Today's Story
Why did nobody tell us? Reporting the Global Crash of ‘08
On Monday 23rd February, POLIS will hold an event with Howard Davies and Evan Davis to discuss the reporting leading up to the global credit crash of 2008.
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Reporting Suicide in the Media
The past year has seen considerable debate about the media’s reporting of suicide. On Monday 1st December, POLIS, in partnership with the Press Complaints Commission will hold an event to discuss this controversial issue. read more
Reporting the US Elections
Three international journalists discuss media coverage of US08 in a seminar on Obama's recent political campaign, with speakers Claire Bolderson, Marco Colombo and Ivan Scalfarotto. read more
"Who runs Britain?" Robert Peston
To launch the paperback of Who Runs Britain? Robert Peston, the BBC's award-winning Business Editor, will give a public lecture at LSE explaining how the origins of the present financial crisis lie with the recklessness and greed of a generation of bankers and financial whizz-kids, and the jaw-dropping naivety of ministers and officials. read more
“Humanitarian Campaigning and the Cosmopolitan Imagination”, TONIGHT!
The second panel of the Humanitarian and Development Communications project will take place this Thursday, 6th Nov. from 6.30 -8pm in G108, Kingsway, LSE. The panel will discuss the increasing commercialisation in the communication practices of NGOs and reflect on the tensions that this trend brings about. These are old tensions between fund- and awareness-raising, which are now reformulated as tensions between profit and justice; consumption and solidarity; entertainment and social change. read more
Morality in Humanitarian Communications on a Slippery Slope
There was a strong sense that ‘humanitarian communications’ is headed down an ethical slippery slope according to a panel of sociologists and media ethicists at POLIS’s first panel for the Humanitarian and Development Communications project seminars.
Prof. Emeritus Stan Cohen, LSE, Prof. Paul Gilroy, LSE and Prof. Jean Seaton, University of Westminster spoke on the topic of 'Humanitarian Communications in the Global Media Age', chaired by Professor Lilie Chouliaraki on October 30th at the LSE.
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'Governments should not in any way direct the media'
Jeremy Hunt MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has given a keynote policy speech on the subject of public service broadcasting. The speech was hosted by the LSE media think-tank Polis with the support of Hanover Communications. read more
'A free press or a fair trial?'
Which is more important – freedom of the press or the right to a fair trial?
This was the question posed by BBC newsreader Maxine Mawhinney who chaired a public forum hosted by POLIS, the LSE Law Department and the BBC College of Journalism, held on Thursday 23rd Oct.
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Whatever You Do, Don’t Break Your Public Sphere!
On October 8th, Polis hosted two consultants from the World Bank who presented their research on the role of media and communications in re-establishing political order and stability in post-conflict states and fragile environments. Their solution? Public Sphere your way back into civil society’s good graces! But like everything about World Bank, the surrounding issues are fraught with peril. Read a summary of two researchers, one abstract model and their report illuminating the complex role of media and communications in state building. read more
Summer School Starts
The Polis Summer School has started with a group of about 30 students from around the world. They will be studying the global news media for the next three weeks and will be posting their views on the Polis Director's blogs. read more
2gether08
Polis director Charlie Beckett speaks at 2gether08, a festival of digital creativity sponsored by Channel 4. The idea is that it will generate ideas and clients for the new 4IP digital production fund created by Channel 4 to boost its public service role. read more
Democracy and new media
Read about how networked journalism can transform international politics from Africa to America. Polis Director Charlie Beckett has written a special article for Opendemocracy.net. read more
Ofcom: the last PSB debate?
You have until June 19th to give your opinion about the future of the UK's public service broadcasting system. The Polis debate on Tuesday could be your last chance to put your questions and views to Ofcom's top executives. Get in touch at to reserve a space at what will be a very popular and important event. read more
Join us to talk about Media for Development
In an era of increasing commercialization of the media worldwide and rise of cynicism in politics, can the press still have a role in strengthening democracy and can it contribute to wider political change? The seminar on June 26, 2008 held at The Embassy of Brazil will compare media systems from different countries and the impact on the democratic process. read more
LSE Summer School
POLIS will once again be participating in the LSE's forthcoming Summer School in July. To find out more about the Summer programme and International Journalism and Society – The Role of the Media in the Modern World taught by POLIS Director Charlie Beckett in partnership with Media and Communications staff. read more
McMafia: Crime Without Frontiers
Chaired by LSE Professor. Mary Kaldor. Award–winning international journalist Misha Glenny will talk about his intrepid investigations into the world of transnational organised crime in his new book, McMafia: Crime without frontiers. It reveals how conventional policing cannot cope with globalised crime corrupting governments and how it is fuelling human rights abuses. Glenny offers an insight into the pitfalls of a globalisation where the rules dividing the legal from the illegal are often far from clear.
To reserve a seat, please email
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Fifth Anniversary Conference: Media Communication & Humanity
POLIS is a partner with the LSE Department of Media and Communication’s who are celebrating their 5th year with a special conference. They are inviting critical thinking about how the media and communications environment is implicated in shaping our perceptions of the human condition. How is it mediating human values, actions and social relations? They welcome proposals for papers and panels offering theoretical insight and/or empirical work on this theme. read more
Women and the Media
POLIS, in partnership with the LSE Gender Institute, recently held a debate Chaired by Samira Ahmed of Channel Four News looking into why, despite the increased number of women in the profession, many still accuse the media of not getting the gender balance right. read more
Prelude to a Theory of Obscenity, Prof. John Durham Peters
In the light of the recent revival of the cartoons controversy in Denmark and Western Europe, this talk will be addressing issues of free speech and the public-private divide through the question of images. The aim is to philosophize the twin and perhaps irreconcilable problems of free expression and moral degradation. read more