VLV Autumn Conference 2023

December 7, 2023
Recent Events

VLV held its 40th Autumn Spring Conference on 29th November 2023 in central London. You can read the full programme here.

The event happened at an important time for broadcasting – the Media Bill, which could completely change the broadcasting landscape, was introduced to Parliament at the beginning of the month and the future of the BBC is on the minds of all political parties as a General Election looms.

Session 1 – Lord Grade of Yarmouth, Ofcom

Lord Michael Grade, Chair of Ofcom, opened the conference. He has had a long career in broadcasting, encompassing London Weekend Television, the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. He has chaired the BBC, ITV and Pinewood/Shepperton Film Studios. This session was chaired by BBC News Culture and Media Editor and presenter of Radio 4’s Media Show, Katie Razzall.

You can view a video of this session by clicking on the image.

Session 2 – Dame Elan Closs Stephens, BBC

The second session of the day was with BBC interim Chair Dame Elan Closs Stephens. This session was chaired by Helen Boaden. Dame Elan’s speech can be read here.

You can view a video of this session by clicking on the image.

VLV Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting

After lunch we held the ceremony to present the VLV Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting. This was hosted by VLV Patron Helen Boaden and VLV member Lewis Rudd. You can find out more about the awards and nominees for the awards here.

You can view a video of this session by clicking on the image.

Session 3 – Fake News and AI

Our first afternoon conference session asked What can broadcasters and regulators do to counter fake news?

This panellists were Chris Banatvala, former Director of Standards at Ofcom, Chris Morris, CEO of FullFact and
Marianna Spring, Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent for the BBC. Former Editor in Chief of ITN and Ofcom Partner for Content and Standards, Stewart Purvis, chaired this session.

You can view a video of this session by clicking on the image.

Session 4 – What should the Next Government do to support PSB?

The final session of the day was a panel discussion about what the next Government should do to support PSB.

The speakers were Kevin Brennan, Labour MP for Cardiff West, Lord Inglewood, Lord McNally, Liberal Democrat Peer and Professor Catherine Johnson from the School of Media and Communication at the University of Leeds. This session was chaired by broadcasters and Journalist Ritula Shah.

You can view a video of this session by clicking on the image.

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