Media Masters

John Paton is chairman of the Independent and Evening Standard, and a non-executive director at the Home Office. With a long career as an executive and investor, he has led media companies across the US, Canada and Europe, overseen $7bn in financial transactions, and has previously served on the board of prominent organisations such as the Guardian Media Group. In this in-depth interview, John outlines their ambitious plans for global growth - having abandoned the Independent’s paper edition, the now-digital operation is “hugely profitable” and “targeting $100m in revenue;” describes their strategy to overcome the enormous challenge the Evening Standard has faced with an “empty London;” and takes us behind the scenes of his working relationship with two high-profile and enigmatic figures - Lord Evgeny Lebedev, and the home secretary Priti Patel. 

Paul Tweed is an international media lawyer. One of the world’s foremost reputation managers, he has never lost a libel case, and has an impressive roster of clients including Liam Neeson, The Duchess of York, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez, Harrison Ford and Johnny Depp. In this in-depth interview, Paul takes us behind-the-scenes of some of his most high-profile cases, including an early win for Britney Spears, for whom he was the first in the business to obtain a media apology; argues that the law must be strengthened to protect us from online giants, who “believe they are so powerful that the rules do not apply;” and expresses his strong support for “protecting investigative journalism at all costs,” noting his long history representing both reporters and MPs, he explains why we’re still yet to see the full threat posed by fake news and the impact this will have on the media.  

Tom Rogers is a media and technology industry leader who has revolutionised TV business news and TV itself. Best known for his time as the first-ever president of NBC Cable, he created CNBC and MSNBC and then spent eleven years as President of TiVo - transforming TV consumption globally and bringing Amazon & Netflix to our screens. In 2006, he received an Emmy for outstanding contribution to the development of television, and was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame. In this in-depth interview, Tom reflects on the incredible journey launching iconic news brands, CNBC and MSNBC - amidst the industry’s conventional wisdom that CNN’s dominance could never be challenged; describes the serious threat cable is under with the competition posed by increasingly popular streaming platforms calling its very survival into question; and shares his predictions for broadcasting’s future - and how the entertainment landscape is set to be dominated by esports and gaming. 

Andy Coulson is a strategic media advisor to CEOs and global leaders. In a meteoric career which included editing the News of the World and serving as Prime Minister David Cameron’s director of communications, it all came crashing down in 2014 when he was convicted of conspiring to intercept communications and sent to prison. Andy apologised for making significant mistakes as editor but denied - and still denies - breaking the law. In this in-depth interview, Andy reflects on the lessons learned from his time in jail and how “reverting back to his journalistic instincts” boosted his resilience and fortitude; shares the ambition behind his podcast ‘Crisis What Crisis,’ which features a diverse array of high-profile guests - and aims to give listeners practical “landing lights” to help overcome their own difficulties; and criticises the government for aspects of their handling of pandemic communication - arguing that their “disease of don’t know ... may have, at times, needlessly eroded public confidence.”

Tim Harford OBE is an economist, writer and broadcaster. A Financial Times senior columnist, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s ‘More or Less,’ TedX speaker and honorary fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, he was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to improving economic understanding. His best-selling book ‘The Undercover Economist’ enlightened millions of readers about the economic principles powering everyday life. In this in-depth interview, Tim discusses his mission to encourage people to have a positive and “healthy scepticism” towards statistics and data, as the best way to tackle fake news and widespread misinformation; shares his motivation for writing his latest book where he tempts his readers to share his love of statistics; and argues that the UK government needs to “get its priorities right on research” - with more money currently being spent on measuring sport than on crime… 

Julia Angwin is co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Markup. Founded in 2019, the nonprofit newsroom has pioneered open-source data journalism to hold Big Tech to account and assess its impact on society. A winner (and two-time finalist) of the Pulitzer Prize, Julia previously held senior positions at ProPublica and The Wall Street Journal, and is author of the best-selling book ‘Dragnet Nation,’ a searing exposé of America’s “surveillance economy.” In this in-depth interview, Julia shares the reasons behind their newsroom’s determination to tackle fake news, and give their readers the tools to decipher between truth and propaganda; expresses her concern that social giants’ decisions are taken behind a “veil of secrecy” and The Markup’s mission to “stem the power grab from these largely unregulated platforms;” and describes how witnessing the recent riots at the US Capitol has redoubled her passion, determination and commitment to journalism itself... as “necessary for democracy.”

Errin Haines is founder and editor-at-large of The 19th*. Founded a year ago and based in Austin, Texas, the nonprofit, non-partisan newsroom covers the intersection of women, politics and policy. Named after the US Constitution’s 19th Amendment, their mission is to encourage the participation and representation of marginalised people in democracy. Her career has taken in senior positions at the Associated Press, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and she is also a regular on-air contributor for MSNBC; and was recently appointed Ferris Professor at Princeton University, teaching a class on the role of race in the 2020 election. In this in-depth interview, Errin delves into her newsroom’s commitment to changing the narrative around underrepresented groups - and how their reporting avoids “cheap shots, cheerleading, partisanship and clickbait;” describes America’s recent “national reckoning” with insurmountable racial tensions and identity politics continually “shaping who and where we are as a country;” and shares her experience as a Black female reporter writing about President Trump’s racist rhetoric, and her hopes that Kamala Harris, the US’s first female, Black and south Asian to take the role, is the giant leap that American democracy needs. 

Jamie East is a broadcaster, journalist and podcaster. Known for his witty commentary on showbiz and entertainment, he started ‘Holy Moly’ in 2002, which went on to become one of Britain’s largest and most influential gossip sites. He has presented Channel 5’s ‘Big Brother’s Bit On The Side’ and ‘Thronecast’ for Sky Atlantic - and has recently launched his new daily podcast ‘The Smart 7’ which summaries the news in seven minutes. In this in-depth interview, Jamie argues that traditional celebrity culture is “dying” as celebrities no longer need to cooperate with journalists, due to Gen Z’s preference for social media and its influencers; shares his reasons for resigning from talkRADIO in protest at a fellow presenter ripping up his face mask live on air; and reflects on his entrepreneurial highs and lows - with ‘Holy Moly’ failing to fulfil its potential after he sold 50% of it to Endemol, and the huge success of ‘The Smart 7’ which has recently celebrated its two millionth download.

Melanie Leach is CEO of South Shore Productions, and has spent decades creating iconic programmes for the BBC, ITV, Netflix, and beyond. Her production credits include the Emmy award-winning ‘Educating’ series for Channel 4, ‘The Real Marigold Hotel’ for the BBC - and ‘Hotel Inspector,’ now Channel 5’s longest-running show. Launched in 2019, and backed financially by ITV Studios, South Shore creates documentary, popular factual and entertainment programmes for stations and streaming platforms globally. In this in-depth interview, Melanie takes us behind-the-scenes of the whole process in creating a TV show - from the initial idea, through production, and ultimately to broadcast; shares both frustration and optimism at the opportunities created by new streaming platforms, tempered with the almost insurmountable production difficulties created by Covid-19; and discusses her ongoing quest to create and deliver “the next TV show game-changer” equalling the impact of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire.’ 

Stephen Sackur is the presenter of BBC HARDTalk - the most popular news interview programme in the world, with 70 million viewers. Before this, he was an award-winning BBC foreign correspondent covering landmark global events such as 9/11, the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the civil war in Sri Lanka. In this in-depth interview, he takes us behind the scenes on the “crackling tension” in the HARDTalk studio; reflects on some of his career highlights, from the first ever on-screen interview with Hugo Chávez, to getting Dr Anthony Fauci’s take on America’s handling of the pandemic; and defends the “dying art” of the long-form interview, which remains “hugely important and very compelling.”