The respected financial journalist will assess the state of the UK economy at the 21st edition of the annual lecture series.

Published (Updated )

City, University of London will host the award-winning broadcaster, political editor and financial journalist Robert Peston on Friday 6th March 2020 as he delivers the 2020 Hugh Cudlipp Lecture, partnered by the London Press Club and sponsored by the Daily Mirror.

In their invitation to Peston (pictured), currently ITV’s Political Editor, to give the 21st lecture, the Cudlipp trustees unanimously agreed that "both in terms of his record of ground-breaking journalism and his deep analysis of the economy in his books, Robert’s assessment of where the UK will be in the New Year – and how we got there – will be greatly anticipated".

The annual Cudlipp Lecture was created and named in memory of the late Lord Cudlipp, the former editorial director of the Daily Mirror and one of the pioneers of 20th century popular tabloid journalism.

Hosted by the London Press Club and sponsored by the Daily Mirror, the lecture gives a platform for a high-profile media professional to address key developments and issues in today’s news business.

Now in its 21st year, the Cudlipp Lecture continues to partner with the London Press Club, the lecture’s original hosts when it was set up by Hugh’s widow, the late Lady Jodi Cudlipp and former Mirror editorial executives, in 1999.

Lecturers have included: George Osborne, James Harding, Kevin Maguire, Emily Bell, David Walsh, Sir Harold Evans, Jon Snow, Lionel Barber, Alan Rusbridger, Rebekah Wade, Alastair Campbell, Paul Dacre, Andrew Marr, Lord Grade, Felicity Green, Piers Morgan, Geoffrey Goodman, Derek Jameson, Bob Edwards and Peter Carter Ruck.

The Hugh Cudlipp Student Award

At the lecture, the winner of the £1,000 Hugh Cudlipp Award for Student Journalism, sponsored by the Daily Mirror, will be announced. The prize is given to a student who has made an outstanding contribution to journalism for an article, or series of articles, or video*, exploring an issue of public interest or concern which, in the Cudlipp tradition, exemplifies lucid and graphic communication to a wide audience.

City graduate, Isabel van Brugen (MA Newspaper Journalism, 2018), won the 2019 Hugh Cudlipp Award for her undercover investigation at an abortion clinic in Northern Ireland, published in The Times.

Isabel is one of a number of Department of Journalism alumni to have won the award, with winners in previous years including Simon Murphy, Ben Bryant and Billy Kenber.

Submission guidelines for the Hugh Cudlipp Student Award 2020

Entries must have been published in print or on an online news site between January 2019 and January 2020 in a national, regional or local newspaper (freesheets included) or a supplement which is NOT part of assessed course work in a College newspaper/magazine.

The student must have graduated from or been enrolled at a UK university or college during 2019. Students need not be studying journalism or a media-related subject to apply; student entries from all courses will be considered.

Students are limited to one entry only and should submit a PDF of the published work or a link via email to paulrcharman@gmail.com. The source and date of publication must be clearly shown or added.

*For video entries, please do not send large video files – instead, please send a link to the work.

Closing date for entries: 14th February 2020. The entry should be accompanied by the following details: name, age, home address, email address, telephone number and proof of college/university attendance.

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