Media Masters

Anthony Scaramucci is an entrepreneur, financier, and for a short time was President Donald Trump’s Communications Director. In this in-depth interview, ‘The Mooch’ talks in detail about that tumultuous period - how he became an “accidental entrant into the political system”, put his company up for sale to serve a President whose candidacy he had previously opposed, though ultimately becoming one of his most loyal and vocal supporters; talks about his relationship with Trump, calling him the “toughest guy I’ve ever met” - arguing he will be re-elected, and bring peace with North Korea; compares the reality of life in DC as being even more brutal than House of Cards; shares his frustration with some of Trump’s actions such as his tweeting, calling for a “truce” from “both sides” in the media war; advises what Democrats need to learn if they are going to effectively oppose the President; and takes responsibility for the errors which led to his downfall - albeit arguing he “would have been fired anyway” as John

Jason Feifer is the Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur magazine, which has 3 million readers and an online reach of 14 million, and established over 40 years ago as the ‘go-to’ brand aimed at ambitious people looking for advice and inspiration to ‘start, run and grow’ their business. He also hosts two podcasts: ‘Problem Solvers’ - about solving unexpected problems in business, and ‘Pessimists Archive’ - a history of unfounded fears of innovation. In this in-depth interview, he details the evolving editorial direction and changes he’s made since taking the top job; shares what he’s learnt from spending time with hundreds of successful high-flyers – what motivates them, how they think, their biggest challenges, and what they get wrong ...and reveals that working with entrepreneurs has inspired him to become one himself.

Rosie Nixon has been at HELLO! magazine for over a decade, appointed joint Editor in 2008 and promoted to Editor-in-Chief in 2016. Under her leadership, the magazine has recorded the largest-ever increase in reach, with a weekly print readership of 900,000 and over 2 million online. In this in-depth interview, she reveals how the iconic magazine is put together, with its unique mix of celebrity, royalty, and red carpet paired with fashion, beauty and lifestyle - deliberately positive, warm and upbeat in tone; shares how she has built personal relationships with some of the world’s most famous names - and the edge this gives the brand in her growth strategy for the hugely competitive digital space, with celebrity coverage websites battling for millions of clicks; talks about her two recent novels and her plans to write further books; and divulges the meticulous level of planning involved in the forthcoming royal wedding.

Christian Broughton is Editor of The Independent. After spending much of his career at the ‘Indy’ and the i newspaper, he became Digital Editor in 2012, and launched the award-winning indy100 website. In 2016, when Evgeny Lebedev famously closed the print edition, he took over as Editor, taking their reach to a peak of 120 million, and 6 million daily readers. In this in-depth interview, he discusses his efforts to take full advantage of the opportunities digital presents, while maintaining their long-held values and brand strength; shares details of his commitment to more foreign bureaux and specialist reporters, and their ‘InFact’ unit tackling fake news; talks through the challenges of expanding the business in a commercially sustainable way, their relationship with twitter, facebook and google; and tackles critics who accuse the site of chasing clicks at any cost.

Audrey Cooper is Editor-in-Chief of the San Francisco Chronicle. One of Cosmopolitan magazine’s ‘50 Fearless Women’ she joined as Assistant Metro Editor in 2006, and just nine years later became Editor-in-Chief - the first woman to hold the position in the publication’s 150 years, and the youngest-ever to fill the top post at a major US paper. In this in-depth interview, she shares the secrets of her amazing turnaround - from shedding staff and losing millions to a sustainable business with a record readership of 35 million; talks through innovations such as the re-introduction of an investigative team, and hiring a cannabis consultant to cover the now-legal marijuana industry; and fondly analyses San Francisco itself - contrasting the wealthy beneficiaries of the tech boom against a massive homelessness crisis, outlining how her paper is trying to be a catalyst for the solution.

Andrew Tuck is Editor of Monocle, the international affairs and lifestyle media brand. After initially turning down founder Tyler Brûlé with his idea for a new kind of premium lifestyle magazine, he soon relented and they launched in 2006. In this in-depth interview, he explores their relationship, the journey so far, and how his own role has evolved; discusses their approach to international affairs, business, culture, design, and fashion; talks through their innovations such as the launch of radio station Monocle 24, retail stores, book publishing, and café; defends their deliberate lack of engagement with social media... and reveals exciting plans for the future.

Sarah Sands is Editor of Today, the BBC’s flagship news programme. In this in-depth interview, she shares how her appointment surprised many after a long career in print, the changes she has already made to the show and her plans for its future direction; reflects on life in the Editor’s chair at the London Evening Standard, where she stands by her former paper’s support for Zac Goldsmith - though conceding he “would've been terrible” as London’s Mayor; discusses the BBC gender pay gap problem and her efforts to get more female voices on the show; and given that for the first time in the BBC’s history it’s likely the next Director General will be a woman... she reveals whether she wants the top job.

With 33 years in broadcast journalism under his belt, Neil Thompson began rising with the larks in 1993, as part of the GMTV launch team, and has been a stalwart of ITV early mornings ever since. In this in-depth interview, he discusses the multiple attempts to rescue the “disaster” that was Daybreak - lessons learned which resulted in the wholly rethought “live, inclusive, immersive” approach for Good Morning Britain; examines the successful pairing of “two alpha brains” Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, how their relationship works (both on and off-screen), and how viewers have embraced the tension - helping GMB make significant gains in the ratings war; and reveals how a typical show is put together... plus the secrets of Piers’ recent interview with President Donald Trump.

A 20-year BBC veteran and respected war correspondent, Katya Adler is still covering ferocious conflict - this time with Brexit. Appointed Europe Editor in 2015 - arriving in Brussels with reservations that her new beat would be dull and uneventful - she instead found herself reporting on Europe’s most turbulent time since the Second World War: the Greek economic collapse, the Migrant Crisis, and the rise of populism. In this in-depth interview, she laments an increasing propensity for European leaders to refuse to go on the record; tackles critics from all sides who accuse her of bias; outlines her personal take on Brexit negotiations, and the likely result; and how speaking five languages is her secret weapon for getting her sources to open up.

Madhav Chinnappa is the senior executive at Google responsible for their relationship with the news industry. After 9 years at the BBC leading their commercial team, he joined the ‘wonderfully crazy company’ and deliberately became ‘the most technically dumb guy at Google’ to boost their understanding of the media ecosystem beyond a tech-only approach. In this in-depth interview, he talks through their Digital News Initiative - offering expertise, and even cash investment through their Innovation Fund; discusses the huge complexity of complying with the laws of hundreds of countries; and outlines their initiative to tackle fake news - ensuring perpetrators don’t profit, and marking search results which have been fact checked.

David Yelland is the former Editor of The Sun, and is now a senior communications advisor to global CEOs. A journalist for 18 years, he started on a local weekly newspaper, eventually reaching Deputy Editor at the New York Post. He then took the reins for five successful years at Britain's biggest-selling daily newspaper before leaving to join the world of corporate comms. In this in-depth interview, David discusses the challenges he faced as Editor; talks candidly about his successes and mistakes, and the reality of working with Rupert Murdoch; shares leadership lessons from his time at Harvard Business School; argues passionately against Brexit and offers his analysis of why the Remain campaign lost; and explains his work tackling alcoholism, inspired by his own recovery.

Jessica Coen is Editor-in-Chief of Mashable, the global media brand for all things tech, entertainment and culture, with 70 million monthly readers. In this illuminating interview, Jessica talks through her career journey - how her previous job as Editor of Gawker gave her a ‘tremendous launch pad’ and a strong digital insight, now helping her take Mashable’s audience to record highs; argues the so-called ‘Trump bump’ is over, and outlines what media companies need to do to stay relevant, sustainable and profitable in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

Lorraine Candy is Luxury Content Director of The Sunday Times, and Editor-in-Chief of the paper’s Style magazine. A former Editor of Cosmopolitan and ELLE UK, she was twice-named Editor of the Year. In this in-depth interview, she describes her start in journalism as a teenager at the Cornish Times, and questions whether the same opportunities are available today; goes behind the scenes of her biggest news stories; details how her job has to combine traditional editorial with digital insight to reach new audiences; and explains how Style has a stronger impact - and better reader engagement - than other ‘glossy’ magazines.

Adam Boulton is Editor-at-Large at Sky News. He was instrumental in establishing Sky’s politics team in 1989, and over the next three decades went on to cover seven general elections. In this in-depth interview, he describes the thrill of assembling a story live on air; explores the tension between politicians and journalists; and reminisces that, uniquely, he is the only journalist to have ever ‘doorstepped’ the Queen.

Tom Newton Dunn is Political Editor at The Sun, the UK’s most read daily newspaper. Widely regarded as one of the best story-getters in the industry, Tom is an award-winning journalist and a regular TV commentator. In this in-depth interview, he fails to recall the last time there was a 'quiet week' in politics; contemplates the future of the centre-ground as voters crave radical change; explains why Corbyn needs to learn to love the word 'aspiration' if he wants to be PM; and says why he couldn’t imagine leaving political journalism in such unpredictable times.

Ian King is the presenter of Sky News’ leading business programme. The former City Editor at The Sun and Business and City Editor at The Times, Ian twice won Business Journalist of the Year before swapping the newsroom for the TV studio in 2014. In this in-depth interview, he describes how the shelf life of exclusive stories has been cut from weeks to hours; discusses how social media has changed the way CEOs respond to crises; and reveals what his day job has taught him about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.

Jane Francisco is the Editor-in-Chief of Good Housekeeping, one of the world’s leading women’s magazines. Founded in 1885, Good Housekeeping has counted Virginia Woolf and Evelyn Waugh among its former contributors, and is widely known and respected for its iconic Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. After her appointment in 2014, Jane grew the magazine’s reach to 60 million, and was recently named Editorial Director at Hearst Lifestyle Group. In this in-depth interview, she discusses the segmentation of the magazine’s readership, and how she appeals to an audience that cuts across generational divides; explains why she introduced the Good Housekeeping audience to the ‘slow living’ movement; and reveals what inspired her to set up the Awesome Women Awards with award-winning TV producer Shonda Rhimes.

Mike Williams is the Editor-in-Chief of NME, the UK's most widely read music publication. Launched in 1952 as a newspaper, NME was the first British title to include a singles chart, and later championed emerging British groups such as The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Oasis. Mike led the successful relaunch of NME as a free magazine in 2015, and was named Editor of the Year in 2016, when the magazine recorded its highest ever circulation. In this in-depth interview, Mike takes us behind the scenes of the strange world of working with musicians, and explains the difference in attitude between global megastars and promising new acts; describes how to appeal both to older long-time readers and a younger audience; and reveals how he found himself at the centre of a political storm after interviewing Jeremy Corbyn.

Joanne Lipman is Editor-in-Chief of USA Today, with a daily reach of 3.3 million in print across the US, and 102 million unique visitors online reading 1.2 billion articles; and Chief Content Officer of The USA Today Network, employing 3,000 journalists in 110 regional newspapers across America. In this in-depth interview, she talks about her ‘calling’ to journalism and how an internship at the Wall Street Journal led to over twenty years at the paper; her current role and the challenges of leading an iconic media brand; and shares her frustration with the low number of women in media leadership roles - how she is dedicating the next phase of her career to being part of the solution, and her forthcoming book “That’s What She Said: What Men Need To Know (and Women Need To Tell Them) About Working Together.”

Farrah Storr is Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan UK, Britain's most widely-read women's magazine, with an online reach of over ten million regular readers. Named on The Guardian’s 2017 list of Britain’s most powerful people, in this in-depth interview she describes how the iconic media brand is facing the digital challenge, who today's ‘Cosmo woman’ actually is, and why she had to reinvent the way they write about sex; discusses why she is passionate about improving diversity in the creative industries, the use of plus-sized models and the media’s responsibility on body image issues; argues there is a strong future for traditional glossy monthly women’s magazines, defending them as a force for good which empower women; and shares how Cosmopolitan Housing is providing homes for young women looking to start their careers in London.