Media Confidential

In this week’s Media Confidential, Alan and Lionel talk to Yara Hawari, co-director of Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian policy network, about the dangers journalists face in the Middle East.

Amal Khalil, a Lebanese journalist and reporter for the daily newspaper Al-Akhbar, was killed by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in an airstrike on 22nd April. On the podcast, the three discuss the risks Amal faced as a long-term war correspondent and threats against her life which she had previously talked openly about.

They also talk about the targeting of journalists by the Israeli government, and how it appears to act with impunity. They reflect on the IDF’s justifications for its attacks, which is says targets those linked to Hamas or Hezbollah. In 2025, Israel killed at least 84 media workers and journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Alan, Lionel and Yara also discuss the risks of being a journalist in Lebanon or Gaza and the fact that foreign journalists are still having their entry barred.
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In this episode Alan and Lionel discuss the White House correspondents’ dinner and the alarm at how a lone shooter was able to break through levels of security.

They also talk about Donald Trump’s interview with 60 minutes, in which the president claims the BBC used AI to manipulate what he was saying. Our hosts also talk about the chummy relationship between Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison and the president.

Alan and Lionel also talk once more about the Telegraph after the Guardian broke a story saying that Axel Springer hadn’t done its due diligence ahead of buying the rightwing broadsheet. And they discuss the interviews of Winston Marshall on Fox News and of Russell Brand by Piers Morgan.
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On today’s Media Confidential, Alan and Lionel are joined by Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford to discuss the magazine’s investigative work into the floods of fake experts being quoted in the media. Where do they come from—and who is behind this?

The editors discuss journalist Rob Waugh, who helped uncover the truth behind fake or AI-generated experts including “Barbara Santini” and “Esme Gelder”. And they examine cases that made it all the way to the papers, without anyone blinking an eye. Is this the inevitable future of “churnalism”, or can we protect against it?

Plus, the editors discuss the sinister practices of some PR companies. What’s an “SEO vampire”, anyway? Find out on Media Confidential.
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This week on Media Confidential, Alan and Lionel discuss the top story of the week—Peter Mandelson’s failed security vetting before he was appointed as ambassador to the United States.

As Keir Starmer goes toe-to-toe with the Foreign Office, the hosts discuss the excellent coverage of Guardian journalists Pippa Crerar, Paul Lewis and Henry Dyer.

They also speculate on King Charles’s upcoming state visit to the US and an inevitably fraught White House correspondents’ dinner, where the president will be making an appearance.

Plus, Alan and Lionel discuss the Atlantic, which faces a $250m defamation suit from the head of the FBI, Kash Patel.
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This week on Media Confidential, Alan and Lionel are joined by Sidney Blumenthal, journalist and former adviser to the Clintons.

As a judge throws out a $10bn claim from the president against the Wall Street Journal, the trio discuss Trump’s legal battles with the media, including the BBC. Is there hope for the British broadcaster?

They also address the president’s mental state and how coverage compares to that of Joe Biden, while he was running for a second term. Is the American media biased towards Trump? And, if Sidney were an editor, how would he advise journalists to report?

Plus, they examine what prompted Melania’s unexpected statement on convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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