The 50th MacTaggart Lecture: James Harding, Editor-in-Chief of The Observer | Edinburgh TV Festival

Since 1976 the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture has been the centrepiece of the Edinburgh TV Festival. It provokes and inspires debate, conversation and change. Joining a long list of thinkers and luminaries, Editor-in-Cheif of The Observer and founder of Tortoise Media, James Harding delivers the landmark 50th lecture. Harding is Editor-in-Chief of The Observer and founder of Tortoise Media. He previously served as Director of News and Current Affairs at the BBC from 2012 to 2018. He was Editor of The Times from 2007 to 2012, winning Newspaper of the Year in two of the five years he edited the paper. He was previously The Times’s Business Editor, having joined from The Financial Times where he worked as Washington Bureau Chief, Media Editor, and China Correspondent – opening the paper’s bureau in Shanghai in 1996, the first European newspaper to do so since the 1949 revolution. Harding is the author of Alpha Dogs – How Political Spin Became a Global Business and co-presented On Background on the BBC World Service. 2025 Festival Advisory Chair and Bad Wolf CEO, Jane Tranter, says: “In James’ hands, our lecture promises to be a provocative, kick-ass and insightful view from a visionary leader. We couldn’t ask for more.” Subscribe for more: http://bit.ly/EdFestSub Find out more here: https://bit.ly/1SiJFQb #EdTVFest