Krishnan Guru-Murthy at the Oxford Media Society
20 November 2018
Third-year student Miranda Ryan (2015, Economics & Management) attended the recent talk by Krishnan Guru-Murthy (1989, PPE) hosted by the Oxford Media Society at Herford College.
Having attended enough Hertford Business & Economics Society talks in my time, I was pleased to see how full Hertford’s Baring Room was in anticipation for one of Channel 4’s biggest journalists. My key takeaway from the night was, as it often is, to maintain and increase my engagement with current affairs and to keep my brain stimulated by the bigger pictures of the world.
Krishnan was interviewed by the Oxford Media Society’s impressively young and Nick Ferrari like President. Will took up a seat amongst the audience this time, and I wondered whether he had the itch to get up and take over questioning at any point, given that he has done it for so long. Krishnan’s honesty and thoughtful responses to questioning were incredibly refreshing, garnering my respect for him even beyond watching some of his interviews. He covered diversity in political journalism and news presenting, an industry I’d always been somewhat intimidated by. Krishnan noted the even more damning imbalances off screen, away from the critique of campaigners.
Perhaps my second biggest takeaway from the evening was Krishnan’s unbelievable history of links to the industry. From the age of 15, Krishnan attended BBC Broadcasts as an audience member and was quickly picked up due to his apt nature and consistent curiosity. His modest declaration that all you needed was a ‘thirst for the truth’ was almost laughable given his clear intelligence and drive.
Sitting next to Krishnan at dinner heightened the surreal nature of the evening. It was also calming in almost equal measure due to Krishnans relaxed attitude and transparent desire to discuss and debate, to which I felt I could give at least some contribution. Debates between students ensued as we meandered through career discussions and the US elections to the word on everyone’s lips: Brexit. Given that the readers of this piece are likely to be self selected engaged individuals, I’m embarrassed to admit how little I know about its technicalities. I made generalised points, and steered discussions toward class issues, something that I probably bring up almost daily to anyone who will listen. As Krishnan’s contributions started to wane and he yearned for London, I was thankful to Rosa (a fellow Hertford student) who persuaded him to pop briefly dtb.