Mr William Horsley
Senior Research Fellow
Research keywords: Journalism, media freedom, democracy
William Horsley is an Executive Board member of the Commonwealth Journalists Association and co-chair of the Working Group which published the Commonwealth Principles on Freedom of Expression and the Role of the Media in Good Governance in 2018. For over 30 years William reported on major world events as a BBC foreign correspondent active mainly across Europe and Asia, and as a TV and radio presenter. He is also international director of the Centre for Freedom of the Media at the University of Sheffield, which holds the UNESCO chair on media freedom and the issue of impunity; and he sits on the UK Advisory Board of Reporters Without Borders. He has advised UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on issues and action-oriented policies related to media freedom and the rule of law.
His publications include:
- OSCE Safety of Journalists Guidebook (2020)
- UNESCO Issue Brief on Freedom of Expression and the Safety of Foreign Correspondents (2021)
- A Mission to Inform: Journalists at risk speak out (Council of Europe, 2020).
William writes the CFOM International Director’s blog and contributes and broadcasts on media and international issues for the BBC, Al Jazeera, The Round Table, The World Today (Chatham House), Open Democracy and other media.