WHO do you rely on to bring you the news and stories you want to hear about today?

The national press? Your local newspaper? TV 24-hour news channels?Twitter?

In this digital age, anyone can set up an online newspaper, blog about current affairs or share stories via social media – whether of local or global interest.

At the same time, one of the biggest issues to arise recently is that of trust. If anyone can post “news” online, then how can we trust the source?

Then there is the phone hacking scandal, which resulted in the closure of The News of the World and is still being investigated. Royalty and celebrities were said to have been targeted, but perhaps the most shocking part was the allegations of voicemail hacking of phones belonging to the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, the mother of Sarah Payne, victims of the 7/7 bombings in London and relatives of British soldiers who had died.

The Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of the press began in November 2011 and its conclusions are being published tomorrow.

One of those giving evidence was MP Tom Watson, who will be visiting Huddersfield tomorrow to take part in a debate on The Future of Journalism.

The event is at 7pm at the University of Huddersfield.

Mr Watson, who once compared Rupert Murdoch to a “mafia boss” is also the co-author of Dial M for Murdoch: News Corporation and the Corruption of Britain, described by a review in The Guardian as “a tale of stupidity, incompetence, fear, intimidation, lying, downright wickedness and corruption in high places”.

A poll reported in the Press Gazette in September this year suggested that The Sun was the least trusted national newspaper in the UK, yet it still has by far the highest circulation.

Another study, carried out by Crowd DNA for the Newspaper Society, found that nearly three-quarters of people thought local newspapers help generate a sense of community and that four out of five people thought the recession had made supporting the local community more important.

As well as Tom Watson, the panel for The Future of Journalism will feature the editor of the Examiner, Roy Wright; senior lecturer in journalism at the University of Huddersfield, Dr Stephen Dorril; vice-president of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Adam Christie; editor of Yorkshire Women’s Life, Dawn-Maria France and digital journalist Asam Shah.

The topics up for debate will be directed by the audience – so if you want to come along and put your question to the panel, please book your place. This is a great opportunity for the public to meet and debate with those who bring us our news, however we choose to read it.

The Future of Journalism is a not-for-profit event presented by Key Words and the Huddersfield Creative Arts Network in collaboration with the Journalism and Media department at the University of Huddersfield.

Reserve your place at:

www.foj.eventbrite.co.uk or call 01484 430 228. Tickets are £5 (£2 concessions) plus an Evenbrite handling fee.

If you’d like to ask a question on the night, please book and send your name and question to: michelle@key-words.co.uk