01 Oct 08

Over 150 journalists from around the globe came to Oxford to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Thomson Reuters Foundation Fellowship Programme.

A weekend series of events marked the anniversary of the Programme, formerly known as the Reuters Fellowship Programme, and included a Memorial Lecture given by Arthur Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times.

Mr Sulzberger’s lecture, entitled ‘In Fond Memory of Sir Winston Churchill: “Give us the tools and we will finish the job”’, explored the impact of new technology on the media. He said the new tools ‘are dramatically enhancing our ability to interact, to disseminate news and information, and to play a larger role in directing our own destinies’.

In his introduction, he explained that The New York Times was indebted to an ancestor of Sir Winston Churchill called Leonard Walter Jerome who in 1863 helped to defend the Times building from rioters at the height of the American Civil War.

Mr Sulzberger said: ‘Since Sir Winston, an old newspaperman, deeply cared about, well everything – and would have absolutely loved the internet – the best way to offer proper thanks is with a thoughtful exchange about the role and future of quality journalism in a world where so many fundamental premises and assumption are in constant flux.’

Chief Executive of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Monique Villa, celebrated the success of the fellowship programme, alluding to its growth in stature and global recognition.

She added: ‘The Thomson Reuters Foundation is wholly committed to the long term promotion of the core values of professional journalism through excellent training, education, research and the sharing of ideas – often with those who come from geographies and backgrounds where such traditions as accuracy and impartiality are alien concepts. I am delighted here today to reaffirm our commitment to the Fellowship, as Thomson Reuters, on this, our 25th anniversary.’

Other highlights of the weekend included a discussion on the future of journalism in Africa, with panellists Bernard Tabaire, a former Reuters Fellow and managing of the weekend Monitor newspaper in Uganda; Tony Heard, former editor of the Cape Times who is now a senior adviser in media policy for the Presidency of South Africa; and Sina Odugbemi, who runs a communications arm of the World Bank.

John Lloyd, Director of Journalism at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, chaired the discussion on whether good journalism is in crisis, in which participants included Nick Davies, author of Flat Earth News and Peter Jay, former BBC Economics Editor.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation Fellowship Programme offers academic guidance for up to 30 experienced print and broadcast journalists every year who wish to undertake projects on a variety of journalism-related subjects. It has, to date, brought over 400 journalists from more than 80 countries to study in Oxford. It is based at the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.