Future in Frame - Public Service Media in a Shared Island

TIME & LOCATION

Thursday 13 November, 3:00 pm

End Time: 4:00 pm

Upstairs Theatre

About

What would happen to Public Service Media in the event of a United Ireland? Can it be assumed that the existing public broadcasters would carry on as normal? And what are the key questions around funding, journalism and media production that may need considered? This panel seeks to get to grips with an important set of questions facing media institutions both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Whether the unification of Ireland happens in the medium or long term, or indeed not at all, this debate will build on existing North-South media flows on the island of Ireland.

The panel was made possible by the Centre for Communication, Media and Cultural Studies, Ulster University.

Chair

Aoife Grace Moore

SPONSOR

Panel

Phil Ramsey

Centre for Communication, Media and Cultural Studies, Ulster University

Phil Ramsey is a member of the Centre for Communication, Media and Cultural Studies at Ulster University. He researches media policy in the UK and Ireland, and is currently writing a report with colleagues at Ulster and Dublin City University on the prospects for public broadcasting in the event of the reunification of Ireland.

Amanda Ferguson

Freelance journalist

Amanda is a north Belfast woman and freelance journalist working as a Northern Ireland Correspondent and Ireland Stringer for newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, and digital outlets. Since 2010 Amanda has been part of Ireland, UK, and international teams as an in demand writer, broadcaster, commentator, trainer, fixer, event panellist and host. She is on the National Executive Council of the National Union of Journalists, a cofounder of Women in Media Belfast CIC, chair of the Give Inc Women's Fund, a Social Change Initiative fellow, and a media awards judge.

Aoife Grace Moore

Freelance Journalist

Aoife Moore is an award-winning investigative journalist and author based in Dublin. Originally from Derry, she has reported on politics for the BBC, The Irish Examiner and The Sunday Times. In 2021, she was named Irish Journalist of the Year for her reporting on the Golfgate scandal. Her debut book, The Long Game: Inside Sinn Féin, was a number one bestseller in The Sunday Times. She currently co-hosts the news podcast A Few Scoops with comedian Colm O’Regan. Aoife has also been a prominent voice in the recent defamation case against gossip site Tattle Life, following her widely shared article on the subject for TheJournal.ie.

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Dawn Wheatley

School of Communications, Dublin City University

Dr Dawn Wheatley is an assistant professor in the School of Communications, DCU, where she is involved with the BA Journalism and MA Political Communication programmes. Her teaching and research focuses on journalism and news production, with an emphasis on sources and voices in the news. Dawn is a former production journalist, previously working as a sub-editor in the Irish News, Irish Daily Mail and Irish Times.

Sam McBride

Northern Ireland Editor, Belfast Telegraph

Sam McBride is the Northern Ireland Editor of the Belfast Telegraph and the Sunday Independent newspapers. Prior to that he was Political Editor of the Belfast News Letter. He has written for the i newspaper and The Economist and has made a BBC film about the Northern Bank robbery. Sam studied English literature and newspaper journalism at Ulster University before starting his career at the Belfast Telegraph in 2006. He is author of The Sunday Times bestseller Burned: The Inside Story of the 'Cash-for-Ash' Scandal and Northern Ireland's Secretive New Elite and is a regular broadcaster, providing analysis for local, national and international audiences. He is fascinated by where power lies, how it is abused and how it can be used for good. He writes the weekly subscriber-only Uncovered with Sam McBride email newsletter. Sam lives in Belfast with his wife and two young children.