crellin, alongside a number of British broadcasters and media organisations.
The TV Production and Journalism bursary is aimed at students from low-income backgrounds who are studying an undergraduate degree or HND Level 5 or 6. In addition to receiving financial support, successful applicants receive industry mentoring, networking opportunities and free RTS membership.
The Scholarship pays tribute to Steve Hewlett, the esteemed print and radio journalist, who died of cancer in 2017. The Observer featured his frank accounts of fighting the illness alongside interviews with Eddie Mair on BBC Radio 4’s PM to help demystify the process of dying, helping others face their own journeys with dignity and humour.
Introducing the event, Janet Jones, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head of College Design, Creative and Digital Industriesc, said: “The University of Westminster is very proud to host the 6th anniversary memorial lecture in honour of Steve Hewlett on the future of the BBC. The UK invented public service broadcasting 100 years ago. Can we really imagine a Britain without it? At a time when a significant proportion of viewers lack the means to pay their energy bills, the political will to mandate the licence fee will be sorely tested. Yet for the UK to continue to be a world leader in the creative industries, the BBC must be financially viable providing a stable flow of investment for a wide range of content, made for UK audiences, and available to all. It’s critical we make and win this argument.”
Clive Myrie delivered the lecture this year, titled 'The BBC - Destroy at Your Peril', covering the significance of the BBC’s universality in today’s climate, its role during the pandemic and the debate over the licence fee. Myrie argued that even though the BBC’s approach to impartiality may seem dated, its trustworthiness and objectivity is what made it such an essential part of the nation over the past 100 years.
Nearing the end of the lecture, Myrie concluded: “Too many people undervalue the BBC and what it gives to this country and the rest of the world. As a foreign correspondent for many years based right around the globe, I know how much people from other countries value BBC programmes. And now is the time, in an age of lies and deceit and propaganda with no shame, and now is the time when the BBC is needed the most.”
The event took place in Westminster’s Little Titchfield Street building, with a reception held afterwards in Portland Hall.
Learn more about The Steve Hewlett Scholarship.
The pictures have been provided by the RTS.
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