Alison Gow
I’m an editorial development consultant with more than three decades of experience in journalism and media leadership — working with newsrooms, educators and organisations to navigate transformation, build stronger leaders, and shape the future of independent journalism.
I currently teach newsroom transformation and leadership development as a Visiting Faculty member at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and as co-leader of the Journalism Innovation and Leadership Programme at the University of Lancashire. I’m a board member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), and a voluntary trustee of the Public Interest News Foundation, the Journalists’ Charity, and Women in Journalism.
Before moving into consultancy, I spent three decades in senior editorial roles at Reach plc, as a newspaper and website editor, audio & video lead, and audience & content director, driving some of UK news publishing’s earliest forays into live journalism, digital transformation, audience engagement and storytelling innovation.
Change may be inevitable but it doesn’t mean it happens easily; it takes energy, determination and (usually) the harnessed effort of many people. The tagline for this site ‘building the new’ comes from Socrates who said: The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. I love helping people build the new.
I care deeply about independent journalism, editorial transformation, and developing the next generation of media leaders. If you’re working on any of those things, I’d love to help.
Alison Gow | Building the New 