Three speaking engagements on three consecutive days
It’s been a busy week which has involved me speaking at three different events on three different subjects.
On Monday I was at the BBC’s New Broadcasting House to attend an all-day event on digital radio in cars and I was a member of a panel discussion on the stage hosted by BBC correspondent Nick Higham. You can see my note on the event here and my brief on digital radio here.
On Tuesday evening, I was at the London School of Economics to speak at a seminar organised by the LSE Media Policy Project. The subject of the event was the regulation of convergence, that is the coming together of broadcasting and the Internet. I was the principal speaker with responses from Chris Woolard of Ofcom and Lord Inglewood who is chairing a House of Lords inquiry into this subject. You can read the argument I advanced here.
After these two events in London, on Wednesday I took the train to my home city of Manchester, primarily to visit my old school, Xaverian College, which this year celebrates its 150th anniversary. At the invitation of the Curriculum Leader for Politcs & Government Catherine Hennelly, I gave a guest lecture on comparisons between the political systems of the UK and the USA which was attended by around 50 sixth form students. I had deliberately timed my lecture to coincide with the Presidential election which hightened the interest in the event.
For my material, I drew heavily on three essays on my web site: a guide to the British political system, a guide to the American political system. and a comparison of the two systems.
Then I stayed overnight in Manchester so that I could spend time with my brother Ralph, his partner Carol and their wonderful nine year old daughter Saskia.
I receive a lovely hug from my niece Saskia