Media Masters

Rick Wilson is a political strategist, media consultant, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of The Lincoln Project. Described as “one of the best political analysts of our times” and “the father of the attack ad,” he has an award-winning column in The Daily Beast, and also writes for The Washington Post and The Spectator. In this in-depth interview, Rick shares how The Lincoln Project was born and takes us behind the scenes of some of their most provocative and attention-grabbing campaigns; slams Fox News as an “alternative version of reality” and a “sewage pipe of misinformation and conspiracy;” and reflects on the downfall of his former boss Rudy Giuliani, as a stark example of “unspeakable tragedy -  someone who hasn’t fallen from grace, but fallen from legacy.” 

Alvin Hall is a broadcaster, author and financial educator. Beginning his career on Wall Street, a chance encounter with a BBC producer led to an unexpected career detour - becoming one of the UK’s most prominent business TV presenters, hosting BBC flagship programmes and landing the beeb’s first-ever interview with Jay-Z. A successful author, his best-seller ‘You and Your Money: It’s More than Just the Numbers’ has helped millions take control of their finances. In this in-depth interview, Alvin takes us behind the scenes of his hit podcast ‘Driving the Green Book,’ his first-person reportage following the original journey from Detroit to New Orleans, and his examination of America’s Jim Crow laws and long-standing history of racism; shares how growing up in poverty in Florida and then making a fortune on Wall Street drove his passion for teaching financial literacy - to guide others on avoiding poverty and start building wealth; and reflects on memorable on-screen moments - including the famous out-take of him standing in a field doing a piece to camera, sporting his iconic bow tie... only to be repeatedly attacked by a flock of ostriches. 

Alessandra Galloni is global managing editor at Reuters. Established in 1851, the organisation comprises 2,500 journalists, working in 16 languages across 200 locations in over 100 countries. Her bestselling 2013 book, “From the End of the Earth to Rome,” profiles Pope Francis and his unexpected election as pontiff. Beginning her career at The Wall Street Journal, she spent over a decade as correspondent, economics writer and editor in multiple locations including New York, London, Paris and Rome, before joining Reuters in 2013. In this in-depth interview, she paints a picture of a newsroom “bombarded by a huge attempt at misinformation” from governments (including China, Russia and the US) who have “seriously underplayed the severity of the disease;” outlines the challenges tackling the false claims of the Trump administration - and advocates that the occasional killing of a story is “the ultimate act of journalistic bravery;” and reflects on some of the more unusual moments of her career - the first to get an on-the-record quote from a mafia boss, and the only one so far to have expensed a latex bodysuit.

Kyle Pope is editor and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review - an essential publication for journalists, and respected watchdog of the press. Starting out as an editor at The Wall Street Journal, Kyle then moved to The New York Observer as editor-in-chief, joining CJR in 2016. In this in-depth interview, he recalls his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, where he argued that Congress had “failed to stand up for press freedom” whilst “under attack” from President Trump; shares his perspective on the role Covid-19 has played in reinforcing the need for a local press - as “granular information became a matter of life or death;” and questions whether it’s possible for a Biden White House to normalise relations with the media, noting the damage caused by Trump may well be “irrecoverable.”

Laura Wilshaw is editor of ITV News at Ten. She previously held senior positions at Euronews, 5 News, NBC and Sky News, and her team was recently shortlisted for a BAFTA. In this in-depth interview, she reflects on this year’s “incredible news cycle” and the multifaceted editorial & logistical challenges brought on by the pandemic; ponders on the ethics of balancing human empathy with the responsibility to report fairly when covering sensitive (yet divisive) issues such as the UK’s migrant crisis; and shares her passion for increasing the representation of women in newsrooms - recognising how her mentoring of other women who aspire to work in television news is bolstered by her own “non-traditional route” (and late entry) into the industry.

Jonathan Munro is the BBC’s Head of Newsgathering, leading the day-to-day activity and deployments of all journalists working across the network’s 60 international bureaux. Prior to this he spent 26 years at ITN joining as an editorial trainee, and ultimately becoming their Correspondent reporting on stories in the US, Russia and Africa. In this in-depth interview, Jonathan describes the challenges of covering a year of “a lot of shade and not much light” - including Covid-19, Brexit and the Presidential election; discusses incoming D-G Tim Davie’s new social media impartiality guidelines, and their efforts to improve on-screen diversity; and shares lessons learnt following the BBC’s controversial coverage of the aborted police investigation into Sir Cliff Richard. 

Professor Sir David Omand was the first UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, and formerly director of GCHQ. Spending much of his career leading the UK’s national counter-terrorism strategy, he was directly responsible to the prime minister for homeland security. His book ‘How Spies Think: 10 Lessons in Intelligence’ is described as a “call to arms for more rational decision-making” and shares the spooks’ problem-solving skills. In this in-depth interview, Sir David argues the government has “failed to protect its citizens” against Covid-19 - after several warnings that a global pandemic was likely - and warns we now have “years of great disturbance” ahead; blames “disinformation, conspiracy theorists and social giants” for encouraging division and “creating a fundamentally fragmented society;” and recalls the pressure of making judgements then delivering difficult news to the PM - including giving the order to “ready the fleet” after warning Margaret Thatcher that Argentina was about to invade the Falkland Islands, and his ringside seat whilst Tony Blair dealt with 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq. 

Nicholas Coleridge is chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Beginning his career as a journalist at Tatler, he moved to the Evening Standard as a columnist, and was appointed editor of Harpers & Queen (now Harper’s Bazaar) at age 29. Joining Conde Nast in 1989 he spent 26 years at the top, overseeing some of the world’s leading brands such as GQ and Vogue, operating in 32 markets and reaching over 400 million. An author of fourteen books, his renowned memoir ‘The Glossy Years’ recounts his experiences as a socialite, attending parties with Princess Diana; and his adventures as a journalist, including a brief spell in a Sri Lankan prison. In this in-depth conversation, he describes the incredible challenge the pandemic has brought to the museum sector - noting the V&A has lost 75% of its visitors, he discusses the long-term viability of maintaining the nation’s cultural heritage; reflects on the exciting day-to-day of the media industry and his experience launching the staple magazines Vanity Fair, Wired and Glamour; and fondly explains why he will forever be “an optimist for print.” 

John Battelle is co-founder and CEO of Recount Media. Founded in 2018, they have developed “a new approach to politics” that “won’t waste your time,” by collating current affairs content to create videos that reflect the modern consumers’ shorter attention span. His eclectic career has encompassed two professorships and co-founding Wired magazine. He also wrote the best-selling book, ‘The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture,’ regarded as the definitive take on the subject. In this in-depth interview, John reflects on a long career in the media industry, seeing it lose almost half of its journalists and suggests what must be done to tackle its decline; argues that big tech are stifling smaller companies’ ability to innovate by withholding data from developers and creators; and in the lead up to an election marred by fake news and disinformation, shares his frustrations that “free speech doesn’t mean free reach” - and how the election result may need a ‘recount’ in more ways than one... 

Scott Omelianuk is the newly appointed editor-in-chief of ‘Inc.’ Founded in 1979, the award-winning magazine focuses on inspiring entrepreneurs and has a monthly reach of 25m. In an eclectic journalism career, taking in positions at both GQ and Esquire, Scott has also been a film producer, and presented several TV shows across fashion and design. In this in-depth interview, the self-described “under-achieving entrepreneur” explains how a series of failed ventures has given him an admiration for business people and a determination to help inspire and equip them to succeed; shares concern over the “win at all costs” attitude of today’s social giants, and how their huge footprint forces smaller brands to compete for resource and money; argues how the US government letting businesses down amidst the pandemic (and recent social unrest), puts responsibility on companies to lead the way and use their power to “do the right thing.”