The University of Westminster is hosting a two-day conference entitled ‘Journalism in Crisis.’

Keynote speakers from across the industry gathered in the capital yesterday and today to discuss training, connecting with audiences, citizen journalism and new developments among many other topics.

The sombre-sounding conference, organised by the university’s journalism and mass communication department, will review the current threats to the practice of journalism and examine some of the developing alternatives.

The conference will conclude with the inaugural Charles Wheeler Award for outstanding contribution to broadcast journalism.

The memorial lecture will be given by Mark Thompson, director general of the BBC. Charles Wheeler was a BBC reporter who died last summer.

Seminar panellists include Independent editor Roger Alton, former Society of Editor president Simon Bucks and Dorothy Byrne from Channel 4 News.