Media Masters

Matt Murray is editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal. Attracted by the “compelling drama” of business journalism, he joined the paper as a reporter in 1994, rising through the ranks over 25 years and eventually securing the top job in 2018. Today, the paper is the biggest-selling broadsheet in the US, with a print circulation of 900,000 and two million digital subscribers – the most in its history. In this in-depth interview, Matt reflects on his long career, discusses the balancing act of supporting investors while holding businesses to account - and reveals what it’s really like working for Rupert Murdoch.

James Ball is an award-winning journalist and author. After completing a Master’s degree in investigative journalism aged 21, he cut his teeth at The Grocer before progressing to the Times, the Telegraph, Dispatches and Panorama. In 2010, he joined the Bureau of Investigative Journalism to work on the Iraq war documents, and was poached by Julian Assange to join WikiLeaks. He became the Guardian’s data editor in 2013 and was a key member of the tight-knit team investigating the documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, for which they won a Pulitzer Prize. In this in-depth interview, he describes the clandestine methods used to keep the investigation under wraps, argues that data ‘holds the key’ to keeping governments accountable – and reveals what it was really like working for “serial liar” Julian Assange.

Elizabeth Day is an award-winning author, journalist and podcaster. Landing her first column aged 12 in her local paper, she went on to become a journalist for the Observer before going freelance. She has written for a range of newspapers and magazines in the UK and the US including the Times, the Telegraph, Vogue and Elle. Now a columnist for the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine and contributing editor for Harper’s Bazaar, she has also written four novels. Lauded by critics for its painful honesty, her celebrity podcast, How to Fail, debuted at the top of the iTunes charts and forms the basis for her forthcoming non-fiction book. In this in-depth interview, she takes us through the launch of the podcast, discusses how the rise of long-form journalism could reverse the decline in the newspaper industry – and reveals what it was like to spend a week living as Gwyneth Paltrow.

Erwin James is editor-in-chief of Inside Time, the UK’s only newspaper for prisoners. Convicted in 1982 for two murders and sentenced to life, he went on the run to the French Foreign Legion for two years before handing himself in. In his two decades behind bars, he studied English and discovered a love of writing. This led to ‘A Life Inside’, the first ever national newspaper column written by a serving prisoner, which appeared in the Guardian until his release in 2004. A vocal campaigner for penal reform, he took the reins as editor of Inside Time in 2015. With a circulation of 60,000, he receives 500 letters a week from inmates across the UK. In this in-depth interview, he describes his “relief” at the sentence which allowed him to leave behind a life of crime, talks about how he “owes it to his victims” to do the best he can to prevent young offenders from making the same mistakes – and reveals the truth about life inside some of the UK’s most notorious prisons. 

Ewan Vinnicombe is editor of Blue Peter. A lifelong fan of the show - and a proud recipient of one of its sought-after badges when he was just six years old - he started with the BBC aged 21 as a “tea boy for the Chuckle Brothers,” before moving on to entertainment development. He later became head of presentation, producing shows such as 'CBeebies Bedtime Stories' and the live links between programmes featuring children's favourite Hacker T Dog. In this in-depth interview, he takes us behind the scenes of the iconic show, pays homage to past presenters, reveals the recruitment process behind the on-screen current line-up – and discusses last year’s record-breaking 60th anniversary celebrations.

Martha Lane Fox is founder of Doteveryone and a member of the House of Lords. A successful entrepreneur, she co-founded Lastminute.com in 1998, which eventually sold for £577 million in 2005, the same year she launched karaoke chain Lucky Voice. She is chancellor of the Open University, patron of several charities and a board member at Twitter and Chanel. In this in-depth interview, she discusses how she uses her voice in the public and private sector to push for action on climate change, recalls the “incredible culture” that made lastminute.com a success, and explains why curiosity, resilience and kindness will always have value in the future – even when the world is being run by robots.

Sir Harold Evans is former editor of the Sunday Times. Revered throughout Fleet Street, his name is synonymous with the golden age of investigative journalism; during his career he has risked prison, defied the courts, and put his newspaper’s very existence on the line in pursuit of the truth. In doing so, he has exposed government cover-ups; brought thalidomide to public attention, later winning compensation for victims; and campaigned for a national cervical screening programme which still saves thousands of lives every year. In this in-depth interview, he takes us through his 60-year career from his very first reporting job in the aftermath of World War II, reflects on his move to New York and later career in publishing – and pays homage to his wife, former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown, whose journalistic skills leave him “cowering in the corner”.

Miranda Sawyer is a journalist, broadcaster and best-selling author. Starting in the 80s at iconic magazine Smash Hits, she was synonymous with ‘Madchester’ and the rave scene in the 90s, and has since built a portfolio career covering print, radio, television and publishing. She has been the Observer’s audio critic for 13 years, and has interviewed artists from the Happy Mondays to Madonna. In this in-depth interview, she describes the joy of writing a well-crafted hatchet job, shares her definitive guide for overcoming a midlife crisis – and vents her frustration that the long overdue rise of women radio presenters is still limited to former ‘ladettes’.

James Ledbetter is editor-in-chief of American business magazine Inc. Taking the reins in 2014, he oversees a global multimedia business covering print, digital, video, custom publishing and live events with a monthly online audience of 20 million and a print circulation of 700,000. Their ‘Inc 5000’ list is the definitive ranking of America’s fastest-growing, privately held companies. In this in-depth interview, he takes us through the magazine’s 40-year history from the three-piece suits of the 70s to the diversity of today’s socially-conscious entrepreneurs, discusses how the “robot revolution” isn’t shaping up to be the crisis that many predicted it to be, and argues that it’s easier to start a business in Singapore than it is in the US.

Matthew Belloni is editorial director of the Hollywood Reporter. A former attorney, in 2008 he swapped the courtroom for the newsroom, two years after becoming their entertainment law editor. Now in charge of a global brand, he oversees 150 editorial staff who produce an array of multimedia content for an audience of over 35 million worldwide. In this in-depth interview, he reveals the unglamorous reality of red carpet reporting, describes the “colossal failure” of the Academy to make the Oscars watchable – and discusses how the new ‘post-Weinstein’ Hollywood has given filmmakers, particularly women, the freedom to tell more diverse stories.