As long-time readers will know, one of this blog’s lasting obsessions is the portrayal of the EU in the British media. Hell, the rampant bias and distortions (from both the pro- and the anti- camps) were pretty much what got me interested in the EU in the first place. Indeed, the reason this blog’s title was originally “Europhobia” was because I started out aiming to focus on what makes us Brits so inherently eurosceptic.

So my participation in a panel discussion / mini-conference this time next week (organised by Bloggingportal.eu) may be of interest to some London-based readers – though I can’t pretend to be as comfortable forming coherent arguments off the cuff while speaking in public as I am jotting my thoughts down in a more considered manner on the interweb. Details as follows:

WHEN: 10th December 2010 – 13:00 – 18:00

WHERE: Europe House, 32 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3EU

WHAT: A non-partisan event exploring the different ways bloggers and journalists can cover the EU in Britain

HASHTAG: #EUuk

EVENT PROGRAMME

13:00 – EVENT START / REGISTRATION / SANDWICH LUNCH

13:45 to 15:15 – FIRST PANEL – “The EU in the British Media”

We’ll be asking our panelists about the coverage of the EU in the British press. Do the media generally do a good job of “keeping tabs” on the EU? Is it true that British euroscepticism is driven by the media, or are the media just following public opinion?

PANELISTS:
David Rennie – Political Editor and Bagehot Columnist, The Economist, Bagehot’s Notebook
Paul Staines – Blogger, Guido Fawkes
Mats Persson – Director, Open Europe
J Clive Matthews – Blogger, Nosemonkey’s EUtopia

15:15 – COFFEE BREAK

15:45 to 17:45 – SECOND PANEL – “The EU in the British Blogosphere”

In this panel, we’ll be turning a critical eye on the British blogosphere. Do bloggers have any advantages over mainstream journalists when writing about the EU? Are bloggers better informed and freer to say what everybody is really thinking? Unconstrained by deadlines and editorial oversight, can they delve deeper into a story? Or are they just under less pressure to maintain levels of accuracy and ethical behaviour?

PANELISTS:

Bruno Waterfield – Brussels Correspondent, The Daily Telegraph, Europe not EU
Gawain Towler – UKIP / Europe of Freedom and Democracy Press Officer and Blogger, England Expects
Antonia Mochan – Head of Media, EU Commission Representative in the UK, Talking About the EU
Jon Worth – Blogger, Jon Worth’s Euroblog

Both panels will be moderated discussions, including time for questions from the audience. There will be wifi provision and a charging station for laptops/mobile phones etc. There are still a couple of places available, so please let us know by e-mail (at info bloggingportal eu) if you are interested in attending. Entry is free.

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You may also have noticed that the blog now has a new look. Hopefully a bit more readable than the traditional light text on a dark background – I’d been meaning to change it for years…

There’s still a few bugs in the system (the categories aren’t displaying properly, for starters – and I need to get a few more images in here to make it look prettier), but I’m hoping to get them fixed soon.

Many thanks to Jon Worth for helping me out by fixing as many as he has done already.