ABC Chair Ita Buttrose AC OBE to deliver the sixth Ramsay Lecture for 2020.
Sydney, Thursday 19 November 2020: The Ramsay Centre is proud to announce that ABC Chair, Ita Buttrose, Australian media and publishing icon, and 2013 Australian of the Year, will deliver the sixth Ramsay Lecture for 2020.
Ita Buttrose was appointed Chair of the ABC in 2019 and has long been one of the most familiar and respected figures on the Australian media scene.
She has held executive and editing roles for major Australian media companies including Australian Consolidated Press, News Ltd and Fairfax, and has run her own media company, Capricorn Publishing. She has also served on the boards of Australian Consolidated Press, News Corp Australia, and Television & Telecasters Pty Ltd. (Network TEN).
She has worked in print, radio and television and written 11 books. She was the founding editor of Cleo in 1972 and became editor of the Australian Women’s Weekly in 1975. In 2017 she was inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame.
In her Ramsay Lecture, ‘The ABC, Democracy and the Importance of Press Freedom’, Ita will argue that a free and independent media is crucial to the functioning of a strong democracy and outline barriers to press freedom both in Australia and overseas.
She will explore recent examples of press intimidation, the impact of COVID 19 on press freedom, and suggest potential legislative reforms she would support to protect journalists and their sources.
The Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation was created with an endowment from the late Paul Ramsay AO, founder of Ramsay Health Care, to promote a deeper understanding of Western civilisation. The Ramsay Lecture series hosts speakers from all walks of life who have important and interesting perspectives relating to the world and our western heritage.
Due to COVID-19 Ita Buttrose’s lecture is recorded. It will be available via our website www.ramsaycentre.org on Monday 23 November.
Media contact: Sarah Switzer 0407 816 098 / sarah.switzer@ramsaycentre.org