Ben Bradlee, the editor who presided over the Washington Post’s Watergate investigation that brought down President Nixon in the Seventies, is to deliver the Society of Editors lecture at its first annual conference in Belfast in October.
Now joint chairman of the International Advisory Board for Sir Anthony O’Reilly’s Independent News & Media group, Bradlee will address the conference during the opening ceremony at Stormont, which will be hosted by Northern Ireland’s First Minister, David Trimble, and his deputy, Seamus Mallon.
Other speakers will include editors Piers Morgan of The Mirror, Roger Alton of The Observer and Charles Moore of The Daily Telegraph.
The Guardian’s media commentator, Roy Greenslade, Carlton Television’s chief executive Clive Jones, BBC political editor Andrew Marr, News of the World senior executive editor Alex Marunchak, publisher of the Barclay brothers’ Press Holdings Andrew Neil, executive chairman of Independent News & Media Sir Anthony O’Reilly and BBC business editor Jeff Randall will also speak.
Society of Editors president Ed Curran, editor of the Belfast Telegraph, said: "So many of us were driven on by Ben Bradlee’s achievement and style. There is so much we can learn from his vision and his knowledge of the world’s media.
"He will be one of many big names who will make this first ever editors’ conference in Belfast a huge success." The conference will take place from Sunday, 21 to Tuesday, 23 October at the Europa Hotel in Belfast.
For further details visit the society’s website at www.ukeditors.com or telephone 01223 304080. Early booking discounts are available until 15 July.
By Jon Slattery
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