Media Masters

Alan Rusbridger is former editor-in-chief of the Guardian. During his two decades at the helm, he masterminded the newspaper’s transformation into a global digital brand with a reach of over 150 million, and played a central role in coverage of major events including the phone hacking scandal, Wikileaks, and the Pulitzer prize-winning revelations involving whistleblower Edward Snowden. In this in-depth interview, he argues why President Trump’s anti-media crusade has “done us all a favour”, and how introducing media literacy lessons in schools will help young people distinguish fact from fiction.

Carl Swanson is editor-at-large of New York magazine, Vulture and The Cut. Carl was pivotal in the company’s expansion into digital, and its branded websites now attract around 50 million unique users per month. In this in-depth interview, he looks back on 14 years at one of New York’s most prestigious publications, and remembers the magazine’s relationship with the then ‘New York micro-celebrity’ and frequent cover star Donald Trump.

John Ridding is chief executive of the Financial Times. Since starting his career on the newspaper’s international desk, he has reported from South Korea, Indonesia and China. After he introduced a paywall in 2008, the FT is now celebrating the highest paid-for readership in its 130-year history. In this in-depth interview, he talks fondly about the ‘serendipity factor’ that print brings, and warns how the world risks missing the ‘tectonic shift’ happening in China while we’re distracted by Trump and Brexit.

Sarah Baxter is deputy editor at the Sunday Times. After a successful career in publishing, Sarah started her journalism career at Time Out, before tackling roles at the New Statesman and the Observer, where she became senior associate editor. She has reported on the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of Hamas in Gaza and, while living in New York in 2001, the 9/11 terror attack on the Twin Towers. In this in-depth interview, she pays tribute to departed colleagues AA Gill and Marie Colvin, discusses the changing face of foreign news reporting and gives her unique insight into Pestminster and the political elite.

Jeff Smith is head of music at BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music. A 25-year veteran of the industry, he has been head of music at Radio 1, director of music programming at Napster and controller of Capital Radio. He is responsible for what makes it onto the stations’ playlists, heard by more than 15 million listeners every day. In this in-depth interview, he looks back at the highlights of his career, explains why he thinks the BBC is uniquely placed to break new music, and reveals how he came up with the idea for Radio 1’s popular Live Lounge.

Lisa Smosarski is Editor-in-Chief at Stylist, a free weekly women’s magazine distributed to commuters across seven major UK cities with a circulation of over 400,000. Launching the magazine from scratch in 2009, Lisa aimed to develop an intelligent magazine that represented different kinds of women through ethnic, body and age diversity. Stylist’s goal was to change the dynamic of magazines by providing a title which portrayed life through a feminist lens. In this in-depth interview Lisa talks about the magazine’s growth on digital platforms, the role social media has played in evolving the brand, and seeking out new opportunities to diversify Stylist for an even wider audience.

Katherine Bell is Editor-in-Chief at Barron’s, a US newspaper founded in 1921, providing weekly analysis and market commentary. Starting her career in academic publishing - followed by an usual segue launching chef Delia Smith’s online business - Katherine spent ten years as the editor of Harvard Business Review’s digital site. Appointed Editor-in-Chief at Barron’s with a brief to lead their digital transformation, Katherine’s strategy has broadened its audience and extended its influence. In this in-depth interview she discusses emerging trends in finance, increasing momentum toward sustainable investment, and Wall Street’s response to the uncertain political climate.

Sari Botton is Essays Editor at Longreads. Founded in 2009, emerging from the success of a hashtag campaign on Twitter, the site popularised the concept of the ‘long read’, initially aggregating content from around the web. Since then the site has grown its scope to host original journalism, personal essays, local news and blog posts. A long-time advocate and participant of the slow news movement, Longreads supports longform journalism through investigative pieces, profiles, interviews and personal essays. In this in-depth interview Sari passionately argues that storytelling itself has been lost amidst the 24-hour news cycle, and outlines their plans to address this.

Melissa Kirsch is Editor-in-Chief of Lifehacker. Established in 2005, with an initial focus on tech and productivity, the site has grown to a record readership of 7 million and has expanded its scope to food, health, parenting and personal finance. A published poet and author, Melissa released “The Girl’s Guide” in 2015, a book aimed at younger women detailing the benefits of a social media detox. She is also a co-host of ‘The Upgrade’, a weekly podcast where listeners are offered tips on health, careers and relationships. In this in-depth interview Melissa talks about how she established and implemented her editorial vision and reveals the best life hack she has ever learned.