The Signal

Welcome to The Signal, hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard. This week: deconstructing New York Times Chairman and Publisher A.G. Sulzberger's keynote speech, "AI, Journalism, and the Uncertain Future of the Public Square," delivered at the World News Media Congress in Marseille. What are the double-standards at play? Is the news industry treating the sources of its own stories properly, and w...

Welcome to The Signal, hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard. Have you ever wondered how journalism makes money? Or how news itself makes money? This episode is about the mechanics of journalism, so Tom and Fergus dig into a big spread of crucial topics: What is Reader Revenue? What about ad-blockers and paywalls? What about "mission driven" orgs and non-profits? They look at the rise and rise...

Welcome to The Signal, hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard. Fergus and Tom are in Marseille at the World News Congress and in this episode they talk to Olalla Maria Novoa Ojea, the Head of AI at Prisa Media, the world's largest Spanish and Portuguese-language media and entertainment group. Olalla is a working journalist, not a tech evangelist, who's spent her career inside the machine. She st...

Welcome to The Signal, hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard. In this episode, Fergus and Tom talk to Micah Gelman and Lauren Saks from Local News International, the poster kids of the independent news brand universe. Founded mid-2025 when Dave Jorgenson, Lauren and Micah all left the Washington Post, LNI is a creator-led newsroom built on video, newsletters and direct audience relationships. G...

Welcome to The Signal, hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard. In this episode, Fergus and Tom consider Australia’s Social Media Ban, toxic spaces, resourceful teenagers, the limits of parental guidance and the real impacts of a reduced news diet. Social Media is the pathway to news, so how will these restrictions affect young people’s ability to access verifiable, quality news? How do you build...

Welcome to The Signal, hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard. In this extra episode, Fergus and Tom consider where audiences are heading, the repurposing of content, efficiency vs creativity and future-casting. Sidenote: is it jif or gif? If you want to understand how the news is being created and distributed, how AI is - and can be - used in newsrooms, insights from media leaders and practical...

Welcome to The Signal, hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard. In this fourth episode, Fergus and Tom dig into what they've seen and learned after working with nearly 250 newsrooms in 40 countries since September 2024. Trends, data, anecdotes and breaking open the misleading idea that all newsrooms are focused simply on replacing journalists. If you want to understand how the news is being creat...

Welcome to The Signal, hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard. In this third episode, Fergus and Tom discuss Digital Media Asia, the rise and rise of Winston and William Utomo's IDN Times, new business models for journalism, the oddness of AI-hosted podcasts and more. If you want to understand how the news is being created and distributed, how AI is - and can be - used in newsrooms, insight...

Welcome to The Signal, hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard. In this first episode, Fergus and Tom dig into what "innovation" even means in 2026, the fragility of our shared digital history, the ethical perils of prediction markets, the rise of WhatsApp publishing, their own No Whinging mission statement and more. If you want to understand how the news is being created and distributed, how AI...

Welcome to The Signal, hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard. In this episode, Fergus talks about what he saw and heard at the 2026 International Journalism Festival in Perugia. They chew over "what is a journalist?", whether Perugia was the Creator Festival, the power of the clip, the incredible rise of Live-Streamed news - looking in particular at Chile's first streaming news channel, Turno -...

Welcome to The Signal, hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard. In this full-length episode, Fergus and Tom explain who they are, walk us through their backgrounds in journalism and dig into what The Signal is about and who it's for. If you want to understand how the news is being created and distributed, how AI is - and can be - used in newsrooms, insights from media leaders and practical thinki...

On this new podcast from the co-founders of fathm , Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard explore their individual stories as journalists and newsroom innovators and explain what The Signal is for, who it's for and what sort of guest they'll be welcoming in. The focus is simple: cut through the noise and get to what matters, so if you work in journalism, media, content or technology - or you’re trying to...

On this new podcast from the co-founders of fathm , Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard explore their individual stories as journalists and newsroom innovators and explain what The Signal is for, who it's for and what sort of guests they'll be welcoming in. The focus is simple: cut through the noise and get to what matters, so if you work in journalism, media, content or technology - or you’re trying t...