
The rise of paywalls in the regional press with MEN editor Sarah Lester
From The Future of Media, Explained - from Press Gazette by New Statesman Media Group
December 22, 2025 · 49 min
About this episode
Charlotte Tobitt interviews Sarah Lester about the introduction of a premium paywall at the Manchester Evening News and related challenges in journalism.
Press Gazette UK editor Charlotte Tobitt speaks to Manchester Evening News editor Sarah Lester shortly after the UK's biggest regional newsbrand added a premium paywall to its website. The conversation also covers frustrations with Google, the role of the editor in 2025, the threat of fake experts degrading journalists' relationship with PRs, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Charlotte Tobitt
Guest: Sarah Lester
Topics covered
- paywalls
- regional press
- journalism
- media industry
- fake experts
- editor role
Keywords
- paywalls
- regional news
- journalism
- media
- fake experts
- editor role
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Manchester Evening News, Google
More episodes of The Future of Media, Explained - from Press Gazette
- Thai police jokester drags down UK press standards · June 3, 2026 · 31 min
- Better call Louis: Lawyer to press victims tells all · May 21, 2026 · 37 min
- The Axios shift from volume to value · May 7, 2026 · 34 min
- Less is more at The Times, Standard's long decline and future of The Telegraph · April 23, 2026 · 28 min
- How Wall Street Journal supercharged online subs growth · April 2, 2026 · 28 min
- Tech transformation at ADWEEK with Mike Beyman · March 19, 2026 · 38 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Future of Media, Explained - from Press Gazette podcast page.