Media Masters

Max Siegelbaum is co-executive director of Documented, an innovative non-profit news site solely dedicated to covering the plight of New York’s immigrant community, and the policies which affect them. Last year, they won an Online Journalism Award and LION Award for their use of WhatsApp as a news distribution platform to their most vulnerable readers, and also for their coverage of how the Coronavirus pandemic made life unthinkably harder for those seeking a new life in the Empire State. In this in-depth interview, Max recalls the early stages of the venture, gaining the trust and support of an ever-increasing readership, but also experiencing the struggles of having to “fight for a space” in the industry; discusses the lack of awareness of how tough the life of an immigrant can be, and how arduous a task it is to be represented in a city as fast-paced as New York; and reflects on how Donald Trump’s presidency created an “extreme and almost immeasurable impact” for immigrants - in which the ‘othering’ of recent settlers to the city only increased.

Sandro Monetti is an entertainment journalist and Hollywood media pundit. A Brit who moved to Los Angeles two decades ago, he has interviewed the world’s biggest stars, including George Clooney, Will Smith, Madonna and Paul McCartney; and in 2020 released his memoir ‘Confessions of a Hollywood Insider.’ In this in-depth interview, Sandro discusses “what kind of Hollywood will emerge from the pandemic” as it comes to terms with the devastation Covid has caused; a noted expert on the history of Hollywood, he talks about how La La Land’s past will shape its future; and shares some eyebrow-raising stories about A-listers behind-the-scenes over the years.

Clint Stinchcomb is president and chief executive of Curiosity Stream. Founded in 2015, with 20 million subscribers in 176 countries, it was the first streaming service to focus on non-fiction content; encompassing genres such as nature, history, science and travel. A TV industry veteran, he previously developed and ran channels for the Discovery Network; and co-founded PokerCentral, the world’s first 24/7 global online poker game. In this in-depth interview, Clint shares his “pure factual entertainment” strategy - creating a “distinctive, focussed service” and not “diluting the offer” into non-factual genres; details the differing viewing habits around the world and how they keep their content relevant to a global audience; and reflects on a long career in TV, including creating new on-demand TV channels at Discovery - which pioneered the modern broadcast era.

Paul McNamee is editor of The Big Issue. For over three decades, the magazine has provided dignity and income for homeless people - by “working, not begging.” Paul has built a career championing voices that are seldom heard by the mainstream media, and has been awarded magazine editor of the year three times. In this in-depth interview, Paul discusses the “utter devastation” that Covid has bought - with 18 months of deserted streets decimating their sellers’ income - and forcing the publication to innovate through subscriptions, fundraisers, selling through traditional retailers and the launch of their podcast ‘The Big Miss You;’ shares his belief that homelessness could be solved with genuine government and societal commitment; and reflects on why, in spite of competition from global A-listers, their most popular cover star was a cat - who went on to star in bestselling book and film ‘A Street Cat Named Bob.’

Professor Anand Menon is a leading political scientist and director of UK in a Changing Europe. The think tank was formed in 2015, amidst the polarised atmosphere of the Brexit referendum, and sets out to provide “high-quality and impartial research based on facts rather than opinions.” In this in-depth interview, Anand discusses his efforts to embrace new platforms like TikTok to connect with younger and seldom heard audiences; argues that Covid has reinforced support for Brexit through the success of the UK’s vaccine rollout; and shares the key takeaways from his famous TED Talk ‘How to Fix Britain,’ explaining how the referendum “held a mirror up to society.”

Georgie Holt is managing director for the UK, Ireland and ROW regions for Acast, one of the largest podcast companies in the world, with over 300 million listeners each month. She joined after two decades working in senior roles at some of the world’s biggest news and magazine brands - including the Evening Standard, Mail on Sunday, Cosmopolitan, and Stylist. In this in-depth interview, Georgie sheds light on how the podcast industry has weathered the pandemic - with the “opportunity to connect and feel part of a community” resulting in overall listenership increasing; takes us behind-the-scenes on the whole journey of launching a podcast - from shaping the idea, to launch, marketing and ‘extending’ the brand further into live events, merch and books; and shares her passion for tackling misogyny in advertising, with her campaign at Stylist aiming to “inspire a more truthful and respectful visual landscape for women.”

Anthony Matchett is chief executive of Napster Group. He acquired the platform - renowned for illegally sharing music in the 1990s - for £50m last year; and then merged it with MelodyVR, his virtual reality music company. In this in-depth interview, Anthony lays bare the depth of the devastation the pandemic has bought to live music, and his passionate belief that virtual reality will play a key part in its recovery; highlights the plight of how musicians are struggling financially, noting the irony that Napster - a platform with roots in bootlegging - is now the world leader in compensating artists fairly; and discusses the “immersive experience” of attending live events through virtual reality - building on the record online audience of this year’s Wireless Festival.

Suzi Watford is EVP Consumer, Dow Jones; and Chief Marketing & Membership Officer for The Wall Street Journal. In a career spanning two decades, she started out in her native UK overseeing sales at The Times and The Sunday Times, and in 2014 moved to New York to drive new revenue at Dow Jones - and has doubled their paying subscribers to over four million. In this in-depth interview, Suzi discusses their major new campaign ‘Trust Your Decisions’ which encourages people to take control of their lives post-pandemic; shares their efforts to appeal to a younger audience and “change the face of business,” an ambitious challenge as she readily admits the Journal may be “associated with their parents;” and explains how she steps up to the challenge of “provoking and challenging all of us to think differently about our business and push beyond the current definition of what is possible.”

Gillian Tett is an award-winning journalist, and chair of the Financial Times’ US editorial board. As editor-at-large, she writes weekly columns covering a range of economic issues, and in 2019 co-founded ‘FT Moral Money,’ a twice-weekly newsletter which has since become one of their most widely-read and impactful initiatives. In 2019, she won ‘Journalist of the Year’ at the British Press Awards for her prison interview with fraudster Bernie Madoff. An acclaimed author, she covered the global crash of 2008; and her latest book ‘Anthro-Vision’ utilises her extensive education in anthropology to “assess the post-covid age, and make sense of a world undergoing severe disruption.” In this in-depth interview, Gillian reflects on her time reporting during Trump’s presidency - how “constant de-stabilisation and confrontation” made it difficult to spot what she calls “social silences;” reflects on four decades in journalism, and the positive impact she’s witnessed as the industry becomes less male-dominated; and argues the current focus on ‘big data’ ignores an understanding of anthropology, which would “give the full picture” - why corporate projects fail, bank traders miscalculate losses, and pandemic policies succeed or fail.

Jim VandeHei is a media entrepreneur and founder/CEO of Axios. With a career spent at The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, he co-founded Politico in 2006, and left a decade later due to issues with the co-founder. Jim began Axios in 2016, which came to public prominence after Jonathan Swan’s iconic interview with President Trump, and now boasts over 4 million monthly visitors, 2 million newsletter subscriptions. In this in-depth interview, Jim discusses Axios’ unique proposition as “The Economist mated with Twitter,” and how their “smart brevity” approach makes “high-end info consumption more efficient, enjoyable and essential” with ambitious plans to expand local coverage to 50 cities; shares the whole story of Politico’s journey from start to finish - including a candid, warts-and-all discussion of the execution of their “all-politics, all the time” mission; and gives a Washington insider’s analysis on Biden’s first six months - and Trump’s likely next move.