A leading BBC journalist will share insights gained while covering the war in Ukraine during a poignant remembrance service in London on the evening of 11 November.
James Waterhouse, the BBC News Ukraine correspondent, will give the keynote address at the annual Journalists’ Service, being held at St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street.
The service, under the title ‘Conflict and Calling’ will, say the organisers, “honour the tension at the heart of journalism – where the risks of truth-telling meet the deep sense of vocation that drives it.”
It will also “invite reflection on the courage, sacrifice, and moral conviction of those whose work often exacts a great personal cost.”
Also taking part in the service – held annually at the church known as ‘the Journalists’ Church – will be Fiona O’Brien, UK director of the charity Reporters without Borders.
The organisation says that 53 journalists or media workers have been killed across the world this year, with 547 detained.
Their World Press Freedom index monitors journalists’ freedom to report around the globe and indicates that “conditions for journalism are poor in half the world’s countries.”
The index places Norway, Estonia and the Netherlands as the top three countries for press freedom, with the UK in 20th place, and the United States at 57th place.
Reporters without Borders warns, “At a time when press freedom is experiencing a worrying decline in many parts of the world, a major — yet often underestimated — factor is seriously weakening the media: economic pressure.
“Much of this is due to ownership concentration, pressure from advertisers and financial backers, and public aid that is restricted, absent or allocated in an opaque manner.”
The church service comes as trust in mainstream journalism is declining, and many people are turning to social media and online ‘influencers’ for their news and commentaries. In the UK, the US and many other developed countries, there are ‘news deserts’ where communities have no source of reliable local media coverage.
Against this gloomy background, many media organisations are seeking to differentiate themselves from other sources of news, pointing out the standards of journalism under which they operate – and the risks their reporters face.
The London service will remember the many journalists and other media workers who have been killed while reporting from around the world, including in conflict zones like Ukraine and Gaza.
Prominent at St Bride’s is the church’s Journalists’ Altar. A candle burns on the altar to remember in prayer those working within the media who have died, been injured, held hostage, or whose fate is unknown.
Keynote speaker James Waterhouse was appointed the BBC News Ukraine correspondent in June 2022, after reporting as Kyiv correspondent during the outbreak of the war. He spent five years as a professional rugby union player before turning to journalism, and reports for radio, TV and online, including featuring as a regular presenter on the BBC’s ‘Ukrainecast’ podcast.
The remembrance service will be led by Canon Dr Alison Joyce, Rector of St Bride’s, with music performed by the renowned St Bride's Choir. A retiring collection will be shared between Reporters Without Borders and St Bride's Church.
St Bride’s has produced a prayer for journalists:
Almighty God,strengthen and direct, we pray,the will of all whose work it is to write what many read,and to speak where many listen.May we be bold in confronting evil and injustice,and compassionate in our understanding of human weakness,rejecting alike the half-truth that deceives, and the slanted word that corrupts.May the power that is ours, for good or ill,always be used with respect and integrity;so that when all here has been written, said, and done,we may, unashamed, meet Thee face to face,through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE.
