Press Insider

Laura Silver was the Editor of PoliticsHome when this interview was recorded. At times Laura can be quietly spoken, but everything she says is worth hearing. She’s an all-round impressive person, but I asked her to be a guest on Press Insider because of her influence over the UK’s political media coverage. Her experience in news reporting is extensive, so while we drill down into the particular requirements of PoliticsHome, this is...

Lindsey Davis is Content Director of Homes Ecommerce at Future Publishing. Her remit includes some of the UK’s top interior brands: Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens, Livingetc, Homebuilding & Renovating, and Real Homes. Lindsey’s role is different to the other editors I have spoken to. She is solely focused on ecommerce content and building high intent audiences — which means she’s the strategist behind the buying guides, produc...

Meena Alexander was the Associate Editor at Stylist magazine when this episode was recorded. She has since gone freelance, but if you want to pitch to Stylist, her advice stands because she knows the brand inside and out. In 2018 she left The Times to join Stylist, rising from sub editor, to features editor, features director and finally associate editor. She achieved a lot there, and has the awards to prove it: she was one of Camp...

Sam Parker is the Site Director at GQ. He’s been there since 2022, but has worked in content for over 15 years for brands you’ll know: Esquire, Buzzfeed, Huffpost and Penguin Random House. He’s a fascinating person to listen to, he’s both intellectually and emotionally intelligent, analytical and imaginative, tactical and strategic. This year, Sam wrote his first book Good Anger. It’s about the power of healthy rage and was named N...

Claudia Canavan was the Health & Wellness Director at Hearst UK when this episode was recorded. She oversaw the content and editorial strategy across several of the publisher’s flagship magazines, including Women's Health and Men's Health. In this interview she mainly focused on Women’s Health, but if you’re keen to pitch a wellness story to another health title, the advice is very transferable. Especially as she now actually w...

Fiona Sinclair Scott, the Global Editor of CNN Style, is this week’s guest. She’s been steering CNN’s international style coverage for over 10 years, and is candid about how challenging journalism is these days. Refreshingly though, she also talks about how exciting it is too, so this conversation is an uplifting one. A little note on timings: this episode was recorded last summer, so events from 2024 are mentioned, such as the ele...

Hattie Brett, Editor-in-Chief of Grazia magazine, is a powerhouse in British women’s media. She’s one of the most influential editors in the business and in this season opener she discusses her career in journalism and the current challenges and opportunities in the media industry. The interview took place last summer, so there’s references to things that happened in 2024, but all her advice is still relevant today. She talks about...

Tom Howard, Head of Editorial at the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society), is the award-winning editor in this episode. He oversees the UK’s biggest garden magazine, as well as all the RHS’s other print and digital titles.  His divisive approach to content has attracted lots of critical acclaim, but some criticism too. He talks about why that is, what the brilliant engaged readers do and don’t like, and the one thing all the best pitc...

Sarah Allard, Digital Director of Condé Nast Traveller UK, is this episode’s guest. Sarah makes no secret of her media success: she’s a total data nut with exceptional SEO skills. She follows the numbers, she’s methodical, and she has an instinct for engaging and clickable content. In this episode she talks about her commissioning process, her role in defining what luxury travel means, and how she collaborates with the other intern...

Press Insider is a podcast by Kelly Bowerbank, an editor with over 16 years experience in lifestyle journalism, that goes behind-the-scenes with talented staff at magazines and newspapers. They talk about the changing media landscape, reveal how they commission content, what ideas they’re looking for, and the best ways to pitch to them. It’s a show for people interested in learning how to become a freelancer writer, but also for bu...