2005 Anne Maguire Student Journalism Conference

Co-operation Ireland in partnership with the British Council held the 2005 Anne Maguire Student Journalism Conference in the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin during November. The theme of the conference was ‘The Role and Responsibility of the Media inIincreasingly Pluralistic, Multicultural and Diverse Societies’.

The speakers included veteran Irish Times journalist Conor O’Clery who shared his many experiences as Foreign Correspondent in Asia, Moscow and North America, as well as Northern Ireland Editor, London Editor and News Editor at the paper. Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe spoke candidly on how some media can interpret situations incorrectly, in particular focussing on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. He gave a first hand account of what he witnessed in the Southern State and how it contrasted with sensationalist media outputs.

Philip Watt, Director of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism spoke about the Irish response to the recent wave of immigrants to Ireland since EU enlargement. Finally Robin Wilson Director of the think tank Democratic Dialogue examined the increase in racism in Northern Ireland.

The audience of final year journalism students from universities and colleges from around Ireland took the opportunity to quiz the speakers and the representatives from the sponsoring newspapers on issues relating to the theme and topical issues.