2025 saw us rebrand and replatform under new ownership for the first time in our history. Here's an unofficial JUK Hall of Fame of people without whom this would not have been possible
Marcela Kunova, editor-in-chief and managing director:
This year, JournalismUK went through something that should probably come with a warning label: a buyout, a complete rebrand, and a full replatforming. All at once. Looking back, I'm not entirely sure how we made it through - but I know exactly who got us through.
Finding my voice
Years ago, Lisa MacLeod, director and head of EMEA at FT Strategies, told me something I still hear in my head. Warmly but sternly, she said: "Marcela, if you want to be seen as a leader, you need to act like one. Chin up, shoulders down, stand up straight!" She'd noticed that every time I spoke about buying the (then) Journalism.co.uk brand, I shrank - my voice got quieter, I slouched, I deflected with self-deprecation. Lisa made me take this seriously, and I still hear that "...act like one!" whenever I speak about our company in public.
And then there was Madhav Chinnappa, formerly of Google, who braved monthly calls with me for more than a year. He challenged me, listened to me, offered moral support, called me on my bullshit, and provided guidance when I needed it most. Whether I needed to vent or celebrate, Madhav was there. I genuinely couldn't have done this without him.
Learning to lead
Francois Nel, media innovation specialist at the University of Central Lancashire, who runs the Journalism Innovation and Leadership programme, allowed me to learn skills, tools, and strategies I would never have discovered otherwise. He handed me an opportunity to gain C-suite knowledge and welcomed me into the JILeaders community, where I've met so many inspiring people.
Through that programme, I had the privilege of being mentored by Dmitry Shishkin, now strategic editorial advisor at Ringier Media. Dmitry patiently guided me through the user needs model and its implementation. He was a total inspiration - basically an oracle whenever I got stuck.
This year, when things got really serious, Jeremy Clifford offered executive coaching to help me go from deer-in-the-headlights to actually leading the team. I had no idea what I was doing right after the company purchase, and Jeremy helped me believe I could make it a success. He helped us clarify our mission, values, roles, and plans. He's been an invaluable mentor and remains an inspiration.
And Chris Dicker, CEO at Candr Media Group, was the kind of person who'd jump on a call within minutes when I emailed "SOS - I need a sense-check!" He helped me figure out the basics of a buyout when I was completely out of my depth.
Building our new identity
Designer Branislav Tomčík - recommended to me by Dávid Tvrdoň from Fat Chilli - is the man behind the new look and feel of our brand. He dreamed up everything from our logo to fonts and colours, crafting our entire visual identity. We couldn't have done it without him.
Speaking of Fat Chilli: co-founder Matej Borko was exactly the kind of naysayer you want on every big project. He dissected our entire replatforming plan and showed us why it wouldn't work. He forced us to question our assumptions, and it's thanks to his undying scepticism that we made the best choices for our CMS and tech stack. To this day, his raised eyebrow haunts my decision-making process.
John Mills, innovation specialist, spent two hours on an online meeting helping us figure out the new name, only for us to finally just drop the ".co.". But our souls wouldn't rest if we hadn't gone through that legendary brainstorming session. Sometimes you need to explore every option to realise the simplest answer was right in front of you all along.
The tech marathon
On the topic of CMS, I must mention LabradorCMS (Jon Reidar Hammerfjeld), WhiteBeard (Ludo Blecher), and Atex (Cesare Navarotto). Although we went with Ghost in the end, these three made our shortlist, and I'd still happily use any of them. An honourable mention also goes to web consultant Paulo Fino, who almost replatformed us in WordPress.
Andrew Webb, founder of Connectopia, was incredibly helpful in reassessing our entire tech stack and has been a priceless ambassador for Newsrewired. He's a star - basically a fourth unofficial member of the organising team.
A few more essential tech supporters: Dan Reeves and Ben Martin from SUBJCT did loads of heavy lifting during the replatforming. Alan Hunter and his team at HBM Advisory provided excellent initial analysis of our content. Smartocto have been supporting us by providing editorial analytics tools. Good Tape helps us with automated transcriptions. Tickaroo has stood by us and Newsrewired for years, and their support helped us keep the lights on. There are many more - thank you all, even if you're not mentioned here by name. We'll also soon be implementing Disco (thanks, Sarah Toporoff at Headliner) and Miso.ai (Lucky Gunasekara is one of a kind).
Strategic wisdom
SEO consultant Steve Wilson-Beales reviewed our SEO during the replatforming. Media strategy expert Lucy Küng provided endless encouragement and brilliant ideas around embracing the creator economy. Digital media and AI strategy adviser Dietmar Schantin, a long-term supporter and friend, gave me a no-bullshit assessment of our business strategy and the occasional kick up the backside when I needed it.
Our community
Finally, there are all the Newsrewired speakers who generously donated their time and wisdom so we could keep going. The experts who jumped on interviews when we were looking to answer your questions. The trainers - past, present, and future - who led brilliant courses, helped us take stock and told us a few uncomfortable truths.
And most importantly: the readers, event attendees, sponsors, advertisers, and everyone who stood by us while everything was changing.
Thank you. We're still here because of you.
Jacob Granger, community editor:
Every other Friday, at 10am, this has been my view for about the last two years.
No, the person in the left-hand frame isn't Robert Storm Petersen (that's some admin quirk). It's Berlingske's audience development lead Lars Jensen.
Lars deserves special thanks, as he has been a constant voice of reason, a guiding light, and a confidant during the pre- and post-ownership changes at JUK, which have involved, for me, a shift in job role to community editor.
That's involved quite a few new skills and tasks. Lars has been there to help me shape my thinking, test our products and crunch the data. I'm someone who easily goes over the top with new ideas, and he's very good at bringing me back to reality.
Lars is a hardcore problem solver, and it feels like whatever challenge I bring him, he's always ready to get stuck in. His support has been incalculable, and I'm grateful to have him in my corner.
But there's been plenty of others I've turned to for help, as I've learned on the job what it means to build and nurture a community. Mili Semlani taught me 'not to underestimate the lurkers'. David Lush told me to build personas and write with those specific users in mind. Khalil A Cassimally noticed and validated our increased emphasis on 'inspire me' stories.
On a more personal level, somebody who has come through for me is James Scurry. We try to have mental health check-ins with each other from time to time. And let's just say he was there when I needed him this year. Ready not just with comforting words, but real-world solutions.
Piece by piece, this community is coming together, and I'm excited to see it grow more next year.
A final thank you goes to anyone who has contributed to our expanded community spotlight section, which features your views, perspectives and insights. These are consistently popular pieces that shape industry discourse, and I like to think of it as your stake in our publication. I love seeing our community's faces in the carousel and I'd welcome anyone reading to chip in. Get in touch with me and we'll have a chat about it.
Ophelia Birch, training and growth manager:
A big part of this year – outside of replatforming a whole website and the many trials that go along with it – has been overhauling our training offering.
I'm grateful to all the trainers who have worked with us in the past and have been such a big part of our history. I'm also excited to move into 2026 with a string of new and familiar courses now available thanks to Felicitas Paganti, Harriet Meyer, Jackie Barrie, David Mascord and Martin Lloyd.
There's more in the pipeline, too. But I'm open to new ideas for next year and beyond. Get in touch if you'd like to consider running a course with us.
