#OTB20 · 11th and 12th November
Outside the Box 2020 - Highlights
Outside the box 2020 looks at some of the key questions facing our industry at a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty.
Freeview’s annual industry event, Outside the box looked at the key issues facing our industry.
The future of public service broadcasting is one of the most significant debates of recent times.
Freeview’s event considered the role of PSB in a changing media landscape; how PSBs can adapt and change in a global TV sector; and the kind of system needed to deliver public policy goals for UK viewers and wider society.
Senior figures who have worked inside the UK’s leading broadcasters gave their outside perspectives on PSB: Mark Thompson, David Abraham, Anna Bateson, Rienkje Attoh, Gill Whitehead and Emma Scott.
Plus leading practitioners and experts in news – Alastair Campbell, Anna Mallett, Julia Hartley-Brewer, Ayesha Hazarika MBE and Peter Pomerantsev – discussed their views on the role of impartiality and independence in the global battle against disinformation.
Broadcaster and journalist Cathy Newman returned to lead the proceedings for this free-to-attend virtual event.
Video gallery
Watch videos from Outside the Box 2020
Speakers
Outside the Box 2020
David Abraham
CEO & Co-founder, Wonderhood Studios
Rienkje Attoh
Managing Director, So & So Productions
Anna Bateson
Former Chief Customer Officer, Guardian News & Media
Emily Bell
Leonard Tow Professor of Journalism - Director, Tow Center for Digital Journalism
David Bond
Brexit Editor, Financial Times
Alastair Campbell
Communicator, Writer, Strategist
Michael Grade CBE
Former Chairman, BBC and ITV, and Former CEO, Channel 4
Julia Hartley-Brewer
Broadcaster & Journalist
Ayesha Hazarika MBE
Broadcaster, Writer & Political Commentator
Anna Mallett
CEO, ITN
Cathy Newman
Broadcaster & Journalist
Peter Pomerantsev
Senior Fellow, SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University
Emma Scott
Non-Executive Director & former CEO, Beano Studios
Mark Thompson
Former President & CEO, The New York Times Company
Gill Whitehead
Non-Executive Director
Day 1
Wednesday 11 November 2020, 11:30am - 1.10pm
The future of PSB - the opportunities and challenges ahead for the UK’s broadcasting ecosystem.
11:30: Welcome and introduction
Cathy Newman, Broadcaster & Journalist with Owen Jenkinson, Marketing Director, Freeview.
11:35: Opening keynote: PSB - State of the nation
Michael Grade CBE, Former Chairman, BBC and ITV, and Former CEO, Channel 4 in conversation with Cathy Newman, Broadcaster & Journalist.
11:55 - 12.00: BREAK
12.00: Panel: Outside-in - perspectives on PSB
David Abraham, former CEO of Channel 4 and Co-founder of Wonderhood Studios, leads a panel of ‘critical friends’, those who’ve worked within the PSB system and have subsequently gone on to senior positions elsewhere. From the outside looking in, what advice would they now give to the PSBs? How do they think PSBs can stand out in a world increasingly dominated by streaming services? Where do they think PSBs should be focusing their efforts, how can they stay relevant to audiences?
- Anna Bateson, former Chief Customer Officer, Guardian News & Media
- Rienkje Attoh, Managing Director, So & So Productions
- Gill Whitehead, Non-Executive Director
- Emma Scott, Non-Executive Director & former CEO, Beano Studios
12:50 - 12.55: BREAK
12:55: Keynote interview: Adapt and survive
Mark Thompson, former President & CEO, The New York Times Company interviewed by Emily Bell, Leonard Tow Professor of Journalism; Director, Tow Center for Digital Journalism.
13:15: Closing remarks
Cathy Newman, Broadcaster & Journalist
13:20: END OF DAY 1
Photo Gallery
Photos from Day 1 of Outside the Box 2020
Day 2
Thursday 12 November 2020, 11.30am - 12.50pm
Who to trust in a global infodemic? How can impartiality and independence immunise audiences against misinformation?
11:30: Welcome
Cathy Newman, Broadcaster & Journalist
11:35: Keynote interview: The corrosion of trust
Alastair Campbell, Communicator, Writer, Strategist in conversation with Cathy Newman, Broadcaster & Journalist
11:55 - 12:00: BREAK
12:00: Panel - The challenge for news in a post-truth world
David Bond, Brexit Editor at the Financial Times, asks a panel of experts how news organisations can stem the transmission of misinformation, and counter disinformation – the deliberate spread of false facts. What is the difference between propaganda and disinformation? How can disinformation undermine democracy? What is the role of news broadcasters in times of national crisis? What appetite is there likely to be among audiences for TV news with an opinionated slant?
- Peter Pomerantsev, Senior Fellow, SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University
- Anna Mallett, CEO, ITN
- Ayesha Hazarika MBE, Broadcaster, Writer, & Political Commentator
- Julia Hartley-Brewer, Broadcaster & Journalist
12:50: Closing remarks
Cathy Newman, Broadcaster & Journalist with Jonathan Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, Digital UK
13:00: END OF DAY 2
Photo Gallery
Photos from Day 2 of Outside the Box 2020
