The rise of paywalls in the regional press with MEN editor Sarah Lester

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
  • Google
  • media
  • fake experts
  • editor role

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Manchester Evening News, Google

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