Krishnan Guru-Murthy gives 2022 Geddes Lecture
15 Mar 2022
Journalist and Channel 4 news presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy gave the Philip Geddes Memorial Lecture online and at the Examinations School on Friday 4 March.
Established in 1998, the lecture is convened in memory of St Edmund Hall alumnus, Philip Geddes (1977, English Language & Literature), who was murdered by IRA terrorists in the 1983 Harrods bombing at just 24 years of age. Each year the Hall and the Geddes Trust invite an esteemed journalist to give a lecture about their views on the state of journalism today.
The lecture commenced with two introductory speeches: the first from St Edmund Hall’s Principal, Professor Katherine Willis and the second from the Chairman of the Geddes Trust, and previous Geddes Trust prize winner, Peter Cardwell.
Krishnan spoke on ‘In whom do we trust? Presenting the facts in an age of discrimination’. In his talk, he assessed different definitions of broadcaster impartiality, its importance in the modern age, and the enduring need for a robust and self-critical broadcast media. Krishnan took questions from our online and in-person audiences, who between them totalled almost 200 attendees.
Watch the lecture on St Edmund Hall’s YouTube Channel.
Geddes Student Journalism Prizes
The Trust and the Hall also award three annual Geddes Student Journalism Prizes to both recognise and support emerging journalistic talent. The prizes cover expenses on either a media project or internship, with previous prize winners going on to work for eminent newspapers, such as The Economist, The Times and The Guardian.
This year’s Geddes Trust prizes have been awarded to three very talented Oxford student journalists.
Adam Possener (St Anne’s College) who is in his second year studying Music, won the main Philip Geddes Prize for the most promising student journalist at the University of Oxford.
Adam currently writes for American Jewish magazine Hey Alma and has written about Punk Judaism, the Neo-Hasidic soul band Zusha and Holocaust testimony in Steve Reich’s Different Trains. Adam, who has recently expanded his knowledge of both Hebrew and Yiddish, plans to visit New York to explore the thriving Jewish Punk scene.
The portfolio of work he submitted was comprised of two articles, the first on ‘How to Be a Punk Jew. What does it mean to be on the fringe of a group that’s already on the fringe?’ and the second ‘Zusha Resists the ‘Jewish Music’ Label. The neo-Hasidic funk-soul band makes music that encapsulates what it means to be human.’
Maggie Wang (Pembroke College) who is in her third (and final) year studying History and Economics, won the Ronnie Payne Prize for Foreign Reporting.
Maggie’s background is primarily in features having written for both the Cherwell and The Isis. With support from the Geddes Trust, Maggie intends to visit Brazil to examine the Trans-Amazonian Highway’s (BR-230) effects on the communities in its path and on the wider Amazon region. Maggie’s report, focussing on questions concerning the infra-structure for this complex highway will include personal narrative as well as interviews with environmental activists; Indigenous leaders; civil servants; and the farmers, ranchers, and loggers who form the bedrock of Amazonian agro-industry.
And last, but very definitely not least, Teddy Hall’s own Mauricio Alencar, in his second year reading English Language and Literature, won the won the Clive Taylor Prize for sports journalism.
Mauricio’s role as Deputy Editor/Investigations Editor for the Cherwell, and previously as News and Sports editor, confirmed his deep interest in journalism. He has written a range of articles, including sports team features, full-time match reports, interviews, opinion pieces, and unique news reports. Mauricio plans to use the prize money to report on two main projects; the first to research the Brazilian Football Confederation’s (CBF) marketing campaigns; the second will look at traditional World Cup-themed street art in Brazil and how it might reflect political tensions. Both ideas would then be pitched to popular football magazines, such as When Saturday Comes and The Blizzard, as well as other mainstream media companies.
Other News
Michael Crick gave 2020 Geddes Lecture
Political broadcaster and author, Michael Crick, delivered the 2020 Philip Memorial Geddes Lecture on Friday 6 March at the Examinations School in Oxford. He spoke on ‘Defending Impartiality: the Devil’s Right of Reply’ – a talk which explored the importance of maintaining impartiality in UK journalism.
10 Mar 2020