The Frontline Club

The media industry has never faced more uncertainty or doubt over its future than now. And nowhere is that anxiety more felt than in local and regional print and broadcast publishing. Labour's plans to revolutionise local TV and multimedia news by handing over TV licence fee money to "independently-funded news consortia" now looks to have been trashed by the Tory-Lib Dem government. So after the election, we ask: what happens now to the UK's local and regional media industry? What is the business model for newspapers, broadcast media and online-only content and can new "hyperlocal" start-ups play a role in the business models of the future? Isinvestment in local community publishing set to pay off and can the advertising market alone sustain publishers? Are panelists are: Richard Hooper, the former deputy chairman of Ofcom who chaired the IFNC selection panel, and Alex Connock, chief executive of multimedia production company Ten Alps; Michael Wilson, MD of UTV TV and WalesLive and Marc Reeves, editor of Thebusinessdesk.com's West Midlands service and a former editor of The Birmingham Post.

First Wednesday: Iran, democracy and an international war of words TalksDate: June 2, 2010 7:00 PM One year on from Iran's tumultuous and controversial presidential elections, how far is the country from genuine democracy? And with a new government in Downing Street, what will the UK's response be to an anxious and potentially nuclear-armed Iran? Join us for another of our First Wednesday discussions with an expert panel to discuss modern Iran and its challenges With Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, who was imprisoned in Iran last year; Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor; Ann Harrison, from Amnesty International and Afshin Rattansi, co-host of Rattansi Ridley. Chaired by Pooneh Ghoddoosi, journalist with BBC Persian TV.

Modern Warfare: what are the new rules for war and peace?

Fatima Bhutto, writer, political commentator and outspoken critic of Pakistan’s current regime will be at the Frontline Club in conversation with Owen Bennett-Jones, BBC Pakistan correspondent between 1998 and 2001 and author of Pakistan: Eye Of The Storm, to talk about her new book Songs of Blood and Sword and her vision for the future of Pakistan. Songs of Blood and Sword tells the story of the Bhutto dynasty a history that mirrors the tumultuous events of Pakistan itself. In September 1996, a fourteen-year-old Fatima Bhutto hid in a windowless dressing room, shielding her baby brother while shots rang out in the streets outside the family home in Karachi. This was the evening that her father Murtaza was murdered, along with six of his associates. In December 2007, Benazir Bhutto, Fatima’s aunt, was assassinated in Rawalpindi. It was the latest in a long line of tragedies for one of the world’s best known political dynasties. Fatima Bhutto is an Afghan born Pakistani poetess and writer. She studied at Columbia University, and the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. She currently writes columns for The Daily Beast, New Statesman and other publications.  She lives in Karachi. Owen Bennett-Jones was BBC Pakistan correspondent between 1998 and 2001

Lindsey Hilsum has recently returned from China where she spent two years as China correspondent and head of the Beijing bureau. She covered the uprising in Tibet, the Sichuan earthquake and the Olympics. As International Editor, she won the 2005 Royal Television Society Journalist of the Year Award for her reporting from Fallujah and Beslan, amongst other stories. She reported the 2003 war in Iraq from Baghdad for 10 weeks, and has returned to Iraq several times. During the NATO Kosovo campaign she was in Belgrade; she has also spent extended periods in Zimbabwe and the Middle East. She won the 2003 Royal Television Society Specialist Journalist of the Year award for her reports from the Palestinian refugee camp at Jenin, and has twice won awards from Amnesty, including one for her coverage of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Previously she reported for the BBC, the Guardian and other newspapers from Africa and Latin America, where she was an aid worker for OXFAM and UNICEF. She is a regular contributor to the New Statesman, the Observer and Granta.

There's no shortage of news around at the moment, but is anyone making anyone any money from it? As the print-based media come to terms with a shrinking advertising market and a promiscuous digital audience, many are looking to high-end devices such as Apple's iPhone and iPad, which touches down in Britain on May 28, as a way to charge readers. But is Apple's tightly controlled app economy really the great hope that newspaper and magazine publishers hope it is, or just another false dawn? At the same time, Rupert Murdoch's Times and Sunday Times are about to launch paid-for premium websites featuring exclusive text and video content any day now -- yet consumer research has consistently shown that readers are reluctant to cough up for web news. Will Murdoch have the last laugh? With an expert panel we investigate the prospects for news publishers to recoup revenue lost to the digital revolution. Panelists include: Special guest Gurtej Sandhu, digital director of The Times, which this month will (re)launch two paid-for, paywalled sites, thetimes.co.uk and thesundaytimes.co.uk. Douglas McCabe from Enders Analysis, an expert in online publishing, new media business models and the impact of new media on existing markets, Ewan McLeod, founder and editor of Mobile Industry Review and entrepreneur Marybeth Christie, head of product management at FT.com, Chaired by Steve Hewlett, journalist, consultant and presenter of BBC Radio 4's Media Show

What has been the impact of ‚"Climategate"? What is the way forward after the release of hacked emails from staff at the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research triggered such fierce debate about the science behind climate change? What does the science really tell us and what are the challenges facing journalists and scientists in covering the issues? Join us at the Frontline Club in association with the Global Campaign for Climate Action and Communications INC, where we will discuss the aftermath of "climategate" and examine the roles played by science, politics and the media. With a distinguished panel we will be taking stock of the issue of climate change and also asking what comes next in the wake of climate conference in Copenghagen? Is there a way to re-energise the debate and re-engage politicians and the public and what will be the consequences if the preservation of our world remains a niche issue rather than a core one? With: Julian Rush, science correspondent, Channel 4 News Kelly Rigg, executive director of the Global Campaign for Climate Action; Richard Black, environment correspondent for the BBC News website and author of BBC Earth Watch and James Randerson, editor of environmentguardian.co.uk.

"Popa’s photographs are a powerful enquiry into a pervasive form of violence against women. They are a tragic reminder of just how vulnerable and powerless women are globally, and expose the futility of universal declarations". So declares Mark Sealy, director of Autograph-ABP, who will be moderating this event featuring Romanian photographer Dana Popa. By photographically documenting the experiences of sex-trafficked Moldovan women, Popa has drawn attention to an issue of slavery, immorality and shocking exploitation. Moldova is one of the main source countries for trafficking women and children, up to 10% of the female population are sold into prostitution abroad. Popa worked with International Organisation for Migration and Winrock International in Moldova, where she documented the disturbing experiences of these women. Finally, she captured the spaces where trafficked women are forced into prostitution in the brothels of Soho, London. Her project and book entitled not Natasha, after the nickname Eastern European prostitutes are often labelled with, takes an in-depth look at the hopes, fears and sorrows of the women and families she met. With the help of her poignant pictures, Popa will speak at the Frontline Club about how not Natasha came about, the issues it involves and her experiences as a photographer.

In partnership with the Orwell Prize and the Media Standards Trust, the Frontline is holding a special panel discussion with three of the journalists shortlisted for this year's award, one week before the winner is announced. Speakers on the night include Mail on Sunday reporter Peter Hitchens; Guardian social affairs reporter Amelia Gentleman and freelancer John Arlidge, who writes for the Sunday Times. With our chair Paddy O'Connell, the presenter of BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House, we'll get the inside story on their nominees' scoops, investigations and insights and find out what makes hard-hitting political journalists tick in 2010. We also ask: is investigative journalism under threat from the pressures of the modern media industry?

What is the reality of the humanitarian aid industry and what impact is it having on the people at the receiving end? How is the money spent and is there enough accountability to make sure it is spent in the right way? Do you agree with Linda Polman, author of War Games: The Story of Aid and War in Modern Times that the humanitarian aid industry, the media and warmongers the world over are locked in a cycle of mutual support? We will also be discussing Western intervention in countries such as Kosovo and Iraq. Those and other interventions may have been driven by humanitarian principles but have they worked? In his recent book, The Thin Blue Line: How Humanitarianism Went to War Conor Foley argues that the multi-billion industry that has emerged in the past 20 years has played a leading role in shaping foreign policy in the West and that international law has been used to override the sovereignty of the poorest countries of the world. Join us to discuss the criticisms that have been levelled at the aid industry and humanitarian intervention. With Conor Foley, humanitarian aid worker who has worked for a variety of human rights and humanitarian aid organisations and writes regularly for The Guardian Comment is Free; Linda Polman, freelance journalist and author of We Did Nothing: Why the Truth Doesn't Always Come Out When the UN Goes In; Amany Abouzeid, ActionAid human security policy coordinator and Sarah Bailey, research officer for ODI Humanitarian Policy Group. Moderated by Humphrey Hawksley, leading BBC foreign correspondent, author and commentator on world affairs.

Political apathy may be on the rise in the UK, but no one can say the 2010 General Election campaign has been the predictable two-party race of old. After his strong performance in the televised leaders' debates, opinion polls now consistently put Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats in second place, making this the first genuine three-horse race election in living memory, perhaps marking the end of the Labour-Tory dominance at Westminster. With polls pointing to a hung parliament, the Lib Dems could form part of a government - making a radical shake-up of our voting system almost certain. But is this really a watershed moment in British political history or are we getting carried away with Cleggmania? And whatever the outcome of Thursday's poll, will claims of change really be made when women's representation is likely to have made so little progress? Paddy O'Connell of BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House will be in the chair for another of our First Wednesday discussions, lively public meetings that bring together experts and commentators and mix their views with contributions from our audience. With: Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at the University of Oxford and one of Britain's foremost constitutional experts; Kat Banyard, director, UK Feminista and author of The Equality Illusion: The truth about women and men today (Faber and Faber); Ivor Gaber, professor of political campaigning at City University London; Ashok Viswanathan, deputy co-ordinator, Operation Black Vote.

After the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg emerged as winner of the first of these historic debates in Manchester, all eyes will be on the three leaders as they go head to head on Sky News to debate international affairs. A great opportunity to discuss the politicians’s performance, body language and policies with journalists, experts and commentators. With: Bronwen Maddox, chief foreign commentator of the Times; Toby Dodge, consulting senior fellow for the Middle East, the International Institute for Strategic Studies; Andres Ilves, Afghanistan and Iran analyst, BBC World Service and Professor Michael Cox, co-director of LSE IDEAS and Professor of International Relations at LSE.

Following the most recent violent outbreaks around Jos join us at the Frontline Club to discuss the wider issues that have lead to these attacks. As well as discussing the latest developments around the violence in March and events that followed we will be addressing the political implications of the power struggle that has ensued due to President Umaru Yar'Adua's illness, the role of the international communitee and the accuaracy of the UK media's reporting of events past and present. With Dr Khataza Gondwe, Christian Solidarity Worldwide Sub Saharan Africa team leader; Michael Peel, former West Africa Correspondent now Legal Correspondent for the Financial Times and author of A Swamp Full of Dollars; Dr Abdul Raufu Mustapha, University Lecturer in African Politics and Kirk-Greene Fellow at St Antony's College, University of Oxford; more tbc. Moderated by Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor for Channel 4 News.

The devastation in Port-au-Prince following January's earthquake sent harrowing images of its victims around the world. Inigo Gilmore and David Levene were among the scores of journalists whose job it was to document the suffering and chaos in the aftermath of the earthquake. Following an exhibition of his work from both before and after the earthquake in aid of the Disasters Emergency Committee's Haiti Earthquake Appeal, David Levene, Guardian photographer and video-journalist, will be joined on the Frontline stage by Inigo Gilmore upon his return from Haiti in April. These two accomplished journalists will be in conversation with Roger Tooth, head of photography for the Guardian. The discussion will focus on the role of photographers and videojournalists in such tragedies and the decisions that are made about what is published.

eil MacFarquhar, United Nations bureau chief for The New York Times, will be at the Frontline Club talking about life in the Middle East as told in his book The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday. Having grown up in the Middle East and spent more than 13 years as a correspondent in the region, Neil MacFarquhar gives his personal cultural investigation into life and thought in a variety of countries from Lebanon to Kuwait, Libya and Egypt. With wit and insight, Neil MacFarquhar covers a wide range of subjects from al Jazeera, satellite television, jihad, fatwas, and the Lebanese singer Fairuz, introducing us along the way to dissidents and diplomats, Saudi sitcom writers, liberal religious sheikhs, and a Kuwaiti woman with a sex-advice column. The book's title is itself a dig at Hezbollah's practice of sending birthday greetings to foreign correspondents and the book is packed with wry insights into the issues and debates that matter to to people in the Middle East. Join us at the Frontline Club to hear Neil MacFarquhar discuss his insights into life in the Middle East and his criticisms of US policy towards the region.