Can Truth Survive in a Digital Age?

Sir Tony Baldry Lecture

Edward Stourton writes: ‘Read in an age of fragmented truth, Jane Austen’s glittering irony at the opening of Pride and Prejudice carries extra power. Digital technology and the easy access to multiple sources it offers have undermined our confidence in the very existence of truth, and almost nothing can now be taken as “universally acknowledged”. This revolution has coincided with my own career in journalism; when I began at ITN in 1979, broadcast news was trusted by almost everyone; today the “mainstream media” is regarded with scepticism by many and, in some quarters, with outright hostility. In this lecture I shall examine how we meet this challenge, and argue that truth-telling still matters.’

Speakers

Edward Stourton

Edward Stourton has worked in broadcasting for 45 years, and regularly presents Radio Four programmes such as Sunday, the World at One and the World this Weekend. He has been a foreign correspondent for Channel 4, ITN and the BBC, and for ten years he was one of the main presenters of the Today programme. He has published 12 books.