MY TALK at the Cambridge Union Society tonight will focus on the urgent need for tabloid reform, in terms of tone, style, content and format, if we are to survive the coming decade as a meaningful force in journalism.

I will examine how the tabloid industry arrived at the crisis we now face and how we can rebuild the trust of readers.

I conclude that only reform of revolutionary proportions will save many newspapers from extinction. And that there are already early signs of that revolution beginning to take form.

I also examine News International's role in the plot to spy on members of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee - as recently revealed in Tom Watson's book -  and the significance of that committee's report into phone hacking last week.

The impact of the Leveson Inquiry is also addressed and how it could be a springboard to creating a tabloid culture more in keeping with changing tastes and public expectations.

The Press Association will receive excerpts today and has been granted access to the chamber, along with a photographer.