The first day of the 2022 IPPC Conference, Public and Political Communication in an Era of Populism, Pandemics and Propaganda' featured three guest speakers who spoke about the importance of understanding populism and investigative journalism.
Keynote speaker, columnist, and political commentator, Owen Jones opened the conference with a debrief about left and right-wing populism. Owen debunked common misconceptions about populism and gave examples of how events, such as Brexit, exposes the two as being different from each other.
In the next session, investigative journalist James Ball offered practical advice for students on how to get started in investigative journalism. James said it is essential for student journalists to find a specialisation in addition to writing and reporting, and to be persistent in finding the right sources for their stories.
Václav Štětka, a senior lecturer in Communication and Media studies at Loughborough University, wrapped up the first day of the conference by presenting findings from “The Illiberal Project”. The project focuses on news consumption and political polarisation in Central and Eastern Europe through social media platforms.
IPPC student Tom Butt said: “Today the conference was very well organised, with relevant examples of political communication discussed. Each speaker brought a unique perspective which benefited our overall understanding of public and political communication.”
Tom also said: “ It is even clearer now that we live in an age of social media and fast-paced communications. It will be crucial to be aware of this in any career or role undertaken in the future, by a greater majority of people.”
If you want to find out more about the conference and what the rest of the week has in store, click here.
