Media Confidential (Prospect Magazine)

Welcome to Media Confidential.

Who are Alan and Lionel, and what will they be discussing in this brand new show from Prospect Magazine?

Our hosts give an overview of their new podcast, why it's important, and their thoughts on the media landscape as they see it today.

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Alan and Lionel discuss the Murdoch family ‘succession’, after Rupert Murdoch handed control of Fox and News Corp to his eldest son, Lachlan.

They analyse the potential implications for media and politics, helped by Malcolm Turnbull, former prime minster of Australia, who tells them that Murdoch Sr has done “enormous damage" to democracy in the US, the UK and his own country.

There’s insight too from American journalist Michael Wolff, whose new book is The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty.

Alan and Lionel also consider the media angles around the allegations facing Russell Brand.

Follow us on X (Twitter!): @MediaConfPod.

Media Confidential is a podcast from Prospect Magazine.

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Alan and Lionel talk to Marty Baron, perhaps the most distinguished and garlanded editor in America since Watergate.

Collision of Power is Baron’s book about his time at the Washington Post, which won 10 Pulitzer Prizes under his leadership. He discusses standing up to then-President Donald Trump and the transformative impact of the Post’s new owner Jeff Bezos, while Marty and Alan compare notes about publishing the Edward Snowden story under high pressure from governments and intelligence services.

Media Confidential also considers the chaos at GB News, after Laurence Fox’s on-air comments about Ava Evans, and whether Ofcom can reel it in.

Follow us on X (Twitter): @MediaConfPod

Prospect brings rigorously fact-checked analysis, ideas and perspectives to the big topics the world is grappling with. 

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Alan and Lionel discuss how the awful violence in Israel and Gaza is being reported by media there (and elsewhere), and the extent to which local news organisations are able to give a balanced and nuanced account of what is happening.

They are joined by Esther Solomon, editor-in-chief of Haaretz English and Sarah Helm, former diplomatic editor and Middle East correspondent of The Independent, who is currently writing a book about the Gaza Strip.

Prospect brings rigorously fact-checked analysis, ideas and perspectives to the big topics the world is grappling with. 

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As the Israel-Gaza war boosts concerns about disinformation and misinformation on X, Alan and Lionel speak to Joanna Geary, who used to be Twitter’s Senior Director of Curation. What important checks and filters did Elon Musk strip away when he took over? Plus, author Jane Martinson discusses her new book about the Barclay brothers, two of the most significant UK media owners of recent decades, as the Barclay family seems keen to buy back the Telegraph Media Group. 

Today you can get an annual Prospect subscription for as little as £49, and *while stocks last* you’ll get a free signed copy of Breaking News, Alan's excellent book about the remaking of journalism and why it matters, which is worth £10.99. 

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The BBC has come under fire for the way it has reported on the war between Israel and Hamas—but is it the only organisation to have made mistakes? 

Lionel Barber and Alan Rusbridger analyse the way that the massacre of 7th October and subsequent war have been covered, including explosion at Al-Ahli hospital, which some media outlets initially blamed on Israeli strikes. Jake Wallis Simons, editor of the Jewish Chronicle explains how damaging it is to the British Jewish population when errors are made, and former BBC editor and Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer defends the role of the war reporters on the ground.

Today you can get an annual Prospect subscription for as little as £49, and *while stocks last* you’ll get a free signed copy of Breaking News, Alan's excellent book about the remaking of journalism and why it matters, which is worth £10.99. 

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One of the key figures in global media talks to Alan and Lionel about how artificial intelligence will transform the industry. 

Mathias Döpfner is the CEO of the international media group Axel Springer and he’s a big thinker about how AI will impact news organisations and beyond.  

He also talks about public trust in media, his friend Elon Musk at Twitter/X, and how post-Cold War trade with countries like Russia and China has failed to transfer Western ideas of freedom and democracy. 

Döpfner is questioned about reports that Axel Springer wants to buy The Telegraph, before Barclay brothers biographer Jane Martinson considers the battle to become the newspaper’s next owners, along with the significant concerns that follow some of the interested parties. 

Plus, Alan and Lionel reflect on the news that former prime minister Boris Johnson is joining GB News and how far Ofcom will allow the politically partisan channel to go. 

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With former prime minister Boris Johnson soon joining Jacob Rees-Mogg, Lee Anderson and Nigel Farage as a presenter on GB News, there appears to be little attempt by the channel to provide balance to its roster of right-wing voices and even current Conservative politicians. Should the media regulator insist that it provides that balance, or should broadcasters be allowed to present just one side of a political argument?

On Media Confidential, Alan and Lionel hear from media professor Steve Barnett, a critic of Ofcom, and veteran commentator and TV executive David Elstein, who views the growth of GB News far more favourably.

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Alan and Lionel speak to LBC broadcaster and author James O’Brien, who takes aim at Daily Mail chief Paul Dacre, news mogul Rupert Murdoch and journalist, broadcaster and editor Andrew Neil—three media figures he includes in his book about the people he thinks “broke Britain”.

O’Brien also reflects on David Cameron’s return to frontline politics and discusses his own version of opinionated political broadcasting.

About Prospect

Prospect brings rigorously fact-checked analysis, ideas and perspectives to the big topics the world is grappling with. In addition to being the UK’s leading monthly current affairs magazine, Prospect publishes daily commentary and analysis online. Even more discussion about the ideas that matter is available in our growing range of newsletters and podcasts, the most recent of which is Media Confidential.

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Pulitzer Prize-winning data journalist and artist Mona Chalabi, a contributor to the New York Times, discusses her eye-catching work, her criticism of the paper’s coverage of Israel-Palestine and the current conflict in Gaza, and making a stand about that issue at the recent Pulitzer Prize ceremony.

Alan and Lionel also discuss the Silicon Valley boardroom drama which saw OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman sacked—and then return as boss just days later, via a big job offer from Microsoft—as well as the latest on who is likely to buy The Telegraph.

About Prospect

Prospect brings rigorously fact-checked analysis, ideas and perspectives to the big topics the world is grappling with. In addition to being the UK’s leading monthly current affairs magazine, Prospect publishes daily commentary and analysis online. Even more discussion about the ideas that matter is available in our growing range of newsletters and podcasts, the most recent of which is Media Confidential.

Black Friday offer: Enjoy 50% off an annual digital subscription and receive full access to rigorously fact-checked, truly independent analysis and perspectives.  

Take advantage of this time-limited offer. Click here to subscribe now at https://subscription.prospectmagazine.co.uk/blfrcymo/prospect-magazine/bfmctext

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A remarkable interview with arguably Britain’s greatest living photographer, Sir Don McCullin. He opens up about his career in-and-out of war zones, saying he's been “damaged” by some of the things he saw in Vietnam, Biafra and elsewhere, and that he was “poisoned” by his profession. McCullin talks about some of his most dramatic photos and about feeling like he was “stealing” images of suffering. The legendary photojournalist also analyses the craft of modern war photography in an age of heavily restricted battlefield access and citizen journalists.

Plus, Lionel dissects the latest in the competition to own the Telegraph and Alan updates us about his quest to uncover whether there was interference from a BBC director in who would become chair of the media regulator Ofcom.

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Award-winning journalist Nick Davies broke the story of phone hacking by UK newspapers back in 2009 and now lays out the startling implications of News Group Newspapers’ major settlement with former Cabinet minister Chris Huhne, which adds a significant extra dimension to the affair.

Plus, Alan and Lionel discuss the issue of BBC funding with the former BBC executive Pat Younge, as the government look set to renege on its agreement with the corporation over the amount of the licence fee.

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Alan and Lionel hear Israeli and Palestinian perspectives on how the war in Gaza is being covered and on the continuing fight to control the media narrative.

Palestinian-British writer Samir El-Youssef discusses how the conflict and Hamas are reported on by Arabic-language news channels while Esther Solomon, editor-in-chief of Haaretz English, talks about trying to balance opposition to the politics of Benjamin Netanyahu with covering the on-going impacts and consequences of Hamas’s terrorism on the 7th October.

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One of the world’s leading photojournalists discusses her career in conflict zones and tells the story of how she captured a famous, horrific image while under fire in Ukraine.  

Lynsey Addario analyses the challenges of war photography in an era when journalists are increasingly likely to be targets and false images on social media make it difficult to assess what is real. She also shares her perspective on the pictures coming out of the war in Gaza and the courage of those capturing them.  

Plus, Alan and Lionel discuss the latest phone hacking headlines: court success for Prince Harry, and allegations about the role of Sir William Lewis, who is set to become CEO of The Washington Post.  

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Sky News’s Political Editor Beth Rigby joins Alan and Lionel to reflect on 2023’s key events and to launch the inaugural Media Confidential “awards”, nominating people, stories and news organisations for recognition in these categories:

Most important story of the year

Most under-reported story of the year

Turkey of the year

Political scoop of the year

News organisation of the year

Journalist of the year

Villain of the year

Hero/Heroine of the year

Here's a new seasonal subscription offer from Prospect. We’re discounting the price of an annual digital subscription by 50%. To take advantage of this great deal, please search for ‘Prospect New Year offer’ or visit https://subscribe.prospectmagazine.co.uk/mc. Offer ends Friday 19th Jan. 

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2024 is a crucial year for liberal democracies around the world, with over 50 nations voting in general elections and up to 4.2bn people casting their votes. In this episode, Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber discuss why media election coverage will be more important than ever, as key campaigns spill over from conventional, legacy formats such as print, television and radio and onto a wide range of social media platforms. Will fake news and misinformation become even more widespread, and could artificial intelligence have a decisive impact on outcomes?

Alan and Lionel also unpick the importance of a key AI lawsuit between the New York Times and Open AI and Microsoft. And then there’s Twitter, or X. How will the social media platform perform with the challenges that it faces on a daily basis since Elon Musk took over the reins?

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Award-winning actor Toby Jones, who plays Alan Bates in ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office, reflects on the drama’s huge public and political impact, alongside its producer Patrick Spence. 

Alan and Lionel ask why this screen version has cut through in a way that news reporting of the Post Office Horizon scandal did not, with insights from Professor Rasmus Nielsen, Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. 

Here's a new seasonal subscription offer from Prospect. We’re discounting the price of an annual digital subscription by 50%. To take advantage of this great deal, please search for ‘Prospect New Year offer’ or visit

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Is Donald Trump now unstoppable in his quest to secure the Republican presidential nomination, after kicking off caucus season with a decisive win in Iowa? As Trump shapes up for another shot at the White House, Alan and Lionel ask how US media can pitch their coverage and analysis to ensure scrutiny of such an unreliable and divisive figure, without ignoring the election issues that matter to his supporters. They’re joined by Alex Burns, who is now head of news at POLITICO and covered the 2020 election for the New York Times, to analyse how news organisations will and should cover the Trump campaign and question the record of President Joe Biden. Plus, what is former chancellor George Osborne’s involvement with one of the key bidders for the Daily Telegraph, and what is going on at Reach plc as Alison Phillips departs as editor of the Daily Mirror?

Here's a new seasonal subscription offer from Prospect. We’re discounting the price of an annual digital subscription by 50%. To take advantage of this great deal, please search for ‘Prospect New Year offer’ or visit https://subscribe.prospectmagazine.co.uk/mc. Offer ends Friday 19th Jan.

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Alan’s investigation into “Gibb-gate” continues. In a major article for Prospect, he sets out the influence and connections of a tight-knit and largely unaccountable clique which is undermining the political independence and regulation of public service broadcasting. At the centre of that group is Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s director of communications when she was prime minister.

Alan and Lionel discuss the independence of the BBC and its journalism, as well as government appointments more generally, with Roger Mosey (former head of BBC TV News, controller of Radio 5 Live and Editor of the Today programme) and Dorothy Byrne (former Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4).

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Can Rishi Sunak still rely on what has often been called the “Conservative media”, or are news organisations on the political right becoming increasingly hostile to the prime minister?

Journalist David Aaronovitch helps Alan and Lionel analyse who and what is driving significant cultural and political shifts in some of the UK’s newsrooms and media boardrooms. Could the Telegraph and GB News even desert the Tories and back the Reform party at the next general election?

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Amid great concern over the provision of local news in the UK and beyond, could organisations such as the Manchester Mill and the Bristol Cable challenge famous old papers in some of Britain’s biggest cities and calm long-term fears of areas becoming “news deserts”?

Alan and Lionel hear from Joshi Herrmann and Sophie Atkinson from Manchester Mill about whether their community subscriber model is the way to fund commercially sustainable journalism capable of holding powerful people and institutions to account in local and regional “patches”.

There’s also an update on “Gibb gate”, comment on the latest limp Ofcom ruling pertaining to GB News, plus analysis of Tucker Carlson flying to Moscow to interview the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

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Does the word “PRESS” on a flak jacket keep a journalist safe or make them a target? In this week’s Media Confidential, we focus on the sobering death toll of reporters covering the war in Gaza, as highlighted by the annual report of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Alan and Lionel hear from the CPJ’s chief executive Jodie Ginsberg and speak to AFP’s Global News Director Phil Chetwynd, who has a team reporting from inside Gaza and who highlights an incident when journalists were seemingly targeted by Israeli guns. Alan also gives insight on dealing with Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder, whose latest high profile court proceedings began this week

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Vice and BuzzFeed were once at the forefront of the digital media revolution—Vice alone was once valued at nearly double the New York Times! But now, both firms have shut their news operations, Vice has closed its flagship site, and further cuts to staff numbers are expected.

BuzzFeed’s former UK editor Janine Gibson, now weekend editor of the Financial Times, analyses why these millennial media giants became so troubled.

Plus, writer Peter Pomerantsev chats about a forgotten master of Second World War propaganda and discusses contemporary information manipulation, touching on Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalny, Ukraine and Donald Trump.

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Alan and Lionel sit down with AG Sulzberger, chair and publisher of the New York Times. AG took over as publisher of the New York Times six years ago after many years as a hack. His term coincided with that of Donald J Trump, for whom the Times was public enemy number one. AG stood his ground, telling the president to his face that his anti-press rhetoric was “not just divisive but increasingly dangerous”.

He and his team have taken the Times and transformed the digital offering, adding millions of subscribers worldwide. And he’s responsible for bringing a simple, yet addictive word game, Wordle, to a mass audience.

Recent weeks have seen the New York Times come under fire from several angles, yet AG continues to champion independent journalism. Alan and Lionel ask him if he believes he always get it right?

This episode of Media Confidential is sponsored by Bridged Media. Get started for your AI pilot by visiting www.bridged.media or book a free strategy session at founders@bridged.media

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Journalists are often taught that “when a dog bites a man, that is not news; when a man bites a dog, that is news.” But, according to former Guardian journalist and professor of sociology at Manchester university Gary Younge, sometimes events are newsworthy because they happen often—journalists just need to get curious about the reasons why. For example, after the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, a US justice department report revealed that every time a police dog bit someone in the city of Ferguson, the victim was black. Perhaps dog bites man is the story after all.

This week Alan and Lionel speak to Gary, who recently gave the inaugural Rosemary Hollis Memorial Lecture, about the lack of diversity in both race and class within the journalism industry. Broadsheets, he says, are the “internal memos of the upper class”. So, what can be done to open the field and make the industry more inclusive?

Journalist and writer Simon Nixon also joins Alan and Lionel to discuss the latest twists and turns in the story about who will buy the Telegraph, as Jeff Zucker and Andrew Neil get involved in a war of words about the control of the newspaper empire.

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In any war, counting the number of people killed is challenging. So, too, is understanding how they died. In Gaza, where the still-rising death toll already includes 13,450 children, these figures can be obscured by biases, allegations—and the realities on the ground. In this week’s episode, Lionel Barber and Alan Rusbridger are joined by leading statistician David Spiegelhalter to discuss how to shed light on casualty numbers in a war situation.

Also this week, George Brock joins Alan and Lionel to discuss a small yet significant development in the future of local news. George is a professor of journalism at City, University of London and has previously worked at the Yorkshire Evening Press, Observer and Times, where he was managing editor and Saturday editor. George explains how the Guildford Dragon has secured charitable status, and whether this could be a possible model for local news across the country.

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This week, Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber are joined by Gavin Esler and Michael Crick as they get stuck into GB News, broadcaster bias—and what it’s like to watch and appear on the channel.

Previously, Alan had tasked Gavin with watching GB News’s output for a month. The outcome? Tory MPs interviewing Tory MPs, “shallow” reporting, and a lack of balance not just about politics but about the reality of issues such as housing in UK society. Michael Crick is a contributor to GB News—albeit a combative one—and explains why he continues appearing on the channel, despite repeatedly calling for it to be shut down.

With such a lack of impartiality, how does the channel dodge being challenged by the regulator, Ofcom? Plus, ahead of the looming general election, tighter rules apply to broadcasters. How will GB News be able to report on the poll with so many politicians involved as presenters?

This episode of Media Confidential was recorded in front of an audience.

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Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu has passed a law that will ban foreign media from operating within the country. Al Jazeera is one of the main outlets on the ground providing reportage, and the most watched network in the region—so what impact will the closure of their operations in Israel have on the ability to get news out of the war zone? Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber are joined by journalist and humanitarian Khaled Mansour to discuss where genuine news reporting from the conflict will come from with the ban in place.

Also this week: in the past, UK political parties have relied on backing from Murdoch-run news media to ensure victory in general elections. Journalist and author Tom Baldwin discusses with Alan and Lionel whether that will be the case in the next election too. With the media landscape vastly different to previous elections, do the Times and the Sun still hold the power to sway the population?

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The war in Ukraine has been grinding on for over two years now, and the media spotlight on the region has dimmed over the last few months. But Anne Applebaum, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and writer for the Atlantic, has been following the conflict closely.

Because much of the world’s media has turned attention away from Ukraine, with editors focusing time and money instead on the war in Gaza, Anne explains that the innovation of Ukrainians in the war is being under-reported. So is there more going on than meets the eye? Despite not having a navy, Ukraine has been able to destroy much of the Russian Black Sea Fleet—but that hasn’t been widely covered, as no journalists are present to witness successful missions. As the war enters a crucial new phase, Anne, Lionel and Alan discuss the challenges of covering the conflict—and what the media can do better.

Also on the podcast, Celia Richardson from the National Trust joins Alan and Lionel to talk about the accusations made by the Daily Mail that the scones sold in its tea rooms and made with no butter were “woke”. A storm in a teacup?

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Tensions in the Middle East ramped up at the weekend with the massive drone and missile attack launched by Iran on Israel. The eyes of the world refocused on the region, particularly Gaza—but what about the other occupied Palestinian territory, the West Bank?

Gideon Levy is an award-winning journalist who has been writing a column in Haaretz called “The Twilight Zone” for many years. On the podcast, he discusses his current view of life in the West Bank with Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber.

Gideon has been visiting Gaza and the West Bank on a weekly basis for over 30 years now, reporting the stories of Palestinians living in the occupied territories. Gaza was closed to all Israelis after the second Intifada, but Gideon has continued his weekly visits to the West Bank since. The people he has met have told him many moving stories, which he has relayed as part of what he says is his mission to tell the truth. Behind it all, Gideon sees himself as a journalist and a human first, and then an Israeli— and believes this should be a message for all journalists. 

‘I’ve crossed some lines’ he says, because he walks a difficult path. He’s been shot by Israeli soldiers, too. But he insists that someone must tell the story of the people living in the occupied territories, currently living through hell in the West Bank and in Gaza.

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Lionel Barber and Alan Rusbridger are joined by Maurizio Molinari, editor of Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica to explore exactly what Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is doing with Italian state media.

Renowned historian Antonio Scurati was booked to deliver a monologue on a talk show on Italian broadcaster RAI 3 on 25th April, Italy’s Liberation Day, when it commemorates victory over fascism. In this speech, he was planning to accuse Meloni’s government of sticking to ideologies of neo-fascist culture. But then his appearance was cancelled—leading to allegations that the Italian PM is trying to turn state broadcasters into her own “megaphone”.

She wouldn’t be the first European leader exert control over their country’s media. There are concerns that Meloni is planning to take the Italian media down a similar road to that of Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, where independent journalists operate in a climate of fear and intimidation.

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Back in 2009, journalist Nick Davies uncovered a scandal: newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch had been hacking the phones of celebrities, public figures and even victims of crimes—notably the missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler—in search of stories. The Leveson inquiry was established to investigate, and the world moved on.

For this month’s Prospect magazine, Nick Davies has trawled through documents to unearth new evidence which suggests that the phones of some politicians were still being hacked during the Leveson inquiry, and at moments when key decisions were being made in government that would affect the commercial interests of Murdoch’s papers. It turns out the story is far from over… Nick joins Lionel Barber and Alan Rusbridger to discuss his findings.

To read the story in full, and the response from News Group Newspapers to Davies’s claims, visit the Prospect website: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/phone-hacking/65918/the-murdoch-spy-papers

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Investigative journalist Nick Davies returns with yet more remarkable insights and analysis about the phone-hacking scandal that engulfed Murdoch’s papers. Having trawled through documents disclosed through a host of court cases, Davies has pieced together information that suggests figures at the top of the Murdoch news empire—including potentially the man himself—knew more than we previously thought.

To read Nick’s stories in full, and the response from News Group Newspapers, visit the Prospect website: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/phone-hacking/65918/the-murdoch-spy-papers

Alan and Lionel also talk to Branko Brkic, editor-in-chief of South Africa’s Daily Maverick, about successfully holding power to account in that country and the importance of journalism in fighting for freedom and exposing corruption around the world.

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No foreign journalists are allowed into Gaza, so the rest of the world relies on those living in area to relay what is happening on the ground—dedicated and determined reporters who have made sure that no-one can look away.

For months, photojournalist Motaz Azaiza and Al Jazeera reporter Youmna El Sayed were among those reporting from Gaza.

Motaz has captured some of the most brutal, honest images of the war, refusing to censor even the most harrowing of shots. His aim? To show the world what western media couldn’t.

Youmna is a journalist for Al Jazeera English in Gaza, who witnessed shocking events during her work—ones that that will never leave her. “The only thing that keeps me standing is the suffering I’m seeing,” she says.

For this week’s podcast, they join Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber in London, at the “Truth Tellers” investigative journalism summit hosted in the memory of the great newspaper editor, Sir Harry Evans.

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GB News has repeatedly breached broadcasting regulations, been accused of political bias and featured anti-vax stories—but it got away with such misdemeanors until Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appeared on a show called “The People’s Forum”, in which he was able to outline key Conservative messages, largely unchallenged.

Ahead of the general election on 4th July, this finally grabbed the attention of Ofcom. But what took the regulator so long? And what sort of sanctions can the channel—many of whose MP presenters will now be unable to host during the election campaign—expect to face?

Professor Stewart Purvis once served as a senior executive at Ofcom, and is dismayed at the way Ofcom has allowed GB News carry on unchallenged. He talks to Lionel and Alan about the way it should be held to account for lacking impartiality.

Also this week: The Bristol Cable, a crowdfunded independent media organisation has been given a rare chance. The investigative newspaper is attempting to fill a gap left by the demise of traditional local newsrooms—and if they gain enough new members by September, they could secure a chunk of much-needed cash. Will they pull it off?

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Kara Swisher—maverick, rock star and tech guru—has interviewed some of the highest profile and biggest personalities on the planet, from Mark Zuckerberg to Barack Obama, Rupert Murdoch and Kim Kardashian. Joining Alan and Lionel on the podcast this week, Kara unpicks the relationship between big tech and the media. Big tech, she says, have no interest in the “greater good”. They wanted to make money, regardless of how that would impact the media companies, and media companies quickly got left behind.

With no existing legislation in the USA to keep big tech in check, the balance of power has swung far in their direction. And while Kara argues that big tech firms should be held responsible for what is published on their platforms, she warns that they are acting almost with impunity. Meeting at the Truth Tellers Summit, held in memory of Sir Harry Evans, she explains exactly what she would like to happen.

Also, Alan and Lionel reflect on previous general elections they have covered as they begin to watch the media coverage of the current campaign.

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Media circles across the pond are abuzz with the news that Robert Winnett is heading to the USA to take up the job as editor at The Washington Post, but not until after the US election. He’s the latest appointment by publisher Will Lewis following the sudden departure of Sally Buzbee. Winnett joins a handful of British journalists who have moved to America, including Emma Tucker, the editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, Mark Thompson, CEO of CNN, and Joanna Coles, chief creative and content officer at The Daily Beast. Is this the beginning of a British invasion of the American media?

Alan and Lionel are joined by NPR’s media correspondent, David Folkenflik, who reflects on the rapid changes at the Washington Post. He observes that becoming editor at this stage of an election year would be like “learning to kayak in a tsunami”. Alan and Lionel are also joined by Peter Foster, public policy editor at the Financial Times, who has known Robert for many years. Peter explains how he thinks Rob’s qualities as an editor will lead him to a successful tenure at the Post.

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This week Alan and Lionel follow the latest twists and turns at the Washington Post. The noisy departure of Sally Buzbee, the paper’s former executive editor, continues to reverberate around the media world, following Buzbee’s bust-up with Will Lewis, the Post’s publisher and chief executive, over an article that she approved about a phone hacking lawsuit connected to Lewis.

Lewis was mentioned in Prospect reporting that broke new revelations about the phone hacking scandal—but it was only when drama ensued at the Post, one of the great American media institutions, that the story began to make headlines. On this week’s episode, editor-in-chief of Semafor, Ben Smith, explains how the US publishing industry reacts when under fire.

Meanwhile Joanna Coles of the Daily Beast, another of the British journalists staking her claim in the United States, discusses whether British or American journalists are more used to newsroom showdowns. With all eyes on the Post, what will the ultimate fallout be?

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Is the UK general election all over even before the first vote is cast? Polls suggest that Labour has an unassailable lead, and so with two weeks of campaigning to go, is there any chance that media coverage could still influence the electorate? Lionel Barber and Alan Rusbridger are joined by two experienced political commentators to discuss how the parties have performed so far, and if any surprises are likely in the remaining fortnight. 

Michael Crick is a veteran of election campaigns, having started reporting on politics in the early 1980s, and Ros Taylor from the political podcast Oh God, What Now? has been on the political trail since the 1990s. Together with Alan and Lionel they reflect on Ed Davey’s capers, Sunak’s gaffes, Starmer’s “safe pair of hands” and the rise of Nigel Farage.

The outcome of the election will inevitably have ramifications for the future of Conservative party—including raising questions about who will be its next leader. While Farage—who leads Reform—is clearly popular amongst certain areas of the media, is any news organisation likely to take the plunge and back him and laud him as a future prime minister, or is he destined to remain on the periphery?

Also this week: The Washington Post saga continues and Lionel and Alan discuss how long Jeff Bezos can allow the chaos to continue, and Lionel reacts to breaking news that the Telegraph has lost a record £245 million: a story that promises to grow over the coming weeks.

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After 12 years without freedom—first after seeking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London and then as a prisoner in high-security Belmarsh—Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, is free and is back on home soil in Australia.

Assange’s crime was to publish classified information leaked from the US Army. He was working alongside Chelsea Manning, who had hacked the material. Assange claimed he was a journalist acting under the protection of the First Amendment in the US guaranteeing freedom of speech. A similar defence had been used in 1972 with the publishing of the Pentagon Papers by the New York Times.

In today’s episode, Alan Rusbridger, who was editor of the Guardian—the UK paper that published the documents leaked by Assange—and former FT editor Lionel Barber are joined two special guests. James Goodale is a legendary lawyer who represented the New York Times during the Pentagon papers and Kenneth Roth is former executive director of Human Rights Watch. They discuss the legal precedents set by this case and debate the rights and wrongs of publishing classified documents. Plus, what does this case indicate for the future freedom of the media?

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As Britain goes to the polls, what role has the media played in shaping the way that nation votes? Traditionally, the tabloid media, mainly Murdoch’s Sun, had a significant role in influencing the public, simlpy due to the huge swathes of the population that read the paper. But what about this year? Where have the tabloids and the broadsheets put their faith?

Alan and Lionel are joined by David Yelland. David was once editor of the Sun and now presents a podcast for the BBC called When It Hits The Fan. David believes the Sun has lost all of its influence. But then, at the last minute, the Sun decided to back Starmer—only not very passionately. Alan, Lionel and David react to the breaking news.

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Can Biden stay in presidential race or will concern about the state of his health force him out of the running?

There are plenty of reporters who say his time is up, but how did the president get to this stage in the campaign without anyone running a health-check on him? Jill Abramson, the first female executive editor of the New York Times, joins Alan and Lionel on this episode. She explains that when she was in charge, she had a physician on the staff who’d be in touch with the candidates’ doctors to ensure the paper knew the health status of a potential president.

But any journalist speaking out about the president’s health risks being attacked by Democrats, who don’t want Biden to be hounded out of the race by the press. But what’s the alternative? A candidate who seems intent on destroying democracy?

Alan and Lionel are also joined by Steven Brill, author of The Death of Truth. His latest book is a deep dive into the sludge of fake news and how social media channels have assisted the spread of conspiracy theories. Now the struggle to revive the truth begins in earnest.  

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Following the shocking attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump, social media platforms were flooded not only with truthful accounts of what happened at the rally, but also with lies, conspiracies and “fake news” concerning the shooting.

Alan and Lionel are joined by Jay Rosen, associate professor of journalism at New York University, to explore how to cover a presidential campaign in a time of misinformation, and when a culture war is pitching social media platforms and new forms of media against the so-called “mainstream” or legacy media.

Jay shares his views that producing quality journalism may not even matter right now, because those for whom most news analysis is intended aren’t paying attention and don’t want to read it.

Alan and Lionel also reflect on the near-success of the England men’s football team. They’re joined by sportswriter Paul Hayward to discuss how the media relationship with football has evolved during Gareth Southgate’s time with the national squad.

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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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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 mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk or via X, @mediaconfpod

This episode is sponsored by Reviewed & Cleared.

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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 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 mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk or via X, at @mediaconfpod

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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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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 mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk or via X, at @mediaconfpod

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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 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 mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk, 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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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 mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk, 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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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 mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk, 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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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 mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk or via X, @mediaconfpod

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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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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, 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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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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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 mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk, or via X, @mediaconfpod

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From JFK’s assassination to the moon landing, conspiracy theories have always existed. But the rise of social media has enabled fake news to spread like wildfire.

Award-winning journalist Marianna Spring joins the podcast to take Alan and Lionel on a tour through what she calls “Conspiracyland”, a hinterland between the online world and perceived reality.

Marianna is the Disinformation and Social Media correspondent for the BBC and is also the author of Among the Trolls: My Journey Through Conspiracyland. She attempts to make sense of what causes people to be sucked in to myths—whole movements sprang during the pandemic, based on disinformation around Covid-19. This summer’s far-right riots were sparked by false information. And after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during his election campaign, others couldn’t distinguish if what happened was real or staged.But as more people believe in wild stories, what impact does it have on society?

Will we look back with disbelief at how the truth became distorted beyond recognition, on giant unregulated social media platforms?

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How do you ask those difficult questions to guests that you want to probe further? And what do you do when they react unexpectedly—and the interview goes awry? This is the position Alan found himself in recently when recording with bestselling author, Michael Lewis. Alan tells us what went through his mind, and how he remained so cool.

And following the tense recent episode with James Harding, where are things currently at with the sale of the Observer? Lionel and Alan discuss how they think the situation could pan out.

The editors also discuss political “leaks”: how they happen, and the impact inside government.

Plus, why was one our hosts presented with a cherry cake from a well-known British businessman? Listen to this week’s Media Confidential’s Q&A to find out…

Send your questions to mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk or @mediaconfpod

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Hurricanes and wildfires are becoming more frequent. The extreme forecasts that were predicted a few decades ago are starting to happen, and climate change is an existential crisis for us all. So how do you tell the biggest story in the world?

Alan and Lionel are joined by award-winning environmental journalist and Financial Times associate editor, Pilita Clark. Pilita dials in from Baku, Azerbaijan, where the annual COP29 meeting on climate change is currently taking place.

Though 2024 is set to be the hottest year on record, discussion around climate has slipped into culture war territory, with ideology often trumping facts. How do journalists punch through and capture the public’s imagination? When the truth is hard to swallow, should they try and find the positive spin, or tell the grim reality?

To listen to the Prospect podcast on “COP29 and climate culture wars”, with Isabel Hilton and Sam Alvis, click here.

And to order tickets to our special book event with Lionel Barber, go here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/gamblingman

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Tune into a special taster of Media Confidential’s sister podcast: former Conservative cabinet minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi joins deputy editor Ellen Halliday and Alona Ferber on the Prospect Podcast.

In a moving and emotionally frank conversation about her journey in the public eye, she talks about her lifelong effort to challenge stereotypes, and why she’s finally resigned the whip.

Politicians, media outlets, think tanks and even the entertainment industry have poisoned public discourse, culminating in this summer’s riots, which saw mosques targeted and a wave of anti-Muslim disinformation. Sayeeda unpacks these ideas in her new book Muslims Don’t Matter, about “the silencing, stereotyping and stigmatising of Muslims” and describes how Islamophobia, which she calls “Britain's bigotry blind spot”, not only passes the “dinner table test”, but has been embraced and enacted into policy.

Muslims Don’t Matter is out now: https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/sayeeda-warsi/muslims-dont-matter/9780349136486/

And to listen to more from the Prospect podcast, visit https://prospect.lnk.to/podcastgu

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“Fake news”, lies, and a deep distrust of the “mainstream media”: these all marked the Trump’s first presidency. But will Trump 2.0 only usher in more bombastic speeches, or will the regime turn authoritarian?

Alan and Lionel are joined by Margaret Sullivan, columnist and former New York Times editor, who has called Trump an existential threat to journalism. And with several American news organisations in turmoil and some TV networks struggling, what will the next four years hold for independent media?

Margaret discusses the role that new platforms like Substack may play, as well as “shadow president” Elon Musk, who only seems interested in free speech when it echoes his own views.

She calls for stiff spines and strong wills when dealing with the president and shares her hopes for the industry, if reporters can be be courageous enough...

To watch this interview, search for ‘Prospect magazine’ on YouTube, where Media Confidential is published every Friday.

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In this week’s Q&A, Lionel Barber takes centre stage to tell the tale of a largely unknown man who, for three days, was the richest man in the world.

Recorded in front of an audience at Prospect HQ, he spoke about his new book, Gambling Man: The Wild Ride of Japan’s Masayoshi Son, in conversation with Prospect’s books & culture editor, Peter Hoskin.

Nobody had written extensively about Son, and with no western biography available, Lionel leapt at the chance to tell the extraordinary story of a speculator who has won and lost billions over the course of his life.

From the slums to the high-flying world of trading, he uncovers the rise of a Korean-Japanese businessman, who was truly ahead of his time.

Lionel’s book Gambling Man is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/451627/gambling-man-by-barber-lionel/9780241582725

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In the first of three special editions on artificial intelligence and the media, Alan and Lionel are joined by the CEO of ProRata.ai, Bill Gross.

Artificial intelligence poses a serious threat to the survival of news organisations. Last year, the New York Times sued Microsoft over AI models secretly scraping its copyrighted work. Millions of articles from the Times were used to train chatbots, which now compete with the paper, the lawsuit claimed.

How can be affected newspapers be identified and compensated for the use of their stories? Bill offers a novel solution, which is being taken up by some of the biggest names in the media: the Guardian, Sky News, the FT, the Daily Mail’s publisher, as well as Prospect.

Also this week: updates on the ongoing Observer saga, and Lionel and Alan discuss the scandal involving BBC presenter Gregg Wallace.

To watch this interview, and many more, head over to YouTube and search for ‘Prospect Magazine’. 

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Office streakers, whiskey before lunchtime, and untimely deaths: with Christmas party season almost upon us,

Alan and Lionel get nostalgic for the old-fashioned newsroom on this week’s Media Confidential Q&A.

Plus, your weekly update on the contested Observer sale, amidst disquiet amongst journalists at the paper. After grilling Tortoise’s James Harding on the podcast, plenty of questions still remain...

Meanwhile, down under, the Australian ban on social media for under 16s sparks discussion, and it becomes clear that one of our hosts is not a social media fan.

But this “dinosaur” can still bite—listen to the episode to hear his objections.

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In the second episode on our series focusing on AI's impact on the media industry, Alan and Lionel talk to the executive chairman of Sky News, David Rhodes.

David has expressed support for AI advancements, as long as publishers are compensated fairly. He’s keen to promote transparency, support credible journalism, and combat fake news.

Noble ambitions...but how does he intend to carry them out?

Now that the Observer has finally been sold to James Harding's Tortoise Media, Alan and Lionel discuss the next stage in an unfolding saga.

Finally, in the Murdoch empire, life imitates art. The latest developments sound like a plot straight from the series Succession: Alan and Lionel discuss who might take on the mantle once Rupert passes away. Could he rule his empire from beyond the grave?

Keep your media questions coming. Send them to Mediaconfisdential@prospectmagazine.co.uk and follow us on BlueSky @ prospectmagazine.bsky.social

Also, stay up to date with all our latest stories by signing up to our new daily newsletter, Lightbulb - simply click on the newsletter tab on our website and enter your email address to register.

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What do you do if a big story breaks on Christmas Day and there's a skeleton crew running the newsroom?

That's just one of the seasonal questions put to Alan and Lionel in this week's Q&A episode.

The editors also discuss Mishal Husain's departure from the BBC's Today programme, characterising her as one of the best interviewers of recent times.

Finally, they reflect on how reporting has changed since the #MeToo movement. One feature of the Daily Mail, in particular, is singled out as being stuck in the 1980s.

If you're after Christmas gift ideas, look no further than our very own Lionel Barber's recent book Gambling Man, or why not try a discounted subscription to Prospect magazine? (Listener Annie Day's dad will be very happy this year!)

https://subscription.prospectmagazine.co.uk/dec24off/prospect-magazine/de24nl

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Can traditional journalism survive when ChatGPT is able to produce copy in a matter of seconds?

In Media Confidential’s third episode in a series exploring the world of artificial intelligence, Alan and Lionel are joined by Felix Simon, an AI expert and research fellow at the Reuters Institute of Journalism.

He shares how the technology could transform the way newsrooms operate, and why this might actually be a good thing.

Meanwhile, despite ongoing deals between AI companies, publishers and news organisations, data scraping and the future of copyright ownership remains a grey area. Why does it matter?

To watch this video, head to our YouTube channel, where Media Confidential is published every Thursday.

Not sure what to gift this Christmas? Why not make use of Prospect’s discounted subscription offer here.

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For our final episode of 2024, Alan and Lionel look back at their Media Confidential year. They’ve tackled a huge range of stories: from phone-hacking and the rise of AI, to Ofcom’s battles with GB News. They’ve analysed elections on both sides of the Atlantic, were joined by Toby Jones on the Post Office scandal, and heard from courageous reporters working inside Gaza.

There’s been an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, and a crisis at the Washington Post… but which episodes do they find the most memorable?

Michael Lewis came to Prospect Towers in September to promote his new book about Sam Bankman-Fried, Going Infinite. But when Alan started reading out criticism of the book, the temperature dropped several degrees. The heated resulting exchange is hard to forget.

Ahead of the US election, Rebecca Solnit joined Alan and Lionel to discuss her concerns about the American media “sanewashing” Donald Trump.

Finally, James Harding and Carole Cadwalladr recently appeared on the show to tell-all about Tortoise's controversial decision to buy the Observer. James received a grilling from our hosts. Now, with Observer journalists striking, who’s to say who was right?

2025 promises to be a heck of a ride.

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Would legalising assisted dying end unnecessary suffering? Or would it instead enable the abuse of some of society’s most vulnerable people?

Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill has passed its second reading. Back in September, Prospect invited two of our most profound thinkers—Rowan Williams and Brenda Hale—to debate the issue. As archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams led a Church that publicly opposes any form of assisted dying, while, as a Supreme Court judge, Brenda Hale was involved in life-or-death judgements.

In a moving exchange, Hale discusses her own Christian faith, while Williams shares his pastoral experience in the company of the dying. They joined Prospect’s editor Alan Rusbridger and commissioning editor Emily Lawford for a thoughtful and vitally important conversation.

This episode was first published on Media Confidential's sister podcast, the Prospect podcast. To read this conversation from the magazine, visit our website.

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Could machine-generated articles replace those created by human beings?

After their series on AI in the media, Alan and Lionel now turn to listeners’ questions.

There's no question that AI could help to make journalists lives easier, but what sort of practical uses will there be on a day-to-day basis? Is there a risk that AI will take over the creative roles of writers and reporters? And what are the main threats to media employees?

Alan and Lionel remain cautiously optimistic about the future of the tools that will become more and more available.

They’re convinced that the subtlety, wit and nuance of real-life journalists will win out and cannot be replaced by machines. At least not yet…

Follow us on BlueSky @prospectmagazine.bsky.social and stay up to date with all our latest stories by signing up to our new daily newsletter Lightbulb—simply click on the newsletter tab on our website and enter your email address to register.

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Alan and Lionel are joined by Janine Gibson, editor of the Weekend FT, to look ahead to what promises to be a “yuge” year for journalists.

As Trump enters his second term in the White House, should we expect authoritarian clamp-downs on the press? And as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg promises free-speech and the end of fact-checking at Facebook, will opinion trump truth?

The editors also discuss new media stars, from Joe Rogan to gamer “ConnorEatsPants”, who has interviewed everyone from Joe Exotic to Sesame Street’s Elmo…and even the mysterious Adrian Dittmann, rumoured to be Elon Musk’s alter-ego.

Plus, will Prince Harry have his day in court to take on Murdoch over phone-hacking? One of our editors receives some tantalising hints that he may not go through with it after all…

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Alan and Lionel kick off the 2025 with a brand-new Q&A episode.

While primetime CNN attracts a mere 400,000 listeners, the Joe Rogan Experience reaches over 17 million subscribers on YouTube. What explains the exponential rise of Joe Rogan’s podcast?

In a world dominated by social media platforms, where fact and fiction are blurred, the editors make the case for traditional, fact-based journalism.

Plus, Alan and Lionel have brushed shoulders with many household names, but who has made them starstruck? The editors share their stories: what question did Alan ask the queen?

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How do you solve a problem like Elon? The billionaire owner of X controls one of the world's biggest social media channels, treating the platform as his own propaganda machine.

Armando Iannucci—the satirist, writer and producer behind Alan Partridge, The Thick of It and Veep—has, until recently, been using his own Twitter account to fact-check Musk's posts.

He joins Alan Rusbridger and guest host, Janine Gibson, editor of the Weekend FT, to discuss how what happens if we don't take Musk seriously.

Like Donald Trump, Musk has a strong dislike for the mainstream media and has used X to vocalise support for fringe figures like Tommy Robinson. 

But what might have once been dismissed as baseless rants are now driving the news agenda—and even political manoeuvres—in many parts of the USA and Europe.

How will Musk's megalomania end? And how dangerous to global democracy is he, really? Armando, Alan and Janine discuss. 

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The BBC, a broken tape recorder and a fake Meryl Streep. That’s right, it can only mean a new edition of Media Confidential’s Q&A show.

Alan is joined by Janine Gibson, in Lionel’s absence, to tackle questions about their first days as editors, their favourite headlines and the future of the BBC.

One listener asks: do the editors remember a time when they badly messed things up?

From an interview with a massive guest going awry, to retribution in the form of one well-known actress, Alan and Janine share some of the finest stories they’ve gathered in their time as journalists and editors.

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Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers (NGN) has finally admitted that unlawful behaviour was carried out by private investigators working for the Sun and the News Of The World.

They've offered "a full and unequivocal apology" to Prince Harry for illegally obtaining private information about him—and have agreed to a staggering eight-figure settlement. 

So, is that the end of the matter, or is there still more to come? Has Murdoch's company got off lightly? Alan and Lionel chew over the case. 

Meanwhile the fate of the Daily Telegraph is still in limbo, as the paper awaits a buyer.

Former editor of the Telegraph and Thatcher biographer Charles Moore joins Alan and Lionel to discuss who the next owner could be.

To read "The Spy Papers", our exclusive investigation into the phone hacking scandal, go to https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/phone-hacking/65918/the-murdoch-spy-papers

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Alan and Lionel are joined by Saad Mohseni, the tycoon who reshaped Afghanistan's media landscape.

In 2001, Saad was forging a career in international banking. But after the invasion of Afghanistan, and the subsequent fall of the Taliban government, he decided to move to Kabul.

There, he co-founded the Moby Group, the country’s largest media company, where he is chairman and executive officer. He also started a radio station, soon spawning a TV station which broadcast the now-banned hit talent show, Afghan Star.

Saad discusses his book Radio Free Afghanistan and what it is like to operate a media empire after the Taliban’s return.

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On 18th June 1994, Catholic pubgoers in Loughinisland, County Down, were watching a World Cup match when a loyalist paramilitary group burst in and murdered six civilians, wounding five others. To this day, no-one has been charged for the crime.

Produced by journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, No Stone Unturned (2017) told the story of the massacre, revealing how the police had colluded in protecting the gunmen.

When the film disclosed anonymous documents identifying the murder suspects, the Northern Irish police service (PSNI) arrested Trevor and Barry—and both of their homes were raided by armed police—to discover the source of the leak.

Last December, a tribunal found that the PSNI and Met police also unlawfully spied on both journalists, long before the film was even produced.

They join Alan and Lionel to tell their extraordinary story, and ask: could other journalists in the UK be under surveillance by the authorities?

To read more about Northern Ireland’s police spying scandal, head to www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/crime-and-justice/68906/northern-irelands-police-spying-scandal

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Alan and Lionel return to answer listeners’ questions on today’s hot topics.

With Lionel currently in New York, attention turns to American news coverage. Has US media gone far enough in its coverage of Trump’s first week back in power? Should journalists in the US be afraid of his second presidency?

Alan and Lionel also discuss how teenagers relying on TikTok might be introduced to longer form analysis, and debate whether newspapers are too expensive.

And with the news that Jake Wallis Simons is finally resigning as editor of the Jewish Chronicle, questions are raised over who really owns the paper and who is doing the hiring and firing…

To read Alan’s column “Who really funds the Jewish Chronicle?”, head to https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/65839/who-really-funds-the-jewish-chronicle-why-its-troubling-that-we-dont-know

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Alan and Lionel are joined by American editor and media executive Norman Pearlstine. They reflect on Trump’s second term so far, and how news outlets have reported on some of his astonishing executive orders.

Norm argues that while billionaire media moguls were once lauded as saviours, they have proved to be “poor stewards”, more concerned about their own interests rather than the freedom of the press.

Will this Trump era will be “normalised” by a press fearful of being hit with lawsuits or punished by the president? How should journalists deal with a leader who calls the media an “enemy of the people” while avidly consuming their coverage?

To watch this discussion on how to report the truth in tumultuous times, head to our YouTube channel, where Media Confidential is published every Friday. 

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This week, we get up close and personal with Alan and Lionel as they discuss dream guests, hobbies and personal media habits.

How does a high-flying editor and news junkie switch off, even for a short time? From piano to cold water swimming, Alan and Lionel share some of their favourite ways to unwind.

With media outlets under attack in the US, what will viewers be left with once the axes have stopped falling? And who should the power to determine how media impartiality is defined?

Finally, how should one prepare for meeting and interviewing a head of state? What may appear daunting can be bolstered by the application of one basic skill—listen to this episode to discover what the secret is.

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This week, Alan and Lionel are joined by Prospect columnist Sam Freedman, a senior fellow at the Institute for Government.

Sam reveals the inner workings of the Westminster press lobby—commonly known as “the lobby”. That’s the group of political journalists, usually representing major newspapers and broadcasters, with privileged access to official briefings and the Prime Minister’s spokesperson.

In this month’s issue of Prospect, Sam argued that the pressures of 24-hour news cycles and reduced resources have led lobby journalists to prioritise sensationalism over true policy analysis. He thinks this lack of specialist expertise means the lobby prefers to nose around and cause trouble and, at worst, even “hallucinates” stories.

But what impact is this having on the media? And how does it end up shaping government policy itself?

To read Sam’s piece, head to https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/issues/march-2025

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Which actor would you want to be played by? Though that question isn’t hypothetical for Alan (shoutout Toby Jones), Lionel shares his own thoughts in this week’s Media Confidential Q&A.

And with the recent arrival of digital newspaper The Londoner, what impact has it had on the capital’s local media landscape? The editors give their verdict on Joshi Hermann’s latest endeavour.

Alan and Lionel are asked what measures they have put in place to protect journalists in dangerous situations, including war zones. Plus, in an age of digital surveillance, how can reporters keep themselves safe?

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If someone wanted to take over British institutions like Trump's government has done in the USA, what would their first steps be—and how could we guard against them?

Joining Alan and Lionel in the Prospect studios is a panel of expert guests: Jean Seaton is Professor of Media History and the Official Historian of the BBC, Peter York and Patrick Barwise are co-authors of the book The War against the BBC: How an Unprecedented Combination of Hostile Forces Is Destroying Britain's Greatest Cultural Institution... And Why You Should Care.

Alan and Lionel discuss Boris Johnson’s latest column and how the New York Times got hold of thousands of pages of court documents relating to the Murdoch dynasty’s bitter court fight over custody of the media empire.

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In a rapidly changing world, can journalists still cut through the noise? In this special episode, Alan and Lionel are joined by aspiring journalists from Oxford Brookes University to tackle their tough questions about the industry’s future.

They explore why gen Z seems increasingly sceptical of democratic processes, whether Prince Harry’s recent trial signals the need for another Leveson Inquiry, and what it truly means to ‘know your patch’ as a young journalist.

Plus, in the midst of another chaotic Trump presidency, with endless sources of information at our fingertips, how should journalists pursue the truth? 

Send us your questions via email at mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk 

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One of the world's biggest media dynasties is in crisis. Last December, in a Nevada court, the Murdoch family battled to decide who would take control of its media empire. 

Alan and Lionel are joined by Jim Rutenberg, writer-at-large for the New York Times, who was one of two journalists who obtained copies of sealed court documents and published details of the case.

He shares the story of reporting on Murdoch’s secret trial—and uncovers the Succession-style drama behind it all.

Jim, Alan and Lionel also discuss the effects of the Trump administration cherry-picking its press pool.

To listen to more on the Murdoch trial from Media Confidential, click here.

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In this second special episode, Alan and Lionel are joined by aspiring journalists from Oxford Brookes University to tackle their tough questions about the industry’s future.

Alan and Lionel discuss optimism: when journalism is suffering a crisis of trust, what can we do to be hopeful?

Plus, the editors are asked what sources they trust when it comes to keeping informed.

Send us your questions via email at mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk

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Gen Z aren't switching on the TV for the 10 o’clock news. They aren't picking up newspapers, and they're less likely to trust the big media names in the same way their parents did.

But they are consuming vast amounts of news...Alex Mahon is the CEO of Channel 4.

She joins Alan and Lionel at Prospect HQ to talk about how journalists can capture the attention and, more importantly, the trust of a generation.

The editors also respond to the BBC pulling a documentary on young people in Gaza, and the White House meeting that everybody is talking about.

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Alan and Lionel respond to more listeners’ questions on this week’s Q&A.

In a world where the news never sleeps, the editors are asked whether news coverage is proactive or reactive.

They also discuss the importance of fact-checking, and whether or not young people are equipped with the tools to pick up on political bias across news platforms.

Plus, Alan explains what a “dead cat” is journalistic jargon for, and how listeners can identify one.

If you have a question for Alan and Lionel send them to mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk

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Journalist and political commentator Ash Sarkar joins Alan and Lionel to talk about her debut book Minority rule, adventures in the culture war, which tackles free speech and how so-called culture wars have been manufactured to stoke division and influence politics. How have cultural battles eclipsed economic struggle in public debate?

Ash examines the media’s role in fuelling the culture wars, the impact of social media algorithms on political discourse, and how class interests shape coverage of figures like Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage. She also reflects on the future of Novara Media, whether the UK is following a global shift toward right-wing politics, and the challenges of building sustainable left-wing media. Can there ever be a left-wing Joe Rogan?

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Alan and Lionel respond to more listeners’ questions on this week’s Q&A.

In this episode they are asked if the amount of low quality journalism available has an impact on public trust in journalism and they discuss the concept of 'flooding the zone' and what can be done by newsrooms to reclaim the narrative.

Plus whether or not journalists play a role in promoting and investigating fraudulent influencers.

If you have a question for Alan and Lionel send them to mediaconfidential@prospectmagazine.co.uk

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This week, Alan and Lionel are joined by former MI6 chief Sir John Sawers to discuss the new world order...or should that be disorder?

They share their views on the threat posed by the second Trump presidency and whether the world has reverted to “might is right”. John raises concerns over the future of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance—which consists of the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US. Could this mean the end of intelligence sharing with America?

Plus, Alan and Lionel discuss the unexpected outcome of Ofcom’s cases against GB News.

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