The Media Leader Podcast | The Future of Media Manchester 2026
Earlier this month at our Future of Media Manchester event, The Media Leader‘s content director, James Longhurst, sat down with four leading sports journalists to peek behind the scenes of covering this year’s biggest shared cultural moment: the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
John Cross is the chief football writer for the Mirror. Nikhita Chulani is the executive producer for Sport at The Guardian. Dean Scoggins is head of sport at The Sun. And Henry Williams is a sports presenter at the Daily Mail.
As they explained, with the World Cup truly “24-7” this year, publishers embraced a multi-platform, multimedia strategy in which volume mattered less than audience engagement, whether on publisher websites or third-party platforms.
The group spoke about the tournament’s controversies, celebrations and disappointments, and how journalism can bring a global community together around one moment.
Listen now by hitting the play button or use the appropriate entry point into Spotify, Apple or Google Podcasts:
Highlights
3:16: Reminisces on this year’s tournament
10:12: How to cover a 24-7 World Cup across all channels, digital and print
16:46: The mindset shift required to embrace platforms and move from volume to engagement
22:12: What worked this year and the importance of community
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