Tuesday 9 February 2027 · 6.00pm · Alleyn’s Hampstead, 65 Rosslyn Hill, London NW3
Twenty years ago the news arrived at breakfast and at ten o’clock. Now it arrives all day, from everywhere, and a fifteen-year-old with a phone can reach more people than most newspapers. What has that done to what we believe – and who we believe?
Thinking On Media brings together people from both sides of the modern media equation: those who report on the business of news, those who built careers in television and radio, and those who are building audiences from scratch on TikTok. Together they will ask what has really changed, what is coming next, and whether trust still matters in an age of instant opinion.
An evening for parents watching their children get their news from a feed, and for pupils who might one day make that feed.
Why come?
- Understand how the media your family consumes is really made – and paid for.
- Hear from a national broadcaster, a leading media editor and a creator-entrepreneur in the same room.
- Take away practical ways to help children tell reliable from unreliable.
The questions we’ll be asking
Media: what has changed and what happens next?
In an era of misinformation and instant opinion, who do we trust, and does it matter?
Meet the panel
A panel that spans the whole media landscape – from the newsroom and the studio to the creator economy.
Charlotte Tobitt
Richard Bacon
Johnny Kay
Charlotte Tobitt
UK Editor, Press Gazette
Charlotte Tobitt is UK Editor of Press Gazette, the title senior media leaders read to understand the business of news.
She has covered the industry since 2018, from AI in newsrooms to the ownership battles reshaping Britain's national press, after cutting her teeth in regional journalism at the Surrey Advertiser.
That vantage point – across every newsroom rather than inside one – makes her uniquely placed to tell an audience of parents and pupils where media is actually heading.
Richard Bacon
Broadcaster, producer and podcaster; founder, Yes Yes Media
Richard Bacon hosted news and current affairs programmes on BBC Radio 5 Live for seven years, covered 7/7 for Capital Radio and won the station a Sony Gold for it, then fronted National Geographic's Explorer in 170 countries.
He has spent the years after that behind the camera creating primetime formats including The Hustler and I Literally Just Told You with his own content business Yes Yes Media, but he is back in front of the microphone with his podcast series, Why Are You More Successful Than Me?
Richard is keen to talk about the evolving media space – things have changed since he presented on Blue Peter and The Big Breakfast.
Johnny Kay
Chief Commercial Officer, VERSUS; creator and entrepreneur
Johnny Kay is Chief Commercial Officer at VERSUS, the media platform and creative studio built around football's cultural impact, where he leads brand partnerships.
A Goldsmiths English graduate who started out at The Guardian and Boiler Room, he has spent his career where audiences move first – managing the Mercury- and MOBO-nominated rapper Novelist, sitting on the BRIT Awards voting committee, and making work with clubs including West Ham United.
He is also a creator in his own right, building a personal following on TikTok – which puts him on both sides of the modern media equation: building the brands and making the content.
Book your place
Tickets for Thinking On are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 5.30pm for a 6.00pm start, with drinks available before and after the discussion. Book now to secure your seat.
