THE FORMER head of news and current affairs at BBC Scotland, Blair Jenkins, has been honoured at a conference on journalism ethics.
Jenkins – who chaired the Scottish Broadcasting Commission set up by First Minister, Alex Salmond, in 2007 and is now chief executive of the Yes Scotland campaign urging Scots to vote for independence in two years’ time – is the inaugural winner of the inaugural Cleraun Award, presented at the Cleraun Media Conference, in Dublin, Ireland.
The Cleraun Media Conference, which was instituted in 1986, takes place every two years. It describes itself is as forum where “media practitioners can address and discuss ethical and professional issues which arise in the course of their work in a positive and constructive way”.
Jenkins is the author of a recent report, Better Journalism in the Digital Age, on journalism ethics and regulation.
He is also a former head of news and current affairs at Scottish Television, has received an OBE for services to broadcasting, is a Fellow of the Carnegie UK Trust (which commissioned his Better Journalism report) and is a Visiting Professor in journalism at Strathclyde University.
In a media release issued by Yes Scotland, Jenkins is quoted, as saying: “I am deeply honoured to have this recognition from the major media organisations in Ireland. Good journalism will play a key role in the debate about an independent Scotland.”
