Media Masters

Will Young is a singer-songwriter and actor. Since winning the first series of ITV talent show Pop Idol in 2002, he has released six chart-topping albums and four number one singles. He is now co-host of the popular ‘Homo Sapiens’ podcast, a “queer Woman’s Hour” which has featured interviews with a string of well-known guests including Alan Cumming, Julian Clary, Margaret Cho, Clare Balding and Sam Smith alongside poignant stories from everyday heroes. In this in-depth interview, he explains why it’s important for him to live in the moment, describes what it’s like returning to music at 40 – and reveals the real reason he walked out on Strictly Come Dancing.

Lydia Polgreen is editor-in-chief of Huffington Post. Appointed in 2016, she oversees content and direction for the site, which has 170 million readers worldwide. Prior to her current role, she spent 15 years at the New York Times, where she covered conflict, democracy building and development in West Africa. In this in-depth interview, Lydia describes the “enormous responsibility” of upholding the legacy of the iconic brand, recalls how living through a coup in Kenya as a child inspired her to become a journalist, and argues that being a “queer black woman” gives her a stronger insight into diversity issues.

Professor Richard Sambrook is director of the Centre for Journalism at Cardiff University. His first job at the BBC was in local radio. He then moved over to TV news as a producer and quickly rose through the ranks, securing a variety of roles including news editor, head of BBC Sport, director of news and finally head of the World Service. He also played a key role in the roll-out of 24-hour news, and the launch of Radio 5 Live. In this in-depth interview, Richard shares how he led the BBC’s response to the Hutton Inquiry over the so-called “sexed-up” Iraq war dossier, describes his role in lobbying for the safety of journalists worldwide as chair of the Frontline Club; and discusses his academic work, including a forensic analysis of the connection between fake news and press freedom.

Tina Brown is an award-winning journalist, podcaster and author. Previously editor of both Vanity Fair and the New Yorker, she founded The Daily Beast and has written two best-selling books. She also created Women in the World, the annual “live journalism” summit attended by global thought leaders such as Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton and Melinda Gates. In this in-depth interview, she talks us through her legendary editorships, argues how podcasting fills the gap in the market for intelligent ideas  – and explains why she’s not interested in “empowerment venting”.

Ken Hertz is an entertainment lawyer and prominent Hollywood dealmaker. A senior partner in Hertz, Lichtenstein and Young, he counts Will Smith, will.i.am, Gwen Stefani and Celine Dion among his clients. He also founded brand agency MemBrain, which advises the world’s most recognised brands, including McDonald’s, Hasbro and Intel. In this in-depth interview, he describes the brutal truth of the “fame lottery”, reveals what it really takes to make it in Hollywood – and argues that now is the time “where anyone can truly be anything”.

Martin Brunt is crime correspondent for Sky News. He has been with the channel since its launch in 1989, spending the first five years as a general reporter before moving to his now-familiar role covering stories from grisly murders to acts of heroism. In this in-depth interview, Martin discusses how the relationship between the press and the police has changed over the last 30 years, describes how he balances reporting under court restrictions with the demands of live TV – and shares his sadness at the tragic and far-reaching consequences he has witnessed around the Madeleine McCann case.

James Wildman is CEO of Hearst UK. As the country’s largest premium magazine publisher, it has a circulation of 5.3 million and a digital footprint of over 20 million through magazines including Elle, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar. Appointed in 2017, James has harnessed their best-known brands to expand into new products and services such as content creation, events, hotels and homewares. In this in-depth interview, he talks us through his career including previous roles at Trinity Mirror, Yahoo and Virgin Media, discusses how Hearst competes for ad revenue against the “duopoly” of Facebook and Google, and reveals how a period of extraordinary growth has seen the publisher “get its swagger back”.

Darren Childs is chief executive of UKTV. Appointed in 2010, he previously held senior positions at BBC Worldwide, Sony Pictures and Star TV. Starting life in 1992 as a single channel, UKTV is now one of the UK’s largest television companies with more than 100 original shows in production and a 10% share of the commercial TV audience.  In this in-depth interview, recorded days before his resignation, Darren discusses the “creative arms race” created by the rise in streaming services, outlines how he has addressed the challenge of staying relevant to younger audiences as they turn their backs on scheduled viewing – and describes why “best mate” channel Dave is such a success.

Rachel Jupp is editor of BBC Panorama. Appointed to the role in 2016, she was previously head of home news at Channel 4 News and deputy editor at Newsnight. First broadcast in 1953, Panorama is the world’s longest-running current affairs programme, turning the lens on criminals, corporations and governments to expose wrongdoing. In this in-depth interview, Rachel describes the significant responsibility of taking on challenging investigations, discusses the importance of impartiality in pursuing stories “without fear or favour” – and explains how their report on the gender pay gap demonstrates that even the BBC itself is not immune from investigation.

Stephanie Mehta is editor-in-chief of Fast Company. Her career has so far taken her from the Wall Street Journal to Fortune, Bloomberg and Vanity Fair, where she was deputy editor. Now approaching her first anniversary in the editor’s chair, she oversees the magazine’s editorial and design vision with the aim of recognising “the human side” of business. Stephanie is also responsible for expanding the brand into new territory, including “live journalism” through its annual Innovation Festival. In this in-depth interview, she recalls what drew her to the business beat, delves into the inner workings of the magazine’s newsgathering operation, and discusses the renewed obligation of business to engage more constructively with communities.