Media Masters

Eric Schurenberg is CEO of Mansueto Ventures, publishers of iconic business magazines ‘Inc.’ and ‘Fast Company.’ Founded in 2005, and with a team of over one hundred, their mission is to inspire and inform the business leaders of the future. Over two decades, Eric’s career has spanned both business and finance, beginning on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs, before moving into journalism with stints at BNET and CBS MoneyWatch. In this in-depth interview, Eric argues there is still “real magic” and potential in the printed page, despite the growth of digital; talks passionately about diversifying the boards of corporate America, and the genuine company and employee benefit of opening up opportunities and welcoming differing perspectives; and shares his fears that if the US “closes its borders” post-election, this would “deny employers much-needed talent” and lead to “economic suicide.”

Robert Wolf is an entrepreneur, investor and board member of the Obama Foundation. Known to many as ‘the Dem on Fox,’ he is a regular contributor on Fox News and Fox Business, challenging Republicans and arguing the Democrats’ position. Starting out as a “brash punky-type kid,” in a meteoric career on Wall Street he spent a decade at Salomon Brothers, before 18 years at UBS saw him rise through the ranks, ending up as Chairman and CEO of UBS Americas. In 2009, President Obama appointed him as economic advisor, tasked with focussing on job creation, economic recovery and US exports. In this in-depth interview - and with the Presidential election just weeks away - he discusses the prospects of a Biden victory, the commotion of the campaign so far and addresses fears that Trump will not leave the White House without a fight; reflects on his efforts to guide President Obama through the precarious economic circumstances following the global recession of 2008; and shares anecdotes of time spent with the Obama and Biden families - golfing with the President, his long friendship with VP Biden - and considers whether former First Lady Michelle Obama would (or should) run for election.

Craig Newmark is the founder of Craigslist. Established in 1995, it’s one of the world’s most popular websites, active in 700 cities across 70 countries. Stepping away from day-to-day management of the site in 2000 to become a full-time philanthropist, Craig is a passionate campaigner for a free and fair press - supporting journalism, and combatting disinformation. In this in-depth interview, he recalls the journey of Craigslist from an obscure email distribution platform built in his bedroom into the $3bn global behemoth it is today; likens his philanthropic mission to stand up for a free media to that of a “combat engineer, fighting to preserve western democracy” from its “biggest enemy” which he calls “information warfare;” and shares his deeply-held belief that the media is “the immune system of democracy” - arguing that much of it is “failing the American people at the time they most need it.”

Toby Young is a writer, social commentator - and one of the most provocative voices in Britain. In his thirty years in journalism, he founded The Modern Review with Julie Burchill in 1991, has spent over two decades at The Spectator, and is associate editor at Quillette magazine. His memoir of time spent at Vanity Fair in New York, ‘How To Lose Friends and Alienate People’ was turned into a Hollywood film. In this in-depth interview, Toby argues that the government-enforced lockdown has failed to balance public health with science and the sustainability of the economy, and his motivation to campaign against these “disproportionate measures;” contends that so-called ‘cancel culture’ is a “resurgence of Puritanism,” and recalls his own ‘cancellation’ when he “lost five jobs to the Twitter mob;” his experience encouraged him to set up the Free Speech Union to support those who are, in his opinion, fellow victims of the rising precariousness of free speech.

Naomi Kerbel is head of television, radio scheduling and special projects at Bloomberg, and creator of the acclaimed podcast ‘Show Me The Way.’ Beginning her career as an actress, she then moved into business as an associate at Goldman Sachs, when a chance encounter with Jeremy Vine put her on the path to journalism. Soon after, she rose through the ranks at CNBC before moving to Sky News as business editor. Her passion for diversity and inclusion inspired her podcast, which provides a platform for successful women to share their stories and challenges. In this in-depth interview, Naomi discusses the Black Lives Matter movement and her hopes that this will reshape the workplace; argues that personal branding “is crucial,” with a particular focus on “leveraging your life through your wardrobe;” and explains how Bloomberg is meeting the challenges of unverified clickbait and an increasingly pressured media marketplace.

Eliot Higgins is the founder and chief executive of Bellingcat, the investigative journalism ‘collective’ responsible for “uncovering wrongdoing all around the world”.  Founded in 2014 with HQ in the Netherlands, they have 18 employees and more than 30 contributors around the world. Pioneers of open-source journalism, their forensic research of publicly available data and ‘citizen-journalist analysis’ uses techniques such as ‘geo-location’ to pinpoint exact locations through satellite imagery to corroborate or disprove claims. Their work uncovering cases of child abuse in Ukraine was nominated for the 2020 European Press Prize for Innovation. In this in-depth interview, Eliot describes how they identified the Russian rocket-launcher which brought down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17; explains how they uncovered the identities of the Russian agents involved in the Salisbury novichok poisoning; and discusses the threats they face - online and physical - from those trying to frustrate their work, including governments and secret services.

Christophe Deloire is Secretary-General of Reporters Sans Frontières, known internationally as Reporters Without Borders. Founded in Paris in 1985, it’s the world’s biggest NGO “specialising in the defence of media freedom” and has over 150 correspondents covering ten international bureaux, and a €6m budget. Since 2002 their annual ‘World Press Freedom Index’ has measured the level of media freedom in 180 countries.  Before taking the reins in 2016, Christophe ran the Journalists’ Training Centre in Paris, and spent nine years as an investigative reporter for 'Le Point.' He is also a documentary maker and author of several bestsellers. In this in-depth interview, Christophe reveals the extraordinary fact that nearly half of the world’s population still lacks access to free information; argues these are the most perilous times for journalists in terms of their physical safety, coming under targeted attack as never before; and discusses the night they turned off the Eiffel Tower’s lights to pay tribute to murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Peter Wanless is chief executive of the NSPCC, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Before taking the reins in 2013 he was CEO of the Big Lottery Fund, and prior to that held a number of senior civil service jobs across Whitehall, working directly with senior ministers including Michael Portillo, David Blunkett and John Major. In this in-depth interview, he argues children are the “hidden victims” of the pandemic, noting a 37% rise in calls to Childline from children under 11; describes the challenges the NSPCC faces as charity fundraising comes under unprecedented pressure, and as a former senior civil servant discusses the opportunities and risks that the government’s planned shake-up will bring. 

One of the best-known TV journalists in the UK, Mark Austin presents ‘The News Hour’ on Sky News. Beginning his career at the Bournemouth Daily Echo in 1976, he joined ITN in 1986 and presented ITV News at 10 for well over a decade, which was twice awarded the Royal Television Society ‘Programme of the Year’. He left ITV News in 2017 after just shy of three decades, and joined Sky News, initially reporting from the U.S. before returning to the studio. In this in-depth interview, Mark recounts his adventures on the front line, reporting on events such as 9/11, both Iraq invasions, genocide in Bosnia, and winning a BAFTA for his recent coverage of the Hong Kong protests; reflects on the 2003 death of his ITN colleague Terry Lloyd, killed by US forces’ friendly fire in Iraq; and talks about the international friendships he’s made along the way including, notably, Nelson Mandela.

Neil Brown is president of The Poynter Institute for Media Studies. Founded in 1975, based in Florida and with a team of over 50 people, the Institute aims to “improve journalism and strengthen democracy around the world”.  Joining as president in 2017 after 24 years at the Tampa Bay Times (seven of which as editor) while under his leadership the title won dozens of awards, including six Pulitzers. In this in-depth interview, Neil argues that media organisations shedding journalists is placing journalism itself in peril, and undermining democracy; charts the progress of PolitiFacts, their fact-checking tool which rates politicians’ claims on their ‘Truth-O-Meter’; and describes the key role fact-checking and media ethics will play during the forthcoming US Presidential election - where the sitting President seemingly “has little regard” for either.