To the Point with Portland

Can broadcast news be both opinionated and impartial?

The resurgence of LBC, the superstar power of newspaper columnists and commentators, the rise of political influencers on Twitter – opinion is a more valuable commodity than news, it seems.

As a result, broadcasters (regulated by Ofcom) are being forced to test the boundaries of 'due impartiality' in order to hold on to their audiences.

GB News and News UK TV are on the cusp of launching in the UK and they're promising new perspectives and attitudes. Many assume they will be right-leaning.

But is it possible to be right wing and impartial? Where does Ofcom stand on news with views? What is due impartiality? And is it something worth fighting for?

Roger Mosey, the former Editorial Director of the BBC and Editor of the Today programme (and now Master at the University of Cambridge's Selwyn College) debates these questions with Richard Suchet, Director at Portland Communications and a former News Correspondent for Sky News and LBC.

Redesigning work for the future

"WFH" – businesses have had to swiftly embrace it over the past year, but many still have a long way to go in terms of establishing a healthy flexible-working practice. Emma Stewart MBE joins us this episode, the Co-founder of Timewise, a flexible-working consultancy aiming to tackle the lack of quality part-time jobs. Speaking to Louise Winmill, Senior Partner at Portland, the conversation covers how and when to broach the topic of remote-working with employers, what flexibility looks like for frontline workers, 'hybrid bias', and the need to move flexible-working negotiations from the employment market to the recruitment market.

Leadership after lockdown

Over the past year, Atholl Duncan has been gathering first-hand accounts of 100 days in lockdown from some of the world's leading Chief Executives. Here we quiz the 'Leaders in Lockdown' author – who is also an executive coach and Chairman of Black Isle Group – for the wisdom he extracted from some of the world’s most thoughtful business leaders, along with their predictions for how the working world will change because of COVID-19. Playing host this episode is Portland's UK Chair, George Pascoe-Watson.

Female identity in the workplace

Great strides have been made in workplace equality for women in recent years, but has this led to a period of stagnation? On International Women's Day, Raghd Hamid, Director at Portland, is joined by Jo Coburn, BBC Politics Live presenter, and Salma Shah, former Special Advisor to the Home Secretary, to discuss the dual role of women at home and at work, the expectation of women to be 'nice', falling into the trap of starting emails and meetings on an apologetic/unconfident tone and the gender pay gap.

Pinky Lilani CBE DL on kindness in leadership

Kindness is the difference between a successful leader and a significant one; this is what author, motivational speaker and women's advocate Pinky Lilani CBE DL believes. Founder and chair of several awards recognising excellence in leadership and celebrating women in business, Lilani in this episode speaks to host and Director at Portland, Claire Hardy, about dispelling the idea that kindness is synonymous with weakness, how the best leaders have an agenda bigger than themselves, and effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on women in the (increasingly remote) workplace.

Saul Klein on why tech is not just for techies

Tech jobs are some of the most lucrative in the employment market, but there's a perception that they're only for the extremely tech-literate. In this episode, Saul Klein dispels that myth. A technology investor at venture capitalist firm LocalGlobe, Klein has backed a slew of British start-up successes, including LoveFilm, Improbable, TransferWise and Kazoo. In conversation with episode host James Ashton – a Financial Journalist and Senior Adviser at Portland – Klein also discusses how the UK can stay on top of Europe's tech industry, the "New Palo Alto", and how a £50 billion valuation has become the new £100 million valuation.

Learn more about Portland here: https://portland-communications.com/

Alastair Campbell and Jon Sopel on the future of US democracy

In our first episode, political strategist and Portland veteran Alastair Campbell chats with journalist and broadcaster Jon Sopel. The BBC's North America Editor covered the entirety of the Trump presidency, along with the turbulent transfer of power to new US president Joe Biden. Here the pair discuss what America might look like under Biden, the weaponisation of the media, conspiracy thinking in the US vs. the UK, and the possibility of a second American civil war.

Find out more about Jon's new book, 'UnPresidented', here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1117989/unpresidented/9781785944406.html

Learn more about Portland here: https://portland-communications.com/

 

Welcome

What to expect from this brand new podcast. 

'To the point' will answer the big questions in media, politics, business and PR, with help from leading experts and thinkers in these fields. Amid the noise of the modern world, this show from Portland Communications seeks to bring you that increasingly rare thing: clarity.

Find out more about Portland on: https://portland-communications.com/