About this episode
It's nearly the end of January, and from a macroeconomic perspective, it’s been an absolutely wild month.
The US threatened to invade Greenland and institute tariffs on European countries mobilising to resist that effort. In Davos last week, Trump appeared to walk back some of those threats, but it’s safe to say uncertainty is and will continue to be at very high levels.
Uncertainty raises questions for the media industry, which sits at the centre of global business activity.
Earlier this month, The Media Leader convened its annual Year Ahead event in London. The invite-only event is always a great way to kick off the year.
This year, Tom Standage, The Economist’s deputy editor, gave a fantastic run-down of some of those macro factors to look out for, and we separately interviewed him afterward to ask a couple follow up questions.
In addition to Tom, The Media Leader's content director James Longhurst and senior reporter Jack Benjamin to the stage both to recap some of the key themes from last year, and also raise key questions to industry leaders on their plans for 2026.
The duo wanted to involve the audience, so they also asked Mail Metro Media’s commercial chief Dominic Williams, Thinkbox CEO Lindsey Clay, Bauer Media Advertising MD Simon Kilby, and World Media Group CEO Jamie Credland to share their predictions for the year ahead, too.
Highlights:
2:02: Key themes from 2025 in media: Consolidation, getting "easier to buy", AI search
5:30: Stories to watch in 2026: European-American business relations, trust, ROI on AI
9:30: Dominic Williams: The World Cup opportunity
11:12: Lindsey Clay: A return to brand building
13:39: Simon Kilby: Valuing trusted media amid AI slop and harmful images
16:05: Jamie Credland: Quality journalism in an age of AI
Related articles:
The Economist: A look at the political economy
World Media Group members on how AI will reshape the media industry in 2026
Get every episode summarized
Each time The Media Leader Podcast publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from The Media Leader Podcast
How SPUR is building a new economic model for publishers - with technical lead A...
The Media Leader Podcast
The future of media research and JICs - with the IPA's Dan Flynn and Graeme Grif...
The Media Leader Podcast
What is the future of freesheets? With Metro's Deborah Arthurs and Jo Mazenko
The Media Leader Podcast
The art and craft of audio advertising - AudioTrack at 10
The Media Leader Podcast