Year |
Speaker |
Job title*
|
1976 |
John McGrath |
Dramatist and director, founder of 7:84 Theatre Company
|
1977 |
Marcel Ophüls |
French/US documentary film maker (The Sorrow and the Pity/Le Chagrin et la Pitié)
|
1978 |
Norman Lear |
American television producer and scriptwriter
|
1979 |
Jeremy Isaacs |
former Director of Programmes for Thames Television (later Chief Executive, Channel 4)
|
1980 |
John Mortimer |
Screenwriter and dramatist
|
1981 |
Peter Jay |
Economist and broadcaster, Chairman of TV-am
|
1982 |
Ted Turner |
American television executive, founder of CNN
|
1983 |
Jonathan Miller |
Stage and television director/producer and broadcaster
|
1984 |
Denis Forman |
Chairman, Granada Television
|
1985 |
John Schlesinger |
Film and television director
|
1986 |
Troy Kennedy Martin |
Television dramatist
|
1987 |
Phillip Whitehead |
Television documentary producer
|
1988 |
Christine Ockrent |
Belgian/French journalist and broadcaster
|
1989 |
Rupert Murdoch |
Australian/American Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, News Corporation
|
1990 |
Verity Lambert |
Independent film and television producer
|
1991 |
David Elstein |
Director of programmes, Thames Television
|
1992 |
Michael Grade |
Chief executive, Channel 4
|
1993 |
Dennis Potter |
Television dramatist and screenwriter
|
1994 |
Greg Dyke |
Chief executive of LWT, Chairman of ITV Council and GMTV
|
1995 |
Janet Street-Porter |
Broadcaster and journalist
|
1996 |
John Birt |
Director general, BBC
|
1997 |
Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran |
Television comedy scriptwriters and programme creators
|
1998 |
Peter Bazalgette |
Managing director, Bazal
|
1999 |
Richard Eyre |
Chief executive, ITV Network
|
2000 |
Greg Dyke |
Director general, BBC
|
2001 |
David Liddiment |
Director of channels, ITV Network
|
2002 |
Mark Thompson |
Chief executive, Channel 4
|
2003 |
Tony Ball |
Chief executive, BSkyB
|
2004 |
John Humphrys |
Broadcaster and journalist
|
2005 |
Lord Birt |
Former director general, BBC
|
2006 |
Charles Allen |
Chief executive, ITV
|
2007 |
Jeremy Paxman |
Broadcaster and presenter of Newsnight (BBC)
|
2008 |
Peter Fincham |
Director of Television, ITV
|
2009 |
James Murdoch |
Chairman and chief executive, Europe and Asia, News Corporation
|
2010 |
Mark Thompson |
Director general, BBC
|
2011 |
Eric Schmidt |
US citizen, executive chairman, Google
|
2012 |
Elisabeth Murdoch |
Chairman, Shine Group
|
2013 |
Kevin Spacey |
American actor, director and producer
|
2014 |
David Abraham |
Chief executive, Channel 4
|
2015 |
Armando Iannucci |
Broadcaster, writer, director and producer
|
2016 |
Shane Smith |
Canadian journalist and chief executive of Vice Media[3]
|
2017 |
Jon Snow |
Journalist and broadcaster[4]
|
2018 |
Michaela Coel |
Actress and writer
|
2019
|
Dorothy Byrne
|
Head of News and Current Affairs, Channel 4
|
2020
|
David Olusoga
|
Historian and broadcaster
|
2021
|
Jack Thorne
|
Screenwriter and playwright[5]
|
2022
|
Emily Maitlis
|
Journalist and broadcaster[6]
|
2023
|
Louis Theroux
|
Journalist, broadcaster and author[7]
|