ITV News special correspondent, Rageh Omaar, who made his name reporting on the Iraq invasion for BBC, met Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Howard Newby and Lady Shelia Newby ahead of his lecture at the University’s What does 2020 look like? Security and Conflict lecture series, held at St George’s Hall. Rageh made four predictions for the future, including the beginning of the end of political Islam, and the growth of Africa as one of the biggest global economies.
The Vice-Chancellor introduced the lecture in the Great Hall, discussing Rageh’s career at the BBC his role as the Middle Eastern correspondent for Al Jazeera; and his success leading investigative documentaries on world affairs.
Rageh also predicted the demise of in-depth international news analysis, describing the coverage of world news as an ‘echo chamber’ where competition for news stories across a growing network of media outlets results in events being repeated and magnified to keep 24 hour news moving.
