Talk Overview

I’m an enemy of the people, according to the former US President. And a member of that hated tribe, the mainstream media; controlled by the deep state, to be deleted and replaced by a less biased alternative. But who are "the media”? Why do people distrust them? Why do some politicians want to attack and weaken journalists?

Here’s the media I know. People who’ve given their lives to uncover truths. I can name 20 who died in wars. They weren’t being told what to write, or controlled by the government, or Rupert Murdoch. They tried to shine a light in dark places, to give a voice to the voiceless, to hold truth to power. We are trained. Maybe not wholly trusted. But what’s the alternative?

Do you want your caesarian or your heart bypass done by a trained surgeon? Or an alternative doctor who’s on mumsnet? Fancy living in Hungary where all media is state controlled? How about Russia, where independent journalism has been crushed and critics have been poisoned & murdered? North Korea? Independent journalists are a pillar of democracy.  Remember watergate. The thalidomide scandal. Miscarriages of justice. We’re living at a turning point in history; Europe shaken, China rising, climate changing, pandemic persisting; who do you really want informing you of these events? Governments alone? Putin? Your uncle’s best friend who read something on Facebook? Or trained, sceptical, probing, annoying, driven journalists who try to filter lies from the truth?

About the Speaker

Bill Neely has been a broadcast journalist for 40 years, beginning at BBC N. Ireland. He helped launch Sky News before working for Britain’s main independent news company, ITN for 25 years, as Washington Correspondent, Europe Correspondent and International Editor. He spent 7 years as Chief Global Correspondent. Of the leading US tv network NBC News. He has covered major international events from the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, to wars, earthquakes, summits and Olympic games. He has interviewed leaders across the world and reported on dozens of elections. He runs marathons, does triathlons, loves wine and football, and is a lifelong supporter of Leeds United. He is married with two daughters and lives in Richmond, outside London.