Legendary former BBC Newsnight producer Sam McAlister to speak at News Associates’ tenth journalism conference JournoFest.
JournoFest brings together News Associates and The School of Journalism trainees for a day-long festival of high-profile speakers and special guests from the media industry – and our tenth event in March will be our biggest yet!
A former barrister who turned to journalism after a successful career in criminal law, McAlister is the author of Scoops, which tells the story of how she landed the sensational Prince Andrew interview in which his explanation of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein led to exile from royal duties.
The hour-long interview won Scoop of the Year and Interview of the Year at the Royal Television Society Awards and was nominated for a BAFTA.
The drama behind one of the biggest royal exclusives in history was then turned into an Emmy-nominated Netflix film in which McAlister was played by Billie Piper.
McAlister spent 10 years as interviews producer on Newsnight, securing exclusive interviews with the likes of Justin Trudeau, Bill Clinton and Elon Musk.
She is now a Visiting Senior Fellow in Practice at LSE Law School, where she teaches negotiation.
Former BBC Newsnight producer Sam McAlister
The conversation with McAlister will be chaired by News Associates deputy managing editor Graham Dudman, with plenty of time for questions from our audience of 200 trainees and guests in person, and even more via Zoom.
JournoFest 2025 will take place at The Twickenham Stoop – and be livestreamed – on Saturday March 15 and is exclusively for News Associates and The School of Journalism trainees.
You can follow all the action on Instagram @NewsAssociates.
The Twickenham Stoop has been home to the Harlequins since 1963 when they acquired the ground, initially as a training pitch. It was named in memory of Adrian Stoop who played for Harlequins 182 times over 38 years and was president of the club for 29 years.
@newsassociates_ #TeamNA part-time trainee Lisa Valentine takes us behind-the-scenes of our first ever #JournoFest Manchester 🎉 #StartedHere #NewsAssociates #TheSchoolOfJournalism ♬ Hey Lover by The Daughters of Eve – bag
Previous JournoFest keynote speakers include Sky News special correspondent Alex Crawford, Radio 5 Live Breakfast presenter Rachel Burden, columnist Susie Boniface and veteran BBC News anchor Maxine Mawhinney.
See our highlights from previous JournoFest events here.