Laura Brown and Kristina O’Neill join Lachlan Cartwright on The Breaker Pod to discuss what happens after getting “billboard fired” from two of the most coveted jobs in magazine publishing.

Brown, the former editor-in-chief of InStyle, and O’Neill, the former editor-in-chief of WSJ. Magazine, explain how losing their jobs inspired their bestselling book, All the Cool Girls Get Fired, their podcast, and now, their new media venture.

They share behind-the-scenes stories from the golden age of glossy magazines, debate who could one day replace Anna Wintour, weigh in on the future of Condé Nast and The New York Times Magazine, and explain why creativity — not AI — will always be at the heart of great storytelling.

00:00 Intro

01:42 Getting “Billboard Fired”

08:15 How All the Cool Girls Get Fired Was Born

15:34 Why Owning the Narrative Matters

24:11 Who Could Replace Anna Wintour?

28:47 The Future of Condé Nast and Magazine Publishing

36:52 Why the Individual Is the Media

43:08 AI, Creativity, and the Future of Journalism

#podcast #viral #journalism #fashion #fyp #interview #media #news

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At the fourth annual Truth Tellers Summit in London, Breaker Media founder Lachlan Cartwright and London Centric founder Jim Waterson joined BBC media editor Katie Razzall for a candid conversation about the brutal realities — and amazing opportunities — of building independent journalism outside legacy media.

From burning through life savings and working “20 hours a day,” to scooping major outlets, chasing Murdoch stories, and surviving the subscription economy, the panel explored what it really takes to build a modern media business in 2026.

“I was waking up in the middle of the night spewing my guts up with stress because I was worried I was going to lose my life savings.” — Lachlan Cartwright

“You live and die by whether your paid subscribers are going up.” — Jim Waterson

The discussion took place at the Sir Harry Evans Truth Tellers Summit in London, where leading journalists, editors, and investigative reporters gathered to debate the future of journalism, AI, trust, democracy, and independent media.

#Journalism #Media #Podcast #Substack #NewsMedia #IndependentJournalism #MediaIndustry #DigitalMedia #InvestigativeJournalism #TheGuardian #NewYork #YouTubePodcast #MediaNews #Press #Politics #News #Journalist #CreatorEconomy #Publishing #UKMedia #Viral #ViralVideo

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Ken Auletta has spent decades chronicling the most powerful figures in media — from Rupert Murdoch to Harvey Weinstein. In 2026, he sees a media landscape that’s more chaotic, competitive, and vulnerable than ever.

In this episode of The Breaker Pod with Lachlan Cartwright, Auletta breaks down the Murdoch family succession battle, what drives Rupert Murdoch, and what the empire could look like after him. He also reflects on his legendary New Yorker career, the craft of profiling powerful people, and the risks of access journalism in an era of PR handlers and corporate pressure.

Along the way, Auletta shares behind-the-scenes reporting stories — from nearly exposing Harvey Weinstein years before the scandal broke to helping Ronan Farrow with his subsequent research at The New Yorker — and offers a candid look at the pressures facing journalists today, from political attacks to risk-averse media owners.

00:00 Inside the Murdoch dynasty and what the doc missed

01:38 What the Netflix Murdoch doc got wrong

03:26 The family settlement and hidden NDAs

05:10 Profiling Rupert Murdoch up close

07:03 How Auletta landed access to Murdoch

09:19 Elizabeth Murdoch and the succession battle

11:15 Will the Murdoch family ever reconcile?

13:24 The dangers of access journalism

14:48 Dealing with PR handlers and gatekeepers

15:52 What drives Rupert Murdoch?

17:16 What happens to the empire after Rupert

19:38 Why Fox News remains so powerful

21:01 The Harvey Weinstein reporting story

23:30 How Ronan Farrow broke the Weinstein case

25:23 What surprised Auletta about the trial

28:15 The future of The New Yorker

31:08 Why legacy media still survives

32:10 The New York Times’ unexpected business model

33:34 How Auletta picks his subjects

35:01 The profile that stuck with him most

36:35 Roy Cohn’s influence on Trump

37:50 Who he still wants to profile

39:17 Why subjects feel “betrayed” by profiles

41:00 Why journalism is more dangerous than ever

#media #journalism #podcast #murdoch #rupertmurdoch #succession #interview #news #foxnews #newyorker #trump #harveyweinstein #digitalmedia #press #breakingnews #politics #politicalcommentary #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #viral #trending #explore

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