Press Insider – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Sarah Allard, Digital Director of Condé Nast Traveller UK, is this episode’s guest. Sarah makes no secret of her media success: she’s a total data nut with exceptional SEO skills. She follows the numbers, she’s methodical, and she has an instinct for engaging and clickable content. In this episode she talks about her commissioning process, her role in defining what luxury travel means, and how she collaborates with the other international Condé Nast Traveller teams. This chat was recorded last year so there are some references to 2024 events, but Sarah’s insights are still pertinent, including her thoughts on hotel review pitches. She also explains how to stay off the pitch slush pile and why a great pitch can pose a question for readers. Plus, she reveals the destination specialists she’s desperate to hear from. 

• How to become a journalist at Conde Nast Traveller
• How to become a trusted PR at Conde Nast Traveller
• How to pitch an article to Conde Nast Traveller
• Article pitch examples for Conde Nast Traveller
• How to write an article for Conde Nast Traveller magazine
• How to get free press coverage at Conde Nast Traveller
• How to become a regular freelancer at Conde Nast Traveller
• How to future-proof your writing or PR career

Sarah Allard, Digital Director, Conde Nast Traveller 

Sarah is a creative and forward-thinking digital editor, with a flair for producing engaging and compelling clickable content, and expertise in delivering results through exceptional SEO skills, well-executed content strategy and in-depth analytics. 

Find them on:

• Sarah Allard’s Linkedin  (where the above bio is sourced from)
• Sarah Allard’s Instagram
• Sarah Allard’s articles

• Franchise examples that were referenced:

• • Ask a Local
  • Where Chefs Eat
  • Beyond Barriers, which can be found in writer Sophie Morgan’s profile
  • Travel Without Limits, recent examples:
    • How I rediscovered my love of the outdoors as an autistic wheelchair user
    • A solo journey through India turned into the most liberating experience of my life

• Example articles:

• • Is Glasgow’s Southside Scotland’s coolest foodie neighbourhood?
  • Inside the bakery boom: why we can’t get enough artisanal bakeries

• Inspiring staffers and freelancers:

• • Rosie Conroy, and her Conde Nast Traveller articles
  • Sophie Morgan, and her Conde Nast Traveller articles

Kelly Bowerbank is a digital journalist, editor and content strategist with 16 years’ experience in the lifestyle sector. She has worked for multiple high-profile media brands, including woman&home, Marie Claire, The Stylist Group, and The Guardian. She has over eight years' experience crafting editorial strategies and leading teams, and has spent more than a decade commissioning, editing and creating content in various formats across a diverse range of subject verticals. In 2013 she was nominated for New Section Editor of the year at the PPA awards, and in 2020 she was nominated for Digital Editor of the year at the AOP awards. She’s mentored experienced print journalists and trained graduates into award-winning digital writers. In 2022 she stepped down from her role of Global Editor at womanandhome.com to go freelance and write more. She’s represented by Anna Pallai at AMP Literary. 

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Share this episode:

Every share of this episode makes another season more likely. If you enjoyed listening, share Press Insider with your network on Whatsapp, Linkedin and on your favourite social media platforms. It can be found on all the main podcast networks including:

• Apple podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon music

Follow the host on social media:

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Email feedback:

• Send feedback about this episode and suggestions for future guests to pressinsiderpodcast@gmail.com

Tom Howard, Head of Editorial at the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society), is the award-winning editor in this episode. He oversees the UK’s biggest garden magazine, as well as all the RHS’s other print and digital titles.  His divisive approach to content has attracted lots of critical acclaim, but some criticism too. He talks about why that is, what the brilliant engaged readers do and don’t like, and the one thing all the best pitches have. This interview was recorded last year, so there are some dated references, but all Tom’s advice still stands. Find out from him why some stories need to be planned two years in advance, what David Attenborough and David Beckham have in common, and what skills to lean into to future-proof your career in the new AI era we are entering. 

• How to become a journalist at the RHS 
• How to become a trusted PR at the RHS 
• How to pitch an article to the RHS
• Article pitch examples for the RHS 
• How to write an article for the RHS magazines
• How to get free press coverage at the RHS 
• How to become a regular freelancer at the RHS 
• How to future-proof your writing or PR career

Tom Howard, Head of Editorial, The RHS (Royal Horticultural Society)

Tom is an award-winning Editorial Director with nearly two decades of experience working for national publications across print and digital.

AWARD WINS

• 2024 PPA Editor Of The Year - Consumer Media
• 2023 BSME Editor Of The Year - Homes, Gardens & Country
• 2021 British Podcast Awards - Best Branded Podcast

AWARD NOMINATIONS

• 2024 PPA Cover Of The Year
• 2023 BSME Editor In Chief Of The Year
• 2023 GMG Garden Publication Of The Year
• 2021 BSME Editor Of The Year - Homes, Gardens & Country
• 2021 GMG Website Of The Year

Find them on:

• Tom Howard’s Linkedin  (where the above bio is sourced from)
• Tom Howard’s Instagram
• Tom Howard’s X

• Example articles:

• • Solitary Wasps — this article is not available online unfortunately. This Guardian piece is by the same writer and on the same topic though. 
  • A history of pioneering queer gardeners 

• Covers mentioned:

• • • The solitary wasp cover can be found in 2023’s issue index
    • 2024 issue index showing the wisteria cover

• Other links:

• • RHS jobs on Linkedin
  • Freelance writing jobs
  • Guardian Media Guild

Kelly Bowerbank is a digital journalist, editor and content strategist with 16 years’ experience in the lifestyle sector. She has worked for multiple high-profile media brands, including woman&home, Marie Claire, The Stylist Group, and The Guardian. She has over eight years' experience crafting editorial strategies and leading teams, and has spent more than a decade commissioning, editing and creating content in various formats across a diverse range of subject verticals. In 2013 she was nominated for New Section Editor of the year at the PPA awards, and in 2020 she was nominated for Digital Editor of the year at the AOP awards. She’s mentored experienced print journalists and trained graduates into award-winning digital writers. In 2022 she stepped down from her role of Global Editor at womanandhome.com to go freelance and write more. She’s represented by Anna Pallai at AMP Literary. 

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Share this episode:

Every share of this episode makes another season more likely. If you enjoyed listening, share Press Insider with your network on Whatsapp, Linkedin and on your favourite social media platforms. It can be found on all the main podcast networks including:

• Apple podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon music

Follow the host on social media:

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Email feedback:

• Send feedback about this episode and suggestions for future guests to pressinsiderpodcast@gmail.com

Hattie Brett, Editor-in-Chief of Grazia magazine, is a powerhouse in British women’s media. She’s one of the most influential editors in the business and in this season opener she discusses her career in journalism and the current challenges and opportunities in the media industry. The interview took place last summer, so there’s references to things that happened in 2024, but all her advice is still relevant today. She talks about the qualities and skills you need to make it in the media business, why it’s important to read broadly and outside of your niche, Grazia’s approach to headlines, what types of content and topics engages their readers, what’s always on her pitch wish-list, and what the deciding factors are when they’re choosing between two similar pitches. 

• How to become a journalist at Grazia
• How to become a trusted PR at Grazia
• How to pitch an article to Grazia
• Article pitch examples for Grazia
• How to write an article for Grazia magazine
• How to get free press coverage at Grazia
• How to become a regular freelancer at Grazia
• How to future-proof your writing or PR career

Hattie Brett, Editor-in-Chief at Grazia

Hattie is an award-winning digital and print editor, with almost 20 years experience in publishing. She is currently Editor-In-Chief of Grazia UK, overseeing all the editorial content, across print, digital and social. She loves campaigning on issues that really matter to her audience, for example successfully calling on the government to hold an inquiry into the cost and accessibility of childcare. Her work commissioning, editing and creating content for Grazia's audience across everything from fashion to interiors and politics, won her BSME Editor of the Year in 2022.

Prior to her current role, Hattie devised, launched and edited a website for millennial women The Debrief before working as Deputy Lifestyle Director at The Telegraph across fashion, beauty and luxury. She is an expert in digital content strategy, social growth and storytelling via impactful journalism. But she also still loves getting the scoop. Over her career, she’s been lucky enough to report from Chanel shows and shadow David Cameron on his first state visit to The White House during the Obama administration.

As one of the leading editors in women's media, she also spent five years on the British Society of Magazine Editors - and led the organisation as Chair in 2021. Today, she is on the Media Advisory Board of the British Beauty Council. She speaks regularly on journalism, new media and women's role in the workplace.

Find them:

• Hattie Brett’s Linkedin (where the above bio is sourced from)
• Hattie Brett’s Instagram

• Franchise examples that were referenced:

• • • The Last Word
    • Lunchtime shop

• Example articles:

• • • Eyebrow Blindness Is Nothing New, It’s A Beauty Rite Of Passage
    • New York Times Best Books of 2024

• Grazia’s campaigns:

• • • Maternal mental health checkups
    • Childcare reform press release

• The Juggle on:

• • Substack
  • Instagram

Kelly Bowerbank is a digital journalist, editor and content strategist with 16 years’ experience in the lifestyle sector. She has worked for multiple high-profile media brands, including woman&home, Marie Claire, The Stylist Group, and The Guardian. She has over eight years' experience crafting editorial strategies and leading teams, and has spent more than a decade commissioning, editing and creating content in various formats across a diverse range of subject verticals. In 2013 she was nominated for New Section Editor of the year at the PPA awards, and in 2020 she was nominated for Digital Editor of the year at the AOP awards. She’s mentored experienced print journalists and trained graduates into award-winning digital writers. In 2022 she stepped down from her role of Global Editor at womanandhome.com to go freelance and write more. She’s represented by Anna Pallai at AMP Literary. 

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Share this episode:

Every share of this episode makes another season more likely. If you enjoyed listening, share Press Insider with your network on Whatsapp, Linkedin and on your favourite social media platforms. It can be found on all the main podcast networks including:

• Apple podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon music

Follow the host on social media:

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Email feedback:

• Send feedback about this episode and suggestions for future guests to pressinsiderpodcast@gmail.com

Press Insider is a podcast by Kelly Bowerbank, an editor with over 16 years experience in lifestyle journalism, that goes behind-the-scenes with talented staff at magazines and newspapers. They talk about the changing media landscape, reveal how they commission content, what ideas they’re looking for, and the best ways to pitch to them. It’s a show for people interested in learning how to become a freelancer writer, but also for businesses, brands and PRs who want to know how to pitch article ideas to journalists and editors.   

This season focuses on prestigious lifestyle brands like GQ, Marie Claire, and Women’s Health.

Fiona Sinclair Scott, the Global Editor of CNN Style, is this week’s guest. She’s been steering CNN’s international style coverage for over 10 years, and is candid about how challenging journalism is these days. Refreshingly though, she also talks about how exciting it is too, so this conversation is an uplifting one. A little note on timings: this episode was recorded last summer, so events from 2024 are mentioned, such as the election and the olympics. The advice is still very relevant and useful though. Find out what Fiona wants from a pitch, what she does not, and what her trigger words are. Learn when to get in touch if you want to cover things like Fashion weeks, and why she wants more first person pitches (plus, the gold standard to shoot for when writing about personal experiences). Fiona also shares the thread that connects all their ideas and everything they commission, as well as the best way to start a conversation with her. 

• How to become a journalist at CNN Style
• How to become a trusted PR at CNN Style
• How to pitch an article to CNN Style
• Article pitch examples for CNN Style
• How to write an article for CNN Style magazine
• How to get free press coverage at CNN Style
• How to become a regular freelancer at CNN Style
• How to future-proof your writing or PR career

Fiona Sinclair Scott, Global Editor, CNN Style

An award-winning editor, newsroom leader and content strategist with 15 years of experience in fashion, design, lifestyle, arts, entertainment, and culture. Proven ability to grow engaged digital audiences, lead international teams, and create innovative, revenue-driving content across multiple platforms.

An experienced journalist and reporter, Fiona is confident writing, conducting on camera interviews, hosting panels and speaking at events and on podcasts. 

Find them on:

• Fiona Sinclair Scott’s Linkedin  (where the above bio is sourced from)
• Fiona Sinclair Scott’s Instagram
• Fiona Sinclair Scott’s X

• Franchise examples that were referenced:

• • Remember when?
  • Look of the week
  • Culture queue
  • Snap

• Example articles:

• • The art of going bald gracefully 
  • Against all odds, a Ukrainian artist and his curators bring ‘Fountain of Exhaustion’ to Venice
  • Vintage polaroids of female prisoners paint an intimate picture of womanhood and identity

• Other links:

• • CNN Style’s video content

Kelly Bowerbank is a digital journalist, editor and content strategist with 16 years’ experience in the lifestyle sector. She has worked for multiple high-profile media brands, including woman&home, Marie Claire, The Stylist Group, and The Guardian. She has over eight years' experience crafting editorial strategies and leading teams, and has spent more than a decade commissioning, editing and creating content in various formats across a diverse range of subject verticals. In 2013 she was nominated for New Section Editor of the year at the PPA awards, and in 2020 she was nominated for Digital Editor of the year at the AOP awards. She’s mentored experienced print journalists and trained graduates into award-winning digital writers. In 2022 she stepped down from her role of Global Editor at womanandhome.com to go freelance and write more. She’s represented by Anna Pallai at AMP Literary. 

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Share this episode:

Every share of this episode makes another season more likely. If you enjoyed listening, share Press Insider with your network on Whatsapp, Linkedin and on your favourite social media platforms. It can be found on all the main podcast networks including:

• Apple podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon music

Follow the host on social media:

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Email feedback:

• Send feedback about this episode and suggestions for future guests to pressinsiderpodcast@gmail.com

Lindsey Davis is Content Director of Homes Ecommerce at Future Publishing. Her remit includes some of the UK’s top interior brands: Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens, Livingetc, Homebuilding & Renovating, and Real Homes. Lindsey’s role is different to the other editors I have spoken to. She is solely focused on ecommerce content and building high intent audiences — which means she’s the strategist behind the buying guides, product reviews and service explainers that drive affiliate revenue. While she’s specifically talking about interior content here, a lot of her advice is transferable to ecommerce content for other lifestyle verticals too, so fashion and beauty fans should tune in as well. In this chat, which was recorded last year but is still packed full of relevant advice, Lindsey talks about the free tool they use daily to decide what to commission and write, why you need to think beyond National Awareness Days when pitching, the one product that changed the affiliate game that they’re always looking for the next version of, and why you should centre every pitch around a particular question.

• How to become a journalist at Ideal Home, Homes and Gardens (and other Homes titles at Future Publishing)
• How to become a trusted PR at Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens etc
• How to pitch an article to Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens etc
• Article pitch examples for Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens etc
• How to write an article for Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens etc
• How to get free press coverage at Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens etc
• How to become a regular freelancer at Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens etc
• How to future-proof your writing or PR career

Lindsey Davis, Content Director, Homes (overseeing multiple well-known brands including Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens and Living etc)

Digital content strategist specialising in eCommerce for some of the country’s top interior brands.

Find them on:

• Lindsey Davis’ Linkedin  (where the above bio is sourced from)
• Lindsey Davis’ Instagram
• Lindsey Davis’ X

• Tools she recommends:

• • Google Trends
  • Exploding Topics
  • Press Loft

Kelly Bowerbank is a digital journalist, editor and content strategist with 16 years’ experience in the lifestyle sector. She has worked for multiple high-profile media brands, including woman&home, Marie Claire, The Stylist Group, and The Guardian. She has over eight years' experience crafting editorial strategies and leading teams, and has spent more than a decade commissioning, editing and creating content in various formats across a diverse range of subject verticals. In 2013 she was nominated for New Section Editor of the year at the PPA awards, and in 2020 she was nominated for Digital Editor of the year at the AOP awards. She’s mentored experienced print journalists and trained graduates into award-winning digital writers. In 2022 she stepped down from her role of Global Editor at womanandhome.com to go freelance and write more. She’s represented by Anna Pallai at AMP Literary. 

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Share this episode:

Every share of this episode makes another season more likely. If you enjoyed listening, share Press Insider with your network on Whatsapp, Linkedin and on your favourite social media platforms. It can be found on all the main podcast networks including:

• Apple podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon music

Follow the host on social media:

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Email feedback:

• Send feedback about this episode and suggestions for future guests to pressinsiderpodcast@gmail.com

Meena Alexander was the Associate Editor at Stylist magazine when this episode was recorded. She has since gone freelance, but if you want to pitch to Stylist, her advice stands because she knows the brand inside and out. In 2018 she left The Times to join Stylist, rising from sub editor, to features editor, features director and finally associate editor. She achieved a lot there, and has the awards to prove it: she was one of Campaign MediaWeek's 30 Under 30 in 2022, and in 2023 she won Best Section Editor at the BSME Talent Awards and PPA’s Next Gen Award. She’s also the author of How To Be Curious: Ideas To Make You Think Differently, which was published in 2024. Honestly, she’s a massive over-achiever, but she’s so great that you can only be happy for her. The good news is that after listening to her advice you might be a massive over-achiever too, as she shares details of a 3 line formula to pitch timely ideas, the one thing you can include in a pitch that will blow the Stylist team’s mind, and why the conversations you have with friends and family are a good starting point for an idea. She also reveals what the team wants to see in their inbox more than anything. Like other Press Insider episodes, this interview was recorded last year. Expect sporadic mentions of 2024 news and events, but fret not, Meena’s insights are still right on the money today.

• How to become a journalist at Stylist
• How to become a trusted PR at Stylist
• How to pitch an article to Stylist
• Article pitch examples for Stylist
• How to write an article for Stylist magazine
• How to get free press coverage at Stylist
• How to become a regular freelancer at Stylist
• How to future-proof your writing or PR career

Meena Alexander, Associate Editor, Stylist Magazine

Meena Alexander is an award-winning writer and editor. She writes features and profiles about people, trends and the cultural moment. She’s usually based in London but I’m currently on the move, working remotely in Southeast Asia. Formerly the Associate Editor of Stylist, she’s also held roles at The Times, edited books, judged literary prizes and hosted live panels. If words and big ideas are involved, count her in. She’s the author of How To Be Curious: Ideas To Make You Think Differently, published by Headline Books in February 2024. In 2023, she was named Best Section Editor by the British Society Of Magazine Editors and appeared on the PPA’s Next Gen list. In 2022, she was one of Campaign’s Media 30 Under 30. 

Find them on:

• Meena Alexander’s Website  (where the above bio is sourced from)
• Meena Alexander’s Instagram
• Meena Alexander’s book on:
  • Amazon
  • Bookshop.org

• Franchise examples that were referenced:

• • Just Curious
  • Frame of Mind
  • Processing

• Example articles:

• • • Keep trying to stop vaping but can’t? 5 women on how they finally managed to stop
    • What it’s like to have untreated ADHD? Chaotic and isolating, so please don’t tell me it’s a trend or an excuse

• Inspiring staffers and freelancers:

• Amelia Tate

• • Kat Brown

Kelly Bowerbank is a digital journalist, editor and content strategist with 16 years’ experience in the lifestyle sector. She has worked for multiple high-profile media brands, including woman&home, Marie Claire, The Stylist Group, and The Guardian. She has over eight years' experience crafting editorial strategies and leading teams, and has spent more than a decade commissioning, editing and creating content in various formats across a diverse range of subject verticals. In 2013 she was nominated for New Section Editor of the year at the PPA awards, and in 2020 she was nominated for Digital Editor of the year at the AOP awards. She’s mentored experienced print journalists and trained graduates into award-winning digital writers. In 2022 she stepped down from her role of Global Editor at womanandhome.com to go freelance and write more. She’s represented by Anna Pallai at AMP Literary. 

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Share this episode:

Every share of this episode makes another season more likely. If you enjoyed listening, share Press Insider with your network on Whatsapp, Linkedin and on your favourite social media platforms. It can be found on all the main podcast networks including:

• Apple podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon music

Follow the host on social media:

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Email feedback:

• Send feedback about this episode and suggestions for future guests to pressinsiderpodcast@gmail.com

Sam Parker is the Site Director at GQ. He’s been there since 2022, but has worked in content for over 15 years for brands you’ll know: Esquire, Buzzfeed, Huffpost and Penguin Random House. He’s a fascinating person to listen to, he’s both intellectually and emotionally intelligent, analytical and imaginative, tactical and strategic. This year, Sam wrote his first book Good Anger. It’s about the power of healthy rage and was named Non‑Fiction Book of the Month by The Independent. We actually spoke last year though, so expect some 2024 references in this interview, but as Sam is very wise, his insights are still applicable today. Listen to this episode to hear him talk about a notable change to the GQ audience over the last few years, how they approach features (spoiler alert: basically in opposition to how a newspaper would do it), and why they no longer care about being first to a story. Sam also reveals what the one emotion is that they want in every piece they commission, a problem they have all the time at GQ that you could help solve, and his pitch wish list. 

• How to become a journalist at GQ
• How to become a trusted PR at GQ
• How to pitch an article to GQ
• Article pitch examples for GQ
• How to write an article for GQ magazine
• How to get free press coverage at GQ
• How to become a regular freelancer at GQ
• How to future-proof your writing or PR career

Sam Parker, Website Director, GQ 

'Good Anger', Sam’s first book on psychology and learning to love a taboo emotion, is out with Bloomsbury. It was named Book of the Month for June 2025 in The Independent.

In Sam’s current role as Site Director of British GQ he leads a team of editors and writers working across digital editorial strategy, events and commercial deals.

Sam has been a writer, editor and digital strategist for the past 15 years for brands like Penguin Books, Esquire, BuzzFeed and more.

He occasionally contributes to the Observer, Telegraph and other publications in the UK.

Find them on:

• Sam Parker’s Linkedin (where the above bio is sourced from)
• Sam Parker’s Instagram
• Sam Parker’s website
• Sam Parker’s X
• Buy Sam Parker’s book, Good Anger, at:
  • Amazon
  • Waterstones
  • Bookshop.org

• Franchise examples that were referenced:

• • GQ Hype
  • Example of the Match Fits franchise
  • Example of Extra Time franchise
  • Modern Lovers 

• Important coverage:

• • • Men of the Year
    • GQ heroes summit and coverage

• Example articles:

• • I’m a boyfriend who uses weaponised incompetence. Can I change?
  • I was drifting from my best friend. So we went to therapy together
  • Russell Crowe has a song about that (a profile by Hayley Campbell)
  • In defence of the long painful slog of therapy

• Inspiring staffers and freelancers:

• • Hayley Campbell
  • Amelia Tate
  • Sammi Gale
  • Tom Lamont

Kelly Bowerbank is a digital journalist, editor and content strategist with 16 years’ experience in the lifestyle sector. She has worked for multiple high-profile media brands, including woman&home, Marie Claire, The Stylist Group, and The Guardian. She has over eight years' experience crafting editorial strategies and leading teams, and has spent more than a decade commissioning, editing and creating content in various formats across a diverse range of subject verticals. In 2013 she was nominated for New Section Editor of the year at the PPA awards, and in 2020 she was nominated for Digital Editor of the year at the AOP awards. She’s mentored experienced print journalists and trained graduates into award-winning digital writers. In 2022 she stepped down from her role of Global Editor at womanandhome.com to go freelance and write more. She’s represented by Anna Pallai at AMP Literary. 

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Share this episode:

Every share of this episode makes another season more likely. If you enjoyed listening, share Press Insider with your network on Whatsapp, Linkedin and on your favourite social media platforms. It can be found on all the main podcast networks including:

• Apple podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon music

Follow the host on social media:

• Follow Kelly Bowerbank’s Instagram
• Subscribe to Kelly Bowerbank’s Substack
• Find Kelly Bowerbank’s Linkedin

Email feedback:

• Send feedback about this episode and suggestions for future guests to pressinsiderpodcast@gmail.com

Claudia Canavan was the Health & Wellness Director at Hearst UK when this episode was recorded. She oversaw the content and editorial strategy across several of the publisher’s flagship magazines, including Women's Health and Men's Health. In this interview she mainly focused on Women’s Health, but if you’re keen to pitch a wellness story to another health title, the advice is very transferable. Especially as she now actually works at New Scientist magazine, as Head of Features. We spoke last year, so expect some 2024 references, but all Claudia’s advice is still worth heeding. She’s a strong advocate for inclusive storytelling and speaks movingly about how the best part of her job is helping readers with little known health conditions feel less alone. After this interview you’ll feel less alone too, because she tells you how to catch her eye in her bin fire of an inbox and what franchise to pitch into if you don’t have much experience or many bylines to your name. You’ll also learn everything you need to know about the Women’s Health annual content calendar and how it influences what they commission, how to take dry data and make it into a human story that people want to read, and what skills to develop for a media career with longevity. 

• How to become a journalist at Women's Health
• How to become a trusted PR at Women's Health
• How to pitch an article to Women's Health
• Article pitch examples for Women's Health
• How to write an article for Women's Health magazine
• How to get free press coverage at Women's Health
• How to become a regular freelancer at Women's Health
• How to future-proof your writing or PR career

Claudia Canavan, Former Health & Wellness Director at Hearst UK, Women’s Health

Claudia is a journalist and editor, specialising in health. She currently serves as Head of Features at New Scientist, leading a team of seven. Previously, she worked in various roles at Women's and Men's Health magazines, ultimately becoming Health + Wellness Director across both brands.

She commissions, edits and writes about topics like the new science of advanced meditation, what the psychedelic renaissance means for women, the happiness potential of less conventional relationships and why the ketamine therapy bubble burst.

While working at HuffPost UK she founded the sustainable living microsite HuffPost Sourced. This was after being selected via a company-wide pitch process to launch a new sub-brand. Prior to this, she was Digital Living Editor at Red, and on the online team at Esquire, before that.

She’s well-versed in hosting. Recent work includes hosting a debate between ‘The Body Keeps the Score’ author and psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk, neurobiologist Gina Rippon and physician-scientist John Ioannidis on the current medical paradigm at 2024's How The Light Gets In festival, as well as a conversation with legendary psychotherapist Susie Orbach. She moderated a panel on psychedelic clinical practice at 2024's Breaking Convention and another on therapy for eating disorders at the 2023 PSYCH Symposium conference. She’s been invited to speak about female health issues on the radio, including on Jane Garvey and Fi Glover's Times Radio show, and is regularly asked to appear on panels as an expert on women's health, including at branding agency Pearlfisher's 'Deconstructing Wellness event'.

Find them on:

• Claudia Canavan’s Linkedin  (where the above bio is sourced from)
• Claudia Canavan’s Instagram
• Claudia Canavan’s content archive

• Franchise examples that were referenced:

• • Well opinionated
  • Deep dives
  • Does it work in real life / I Tried It…

• Example articles:

• • Why climate change is a global women’s health issue
  • How the ketamine wellness bubble burst
  • Could lucid dreaming be a trauma therapy?
  • Women’s pain is readily dismissed. It’s no wonder so many of us are exploring alternative health
  • The health case for going out to dance in your 40s and beyond
  • How hypnosis helped me let go for deep-seated pain
  • Are you a victim of the friendship recession?
  • Are we all traumatised by the pandemic?
  • ‘It’s soul-destroying:’ women who fear they can’t afford kids on what needs to change
  • ‘I moved to raise my son side-by-side with my best friend.’

• Other links:

• • Instagram post: Neuroscientist Nicole Vignola on creating habit change
  • The Times: I love my husband — that’s why I’m divorcing him

Kelly Bowerbank is a digital journalist, editor and content strategist with 16 years’ experience in the lifestyle sector. She has worked for multiple high-profile media brands, including woman&home, Marie Claire, The Stylist Group, and The Guardian. She has over eight years' experience crafting editorial strategies and leading teams, and has spent more than a decade commissioning, editing and creating content in various formats across a diverse range of subject verticals. In 2013 she was nominated for New Section Editor of the year at the PPA awards, and in 2020 she was nominated for Digital Editor of the year at the AOP awards. She’s mentored experienced print journalists and trained graduates into award-winning digital writers. In 2022 she stepped down from her role of Global Editor at womanandhome.com to go freelance and write more. She’s represented by Anna Pallai at AMP Literary. 

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