Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Friday 18 July
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
Peter Greste and Alan Morison are both Australian journalists who, with their colleagues, are subject to judicial action that challenges not only their own freedom but the fundamental principle of freedom of the press itself.
Our world is becoming more and more subject to political propaganda and spin; influenced by short media cycles and social media. A free and critical media is arguably more important now than ever. What do the Peter Greste and Alan Morison cases tell us about the state of our media, the value that we place on freedom of the press - and the role that we each have in defending those fundamental rights?
PEN Melbourne, the Wheeler Centre and the nonfictionLab at RMIT University host a panel of journalists, advocates and academics to discuss the implications of the Peter Greste and Alan Morison cases and what we should do about them.
For this discussion, we’re joined by Mark Baker (Chief Executive Officer of the Melbourne Press Club), Cece Ojany (Writers-In-Prison Officer with PEN Melbourne) and Alexandra Wake (Lecturer in Journalism at RMIT University). Moderated by Regina Hill.
Featuring
Mark Baker
Mark Baker is a former Senior Editor of the Age, Editor of the Canberra Times and Managing Editor (National) of Fairfax Media. After three years as President of the Melbourne Press Club, he became the Club’s inaugural Chief Executive Officer in January 2014.
During 13 years as a foreign correspondent for Fairfax, News Corporation and The Financial Times he had postings in China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. He covered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and was wounded while reporting the civil war on Bougainville in the early 1990s. He has also served as Political Editor and Canberra Bureau Chief of the Age.
Cece Ojany
Cece Ojany joined PEN Melbourne in December 2012 as the organisation’s Writers-In-Prison Officer. Her poetry has featured in various festivals including the Dandenong Laneway Festival and Federation Square’s Light In Winter Festival.
She also co-curated ‘This Is Who We Are Now’, PEN Melbourne’s first event which focused on African-Australian Writers, in November 2013. Cece works as a Life Coach for women and she encourages her clients to pursue writing as an important aspect of creativity, health and wellbeing.
Alexandra Wake
Alexandra Wake is a lecturer at RMIT University with almost 30 years experience as a journalist. She has worked in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
She has a particular interest in journalism education and has taught in the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and the Solomon Islands. She has also conducted training courses in Australia for international journalists.
Regina Hill
Regina Hill is a member of the PEN Melbourne management committee. She has a Masters of International Laws (Social and Economic Rights) and has a longstanding interest in human rights and international law based issues.
She runs her own consultancy working with governments, philanthropists and not for profit organisations on social policy and program design, delivery and evaluation and is a director with social research consultancy Effective Philanthropy.