Evie Robinson
Whilst November is already shaping up to be a month full of journalistic developments, we look back on the key things that happened in October.
Media coverage of the rise in nightclub spikings
A wealth of news reports, interviews and opinion pieces were published in October as a result of the reported increase in spiking across nightclubs, particularly via methods such as needles and injections. The increase prompted a nationwide string of nightclub boycotts, many of which were organised by various university or city-based branches of the ‘Girls Night In’ campaign.
Women across the country took to social media to express their own stories of feeling unsafe on nights-out, calling upon nightclub owners and staff to implement reforms and procedures to ensure the safety of women and tighten levels of security.
COP26
A highly anticipated event, the COP26 climate conference attracted the presence of pretty much every major media outlet in the country, as well as across the globe. Though regarded as a monumental event in the trajectory of the climate crisis, many attendees, including journalists, criticised the lack of cohesion and organisation in the actual conference.
Esme Wren becomes Editor of Channel 4
After a successful three years at the BBC working on Newsnight, Esme Wren has announced her move to Channel 4, where she will succeed former editor Ben de Pear.
Wren has been heralded for her achievements at the BBC, including her organisation of an all-female presenting line-up at Newsnight, as well as her leadership efforts that helped colleague Emily Maitlis to secure her highly-anticipated interview with Prince Andrew in 2020, which secured Maitlis the British Journalism Award title for interviewer of the year. Wren described her colleagues at Newsnight as “one of the most committed, tenacious, creative teams in the industry”.
Stay tuned for our coverage of further journalistic developments at the end of November.
Images courtesy of Eloise Bishop.
Evie Robinson
Final year BA English student at University College London. President of Pi Media, UCL's student publication. Arts, culture and current affairs writer and aspiring journalist.