Ian Hislop, the journalist, broadcaster and Editor of Private Eye, has been presented with a Fellowship Award for outstanding contribution to journalism at the Society of Editors 25th Anniversary Conference.
The high-profile event, which took place on Tuesday 30 April and brought together more than 200 leading editors and news leaders, saw Hislop, who has edited Private Eye since 1986, presented with the award in recognition of his advocacy for free speech as well as the relentless campaigning work of Private Eye under his editorship.
Presenting the award, Ian MacGregor, chairman of the Society paid tribute to Private Eye’s “fearless and relentless approach to challenging authority”.
He said: “Private Eye was one of the first news organisations to report on the scandalous treatment of the postmasters and postmistresses by the Post Office. It was way back in 2011 that Private Eye published its first report on the Horizon IT saga which has shocked us all.
“Other campaigns over the years have included the shocking treatment of NHS whistleblowers, the Lockerbie bombing investigation and the probe into ‘’London’s closed courts’’.
“There can be few journalists who can claim to have done as much in the battle for media freedom and challenging authority than Ian Hislop.”
The conference, which took place at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in St Paul’s was also attended by the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP who delivered the keynote address on the importance of freedom of expression.
The conference also heard from the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lucy Frazer MP as well as the Lady Chief Justice the Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill who announced the formation of a new transparency and justice board that will look at how to increase media and public access to Courts and Tribunals. The event also heard from speakers including Jonathan Munro, Deputy CEO of BBC News and Director of Journalism for the Corporation; Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent for Sky News, Christina Lamb, Chief Foreign Correspondent for The Sunday Times and Pippa Crerar, Political Editor at The Guardian amongst many others.
As well as the challenges and responsibilities of reporting from the front line, other panel themes across the day included the next steps for police and media relations, the future of journalism and AI and engaging new audiences in politics.
