Sky News presenter Sophy Ridge will deliver the annual Bob Friend Memorial Lecture at the University on Wednesday 6 March 2019 at 19.00.
Entitled, ‘Worse than estate agents – how to rebuild trust in journalism’, the lecture will take place in the University’s Royal Dockyard Church lecture theatre at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham.
After graduating from University at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, Sophy Ridge joined the News of the World newspaper and then became a political correspondent for Sky News. She currently presents Sky News’ Sunday morning political programme Sophy Ridge on Sunday, becoming the first female journalist to front one of the national Sunday political programmes.
Professor Tim Luckhurst, Head of the Centre for Journalism at Kent, which hosts the lecture, said: ‘Sophy Ridge’s programme on Sky News has proved a superb addition to broadcast coverage of British politics. Sophy brings a clarity of thought and analysis that is truly refreshing. In recent months she has dealt brilliantly with Brexit, holding to account all of the key figures. Interviewing both the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition in a single edition is a formidable challenge. Sophy did it with style and aplomb.’
The lecture series was established in 2009 as a partnership between the Friend family, Sky News and the University in memory of Bob Friend, who was the original face of Sky News as well as a long-serving BBC journalist. The lecture is free and open to all.
The evening will also include the award of the annual Sky Bob Friend Memorial Scholarship, a unique award for undergraduate students studying at the University’s award-winning Centre for Journalism.