This conference marks the centenary of W.T. Stead’s death on the Titanic and is the first to commemorate the life and achievements of this remarkable man. 

It aims to recover his extraordinary influence on English culture from 1870 and, in his spirit, it will investigate the current revolution in newspapers and print journalism in the age of digital news.

When Stead died, he was a towering presence in Britain and the US. An inveterate campaigner, he pursued imperialism, social reform – and purity, international peace and women’s rights. As editor and publisher, he pioneered the new journalism and the modern tabloid.  His advocacy of ‘government by journalism’ helped launch military and parliamentary campaigns. His exposé of child prostitution raised the age of consent to 16, yet he was jailed for his investigative journalism.

Keynote speakers include:

Laurel Brake, Professor...

The WTSRS has been credited in two recent and well received works.  The first, Our People: The Story of William and Catherine Booth is a DVD documentary, produced by Radiant Films, which charts the foundation and history of The Salvation Army, from William Booth's early years as a Methodist minister to his momentous decision to found the now international Christian movement.

One of the most extraordinary accounts of Stead comes from Aaron Watson, a journalist who had worked under him for a time at the Pall Mall Gazette.

“He lived in Wimbledon,” declares Watson, “and got into town by a train arriving at 8.20.   By that time he new everything that was in the papers, down to the inquests, though he had been out on Wimbledon Common with his children, in a dressing gown, giving each of the young ones a ride on a little donkey that he owned.   One morning, very early, he received important news, and arrived in town much in advance of the train, wearing the dressing gown, and riding on the donkey.   He was insensible to ridicule, except, perhaps, in the sense that it pleased him more to be laughed at than not noticed at all.”

“When he was at the Consulate at Newcastle,” continues Watson, “he caught the office mice, cooked them with nice care, and served...