The future of the BBC and European public broadcasting in the wake of Britain's Hutton inquiry will be the focus of a conference in May organised by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

IFJ and its U.K. affiliate, the National Union of Journalists, are holding a conference on 22 May, 2004 in London, which will examine the potential impacts of the Hutton inquiry's findings on the BBC and on public broadcasting in other European countries. The Hutton inquiry into the death of David Kelly, a British civil servant, chastised the BBC over its reporting of the government's decision to invade Iraq.

IFJ warns that while the BBC made mistakes in its reporting, there is a danger that criticism of its actions could spark a "witch-hunt against public service broadcasting at a time when private media are clamouring for deregulation and the break-up of public media institutions."

Broadcast journalists from Italy, Denmark and Portugal will share insights on government interference in their countries. Participants will discuss future campaigns to defend and promote public broadcasting.

For more information, contact Marc Gruber of IFJ (marc.gruber@ifj.org)

Visit IFJ's "Save Public Broadcasting Campaign" website: http://www.save-public-broadcasting.org