When James Cameron died in 1986, a Trust was set up in his memory to award an annual prize to a journalist whose work in the previous year had been "in the Cameron tradition". An annual memorial lecture was also established.
The James Cameron Memorial Lecture has been delivered by a distinguished group of speakers including:
- Ben Bradlee
- Michael Grade
- Alan Rusbridger
- Tony Benn
- Greg Dyke
- Sir Max Hastings.
More recently these have included:
- Christine Ockrent
- Jeremy Bowen
- Robert Peston
- Gary Younge
- Gideon Rachman
- Lyse Doucet
- Lionel Barber.
While the lecture continues to commemorate James Cameron, after many years of recognising the achievements of outstanding international journalists at the height of their careers, the focus of the prize giving changed this year.
There was one prize, the Eric Robins Prize, given in memory of the correspondent for Time who was expelled from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1966 when it was under white (minority) rule.
This was awarded to a recent City Journalism graduate who has, during their time at City, showed the potential to be a great journalist of the future.
The prize was generously donated by Eric Robins’ partner Marion Kaplan.
The 2019 James Cameron Memorial Lecture
The 2019 lecture, Journalism with Chinese characteristics: reflections on media in the new era, was given by Isabel Hilton OBE on Wednesday 20th November.
Isabel is a London based writer and broadcaster and also the founder and editor of chinadialogue.
Admission is free but places must be booked in advance.
The 2018 James Cameron Memorial Lecture
The 2018 lecture was delivered by the Editor of the Financial Times, Lionel Barber on Thursday 22nd November 2018.
Listen to 'Too big to fail: free speech and the future of financial journalism' on Soundcloud.
The 2017 James Cameron Memorial Lecture
The 2017 lecture was given by Lyse Doucet, the BBC’s chief international correspondent, on 1st November 2017.
Lyse explored the challenges confronting journalism in a world saturated by social media.
Read Lyse Doucet's latest work on the BBC online news website
James Cameron: A BBC documentary
Watch a 1984 BBC TV documentary in which James Cameron reviews and reassesses his career as a journalist and broadcaster.