The Signal

Fergus Bell, Tom Trewinnard
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AI is already reshaping journalism. So is the creator economy. And for most organisations, the real challenge isn’t knowing that, it’s working out what to do about it. The Signal is a weekly podcast hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard, co-founders of Fathm. Each week, they sit down with the people building the future of media, from newsroom leaders and product teams to technologists and creators, to explore how change is actually playing out in practice. The focus is simple: cut through the noise and get to what matters. That means real examples, honest conversations, and a clearer view of how AI, audience behaviour and new business models are shaping journalism today. New episodes every week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

  1. How a Global Media Giant Is Tackling AI Governance, Shadow IT & Training 900+ Journalists | Ep 7

    4d ago

    How a Global Media Giant Is Tackling AI Governance, Shadow IT & Training 900+ Journalists | Ep 7

    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 started as a Fulbright-funded Wall Street correspondent in the US before coordinating editions for the Wall Street Journal, then ran breaking news and digital innovation at El Mundo back in Spain. Now at Prisa Media, her standout project is Victoria - a synthetic voice built from scratch, dubbed “The Voice of Soccer”. She also led VerificAudio, an experimental Spanish-language audio deepfake detection tool for journalists. Olalla knows all about practical AI, applied editorially. Fergus and Tom talk to her about the shift from newsrooms to AI, the conversational experience of Voice products and chatbots like Alexa or Siri, the AI world before ChatGPT. They discuss using LLMs for rigorous work, the protection of “super-valuable” intellectual property, why it’s important to read the fine print, plus what is “shadow IT” and why are some people using AI in secret? 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 thinking on the future of journalism - as well as honest conversations about what’s working, and what isn’t - then subscribe and follow to stay close to The Signal. Fergus and Tom will be here every week. Find The Signal on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Rob Fitzpatrick Edited by James Bullock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    23 min
  2. How Ex-Washington Post creators built a 375K subscriber news brand | Local News International | Ep 6

    Jun 18

    How Ex-Washington Post creators built a 375K subscriber news brand | Local News International | Ep 6

    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. Gelman spent a decade as the Post's Head of Video, winning Pulitzers, Emmys, Murrows and Webbys; Saks, as Deputy Head of Video, built Washington Post Universe and its TikTok/YouTube operation. In just under a year, LNI has pulled in 375,000 YouTube subscribers and a “one-to-one relationship” with their 15,000 newsletter subscribers. Theirs is a two-pronged business: Jorgenson’s “artful, custom” daily video posts and the company’s work in helping other organisations to develop in-house talent and build a meaningful audience. Their big lesson? Being independent means you can’t ever stop - it's a non-stop push to move forward. Side quest - what’s the worst kind of slop? Find out within. 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 thinking on the future of journalism - as well as honest conversations about what’s working, and what isn’t - then subscribe and follow to stay close to The Signal. Fergus and Tom will be here every week. Find The Signal on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Rob Fitzpatrick Edited by James Bullock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    29 min
  3. Australia's Social Media Ban: What Happens When Young People Stop Seeing News? | EP 5

    Jun 11

    Australia's Social Media Ban: What Happens When Young People Stop Seeing News? | EP 5

    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 a news brand without the big platforms? And even if you are a news geek, how do you get to want to be a journalist if you don’t really see journalists? To answer this question, Fergus also talks to Sue Brooks, the chair of the National Council for the Training of Journalists, who considers the seismic shifts in the news industry, how journalism has become "an elite sport", where the future leaders will come from and, crucially, who will pay for it. 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 thinking on the future of journalism - as well as honest conversations about what’s working, and what isn’t - then subscribe and follow to stay close to The Signal. Fergus and Tom will be here every week. Find The Signal on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Rob Fitzpatrick Edited by James Bullock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    36 min
  4. How Newsrooms Should Actually Adopt AI (Beyond Efficiency) - Ep 4.1

    Jun 5

    How Newsrooms Should Actually Adopt AI (Beyond Efficiency) - Ep 4.1

    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 thinking on the future of journalism - as well as honest conversations about what’s working, and what isn’t - then subscribe and follow to stay close to The Signal. Fergus and Tom will be here every week. Find The Signal on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Rob Fitzpatrick Edited by James Bullock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    8 min
  5. AI in Newsrooms: What 235 Newsrooms Taught Us About What Actually Works - Ep. 4

    Jun 4

    AI in Newsrooms: What 235 Newsrooms Taught Us About What Actually Works - Ep. 4

    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 created and distributed, how AI is - and can be - used in newsrooms, insights from media leaders and practical thinking on the future of journalism - as well as honest conversations about what’s working, and what isn’t - then subscribe and follow to stay close to The Signal. Fergus and Tom will be here every week. Find The Signal on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Rob Fitzpatrick Edited by James Bullock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    33 min
  6. AI in Journalism, “Human in the Loop” & the Rise of AI Podcasts | The Signal – Ep. 3

    May 28

    AI in Journalism, “Human in the Loop” & the Rise of AI Podcasts | The Signal – Ep. 3

    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, insights from media leaders and practical thinking on the future of journalism - as well as honest conversations about what’s working, and what isn’t - then subscribe and follow to stay close to The Signal. Fergus and Tom will be here every week. Find The Signal on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Rob Fitzpatrick Edited by James Bullock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    27 min
  7. The Rise of News Creators & Live Streaming | International Journalism Festival | The Signal – Ep. 2

    May 21

    The Rise of News Creators & Live Streaming | International Journalism Festival | The Signal – Ep. 2

    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 - and the "Miami Vice aesthetic" of the recently-acquired TBPN. 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 thinking on the future of journalism - as well as honest conversations about what’s working, and what isn’t - then subscribe and follow to stay close to The Signal. Fergus and Tom will be here every week. Find The Signal on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Rob Fitzpatrick Edited by James Bullock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    26 min
  8. What Journalism Innovation Means in 2026 | AI, Newsrooms & Media Strategy | The Signal – Ep. 1

    May 21

    What Journalism Innovation Means in 2026 | AI, Newsrooms & Media Strategy | The Signal – Ep. 1

    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 is - and can be - used in newsrooms, insights from media leaders and practical thinking on the future of journalism - as well as honest conversations about what’s working, and what isn’t - then subscribe and follow to stay close to The Signal. Fergus and Tom will be here every week. Find The Signal on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Rob Fitzpatrick Edited by James Bullock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    30 min
  9. Introducing the Signal Podcast

    May 14

    Introducing the Signal Podcast

    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 thinking on the future of journalism - as well as honest conversations about what’s working, and what isn’t - then subscribe and follow to stay close to The Signal. Fergus and Tom will be here every week. Find The Signal on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Rob Fitzpatrick Edited by James Bullock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    35 min
  10. Trailer: Welcome to The Signal

    Season 1 Trailer

    Trailer: Welcome to The Signal

    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 make sense of where it’s all going - this is for you. Subscribe and follow to stay close to the signal. The show launches on May 21 - find it on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Rob Fitzpatrick Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 min
  11. Trailer: Welcome to The Signal podcast

    May 7 ·  Bonus

    Trailer: Welcome to The Signal podcast

    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 to make sense of where they're all going - this podcast is for you. Subscribe and follow to stay up to date. The Signal launches on May 21 - find it on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Rob Fitzpatrick Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 min

Trailer

About

AI is already reshaping journalism. So is the creator economy. And for most organisations, the real challenge isn’t knowing that, it’s working out what to do about it. The Signal is a weekly podcast hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard, co-founders of Fathm. Each week, they sit down with the people building the future of media, from newsroom leaders and product teams to technologists and creators, to explore how change is actually playing out in practice. The focus is simple: cut through the noise and get to what matters. That means real examples, honest conversations, and a clearer view of how AI, audience behaviour and new business models are shaping journalism today. New episodes every week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Fergus Bell, Tom Trewinnard
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    11
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Fathm
  • Show Website
    The Signal

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