Episoder
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Why is local news so important? And how do we protect it?
Alan and Lionel are joined by Frances Cairncross for a special edition of Media Confidential. Five years ago, she was tasked with producing the Cairncross Review, which examined whether high-quality journalism could survive amid the rise of digital platforms.
In this episode, the editors ask Frances about the decline of local news, despite the review’s recommendations to safeguard its future.
They dissect why protecting local news is vital in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, and the risks of a growing number of people living in “news deserts”.
Send your questions to [email protected], or via X, @mediaconfpod
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After weeks of speculation about Tortoise Media's shock bid for the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, Alan and Lionel are finally joined by James Harding, the former BBC director and Tortoise's founder.
In a robust discussion, James is grilled about his start up—a relative newcomer in the media world—shaping the future of the Observer. Alan and Lionel interrogate where the funding is coming from, and his long-term plans for the title.
The editors are also joined by Carole Cadwalladr, an award-winning investigative journalist and Observer mainstay, to present the view from the newsroom.
She questions whether the newspaper is facing an immediate threat, and discusses the repercussions for journalists at both the Observer and the Guardian. Could a sale lead to strike action?
To watch this episode, head to the 'Prospect Magazine' YouTube channel, where episodes are published every Friday.
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Alan and Lionel are joined, once again, by Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, to answer listeners’ questions on a fast-moving media world.
The editors discuss the ethics of whether stories concerning national security should be published. On a lighter note, they share their favourite newsroom-related movies, and are tasked with describing their jobs in just five words. Alan and Lionel reveal which editors they were most in awe of when they began their journalism careers.
Finally, one answer produces fits of giggles, as the hosts share stories of unfortunate typos that appeared under their watches, including one that could have spelt disaster for thousands of men taking the advice of the Guardian…
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Just days ahead of the US election, Alan and Lionel are joined by Steve Coll, a double Pulitzer prizewinner, senior editor at the Economist and former managing editor of the Washington Post.
Steve reflects on one of the most fraught US elections in history, analysing how the candidates’ relationship with the media has changed and what a Trump win would look like.
Political scientist Robert Kagan also joins the podcast, in the aftermath of his resignation as editor-at-large at the Washington Post. Last week, the newspaper broke with five decades of convention and announced that it will no longer endorse presidential candidates.
Robert discusses what he sees as an attempt by the Post’s owner Jeff Bezos “to curry favour with a likely Trump presidency”. But what does this mean for the newspaper whose slogan is “Democracy Dies in Darkness”?
To watch this interview, search for ‘Prospect Magazine’ on YouTube, where Media Confidential is published every Friday morning.
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Alan and Lionel are joined by Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, senior staff editor at the New York Times and former editor-in-chief at gal-dem, for a special edition of Media Confidential’s Q&A.
What do newspaper editors talk about when they’re all in the same room? What support is available for reporters who have witnessed traumatic situations? And what are the rules of giving feedback to writers? (Clue: offer them a shit sandwich.)
With both Trump and Harris making recent appearances on high-profile podcasts, the trio also discuss the role of podcasts in elections and whether American influencers like Joe Rogan might be able to shape the outcome in November…
As a bonus, guess which presenter is obsessed with trying to reach “genius” status in the New York Times game “Spelling Bee”.
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Alan and Lionel are joined by Eric Beecher to discuss his new book, The Men Who Killed The News about media moguls' abuses of power.
At 33, Eric became the youngest ever editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, before Rupert Murdoch crowned him editor-in-chief at the Melbourne Herald.
So why, several years later, was he sued by the Murdochs?
Eric has seen Murdoch at his best, successful and innovative, and at worst, a ruthless dictator.He shares a story of pressure and coercive behaviour, and his growing sense that the news agenda was being manipulated to avoid bad press connected to his boss. reveals that very little happens in the Murdoch empire without Rupert knowing--including, he alleges, the phonehacking scandal.
Plus, Alan tries an AI experiment on Lionel, which leads to fears that they'll both soon be deemed redundant from their current roles.
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On this week’s Q&A, Alan and Lionel are back with a postbag of questions.
One listener wonders if AI makes exposing the truth almost impossible, while another asks for some insider tips for new editors.
In the run up to the US election, Alan and Lionel also discuss Elon Musk’s open endorsement of Donald Trump and whether X should be penalised as a result.
The former newspaper editors also extol the virtues of courage (and Dutch courage) for journalist, plus, inevitably, more on the drinking habits of those working in the media
Send your questions to Alan and Lionel via email at [email protected] or via X, @mediaconfpod
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Alan and Lionel are joined by Michael Lewis, the bestselling author of The Big Short and The Blind Side.
His new book Going Infinite chronicles the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, the tycoon behind the crypto-trading company FTX.
When the company collapsed, and it was discovered that Bankman-Fried had stolen billions of dollars from customers, it ultimately landed him a prison sentence.
Michael was fascinated by Bankman-Fried, watching this story unravel before his eyes. But when Alan raises some criticisms of the book, the interview gets heated.
Media Confidential’s interviews are also published on YouTube every Friday morning. To watch this explosive interview, and more “idiot questions” from our hosts, simply go to YouTube and search for ‘Prospect Magazine’.
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From today's hottest new columnists to the perils of fine wine, Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber discuss listeners' questions with characteristic dry wit.
This week's episode tackles Lionel’s favourite question so far—what does an editor actually do all day?
Alan and Lionel share their tales of the swanky lives of Fleet Street editors...including an anecdote with a seriously morbid conclusion.
The editors also make their predictions about when physical newspapers will become a thing of the past.
To ask Alan and Lionel your questions, send them to [email protected], or via X @mediaconfpod
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Alan and Lionel are joined by Esther Solomon, editor of the English language edition of Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper known for critically reporting on human rights and Israel's policies towards Palestinians.
A year on from October 7th, with hostages still in Gaza, Esther talks about Netanyahu’s fluctuating popularity as regional war continues to escalate. How will Israel strike back at Iran following a recent rocket attack? And when the bombs fall silent and a dialogue needs to begin, what happens next?
Alan and Lionel also discuss Tortoise Media’s ongoing bid to buy the Observer, and whether the final whistle is about to blow on Gary Lineker’s time as Match of the Day host.
You can also watch this week’s episode online: simply go to YouTube and search for ‘Prospect Magazine’ for this, and many other interviews, on the Prospect channel.
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Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber dig into the Media Confidential mailbox to answer listeners' questions about the media. This week, they discuss political bias in UK newspapers, as well as the growing number of people who get their news from social media. Are these sources reliable? And should social media companies be liable for material posted on their platforms?
One listener wonders whether there is anything that the editors strongly disagree on, and asks a pressing question: Alan or Lionel—who would win in an arm wrestle?
Cast your bets and send your questions to [email protected], or via X @mediaconfpod
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Justine Roberts is not happy. Earlier this year she discovered that tech giant OpenAI has been scraping Mumsnet—the successful website of which she is CEO—for content. AI machines, like ChatGPT, train their Large Language Models (LLMs) in this way. Justine and her team have recently launched the first British legal action against OpenAI.Meanwhile, Google is fighting to overhaul UK copyright law to allow it to freely mine content for commercial gain, without compensating other publishers.
Justine explains to Alan and Lionel what she hopes to achieve in her court case—one that could be just one of the first of many of its kind—and why she is so angered by what she views as an existential threat to anybody publishing content online.To watch this interview and much more, head over to YouTube and search for ‘Prospect Magazine’.
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In this episode of Media Confidential Q&A, Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber dig into the mailbox to tackle listeners' questions about the media industry.
The topics on the table this week: what led to the downfall of the London Evening Standard?
Will newspapers be able to afford their foreign correspondents in future? Are traditional journalistic skills still useful…and can you guess which presenter failed his shorthand exam?
Plus, a confession from one of the editors…who may have been less than candid in a career-defining job interview.
Send your questions to Alan and Lionel via email to [email protected], or via X @mediaconfpod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Alan and Lionel are joined by Yale history professor and leading scholar of Soviet Russia, Tim Snyder. Snyder’s new book, On Freedom, explores the risks to shared freedom in a ‘post-truth’ world.
He argues that a rise of disinformation and fake news—coupled with the weakening of reliable media sources and local news—has undermined established truths, which creates a pathway towards fascism. Amidst concerns that a second Trump term could lead to authoritarianism in the US, the role of responsible journalism to preserve truth and freedom of speech is more important than ever.
Alan and Lionel also discuss whether Keir Starmer is being treated fairly by the media, as the prime minister faces accusations of sleaze for receiving gifts, including clothes, glasses and a box at Arsenal.
To watch the interview with Tim Snyder, head over to our YouTube channel. Simply type in ‘YouTube Prospect Magazine’ into your browser, or click the link in the show description on your podcast player to watch this and other compelling interviews from Media Confidential.
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In this episode of Media Confidential Q&A, Alan and Lionel return with the answers to all your burning questions and shed some light on the inner workings of the media industry.
This week: why is the BBC is constantly chasing gen Z audiences, even though young people consume media in other ways? And when does the non-mainstream media become so big that it becomes the mainstream media—even if was established in opposition to traditional publishers and broadcasters? Plus, the two former newspaper editors—who worked on revelations including on phone hacking and Wirecard—explain how big scoops begin and become major investigations.
Send your questions and comments to us at [email protected] or via X, at @mediaconfpod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber talk to NYT tech journalists Kate Conger and Ryan Mac about their new book Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter.
The editors also explore the tumult at the Jewish Chronicle, a newspaper now plagued with allegations of fake news and a decline in journalistic standards. With four of its top columnists resigning, they ask what the future is for the oldest Jewish newspaper in the world.
And as news breaks that the Observer—the world’s oldest Sunday paper—has received a bid from “minnow” Tortoise Media, what implications could this have for the newspaper landscape in the UK?
Click here to watch our episodes on YouTube: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/youtube
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Alan and Lionel return with their weekly Media Confidential: Questions and Answers show to tackle your burning questions and shed some light on the inner workings of the media industry.
This week the two former newspaper editors discuss why Prince Harry continues to be targeted by the print media in the UK, what the return on inverstment is for a deep investigation carried out by journalists for a publication and they reveal who the bravest journalist they have ever worked with is.
Send your questions and comments to us at [email protected] or via X, at @mediaconfpod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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According to the writer, historian and activist Rebecca Solnit, US media are failing to cover Donald Trump properly. “His incapacity to be coherent is pretty much hidden from the public, unless they’re listening directly or reading alternative media,” she says.
Solnit, whose essay Men Explain Things To Me inspired the word “mansplaining”, says she’s convinced that the US mainstream press—including the New York Times—are “sanewashing” the former president and the gibberish he has spouted during the election campaign. Instead of showing how rambling and off-topic he is, they piece together fragments of his speeches to come up with a few crisp sentences.
This week, Solnit joins Alan and Lionel on the podcast to explain why, in her view, the real story is not being covered. Together, they hone in on how the media should cover Trump’s false claims—such as the one he made during this week’s debate, that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio “are eating the dogs… eating the cats…eating the pets of the people that live there.” ABC News factchecked this incredible statement. It wasn’t true.
Solnit says Americans aren’t getting enough of the truth—so can the news better reflect the reality of Donald Trump?
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Alan and Lionel introduce a brand new, weekly bonus episode of Media Confidential. Every Sunday they answer listeners’ questions about how the media really works.
In the first show they contemplate the rise of the Mail Online, assess the role played by the right-wing media in this summer’s riots, and much, much more. Plus, the big question: who was harder to deal with in government—Tony Blair’s chief press secretary Alastair Campbell or former chief adviser to Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings? Listen here to find out!
Send your questions and queries on the media to [email protected] or via X, @mediaconfpod
This episode is sponsored by Reviewed & Cleared.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has become the champion of free speech—but at what cost? During a summer of unrest in the UK, a hornet’s nest of hatred was stirred up on X. Elon Musk himself gave the nest a good kicking when he provocatively claimed that the UK was heading to civil war. And when Alan responded with a column about the post, he was met by a barrage of abuse from Musk’s supporters. So, is Elon Musk—with his 196m followers—out of control? And what does his support for Donald Trump in the upcoming US election tell us about X’s relationship with democracy?
One person who understands the inner workings of the platform is Twitter’s former vice president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Bruce Daisley. He believes that the platform was weaponised to stoke the racist riots in England and Northern Ireland this summer—and that Musk played a role as well. One way to stop this happening again, Daisley says, would be to threaten him with personal legal liability. So, what kind of regulation could make a difference?
Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber explore the question: how do you solve a problem like X?
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