THE Religion Media Festival drew 150 people to Methodist Central Hall in Westminster on Monday.

The day included talks by the former Director-General of the BBC, Mark Thompson, the Labour Party’s adviser on faith issues, Lord Rook, and Channel 4 journalist Cathy Newman, who spoke about her work uncovering the abuse perpetuated by John Smyth, and the subsequent criticism of Archbishop Justin Welby in the Makin Report, which led to his resignation in November.

In an onstage interview with BBC News home editor Mark Easton, Mr Thompson, who is a Roman Catholic, spoke about being in St Peter’s Square during the announcement of Pope Leo XIV’s election, and being “unexpectedly moved” by the occasion.

Organised by the Religion Media Centre (RMC), the festival featured panels on the challenges of reporting on religion, new digital media, and the part the press plays in fostering community cohesion.

There were also a panel discussion on Muslim representation in the media, and another titled “British Media and British Jews”, with both panels considering the representation of these communities both within both community-specific and wider media.

The winners of the RMC’s Young Reporter Award were also announced during the festival. The two recipients were author Lamorna Ash (Books, 2 May; Interview, 16 May) and the Church Times’s Francis Martin, who won the prize for an article last year in which former police detectives expressed criticisms of the Makin Report (News, 27 November 2024).