Iraq war coverage: In contrast to the spirited defence of United States policy by Lord Black, the journalist and writer Robert Fisk told the conference that the American and British military had lied in Iraq to journalists and the public, writes Emmet Oliver.
In an address to the World Editors Forum, Mr Fisk, a journalist with the London Independent, said: "The horrific Saddam lied to us, the Americans lied to us and yes, the British lied to us."
He cited the bombing of the Palestine Hotel by the US army as an example of lies told during the Iraqi conflict.
"As for the shell that hit the Palestine Hotel and killed my colleagues, the commander of the US first infantry division claimed that light arms fire had been directed at his tank on the bridge, that the tank had fired at the hotel and the shooting ceased. This was a lie. I was between the tank and the hotel and there was no shooting. Had there been, I would not have been on the streets myself that morning".
Mr Fisk defended his recent coverage of the war, saying that events had vindicated him. "At the time I was condemned for using the word 'liberated' in quotation marks. I suggested this was occupation - and far fewer people would argue with that description today," he said.
Mr Fisk said the language used in journalism and in news programmes was never more important.
"Take the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Occupied? Well, of course. But not if you read many reports in the United States. For ever since Colin Powell sent a memo to US embassies in the region, telling them to describe the territories as disputed, many papers now faithfully follow the AP wire, there is a rule never to call these lands occupied," he said.
Mr Fisk said the why question had to be asked. Referring to September 11th, 2001, he said: "Merely to ask why 19 killers could strike down more than 3,000 innocents was the equivalent of journalistic thought crime. We were allowed to know who did it, their identities, how they hijacked four aircraft - but not to ask the question why," he said.
The 10th World Editors Forum continues today in the RDS with particular emphasis on how to run efficient newspapers while also producing quality journalism.
A small group of protesters from the anti-capitalist movement, Globalise Resistance, held peaceful pickets at the congress meetings at the RDS and the Guinness Storehouse. The demonstrators held aloft placards which read "corporate media weapons of mass destruction".