20 trailblazing women in journalism

There are too many amazing women working in journalism to name in one article, so here are a few top picks from our editorial team of trailblazing women journalists in no particular order.

Suzanne Reid, television host, Good Morning Britain

Suzanne Reid displayed a masterclass in her exclusive interview with two parents affected by the Southport tragedy last year, where three children were murdered. Emotional trigger warning on the below video.

Luba Kassova, co-founder and director, AKAS

Luba Kassova is a media consultant specialising in diversity, equity and inclusion. She published a critical piece of research this year, "The missing voices of women in music and music news".

It showed how news coverage of the Grammy's relied on repetitive press releases, which perpetuated the false claim that women dominated the awards (newsflash: they didn't).

Sophia Smith Galer, digital journalist

Sophia Smith-Galer is a journalist, author and content creator but don't call her a "news influencer" (sorry Sophia). She is a TikTok phenomenon and creator of an AI tool that writes viral vertical video scripts, media trainer, and the recent winner of the prestigious Georgina Henry Award for Digital Innovation.

Emaan Warraich, impact journalist, BBC World Service

Another TikTok account we enjoy comes from BBC journalist Emaan Warraich, who regularly posts 'day in the life' videos within the newsroom. She came through the NCTJ's apprenticeship scheme, and last year, she became an NCTJ ambassador and received a post-apprenticeship recognition award for her work at BBC World Service.

@emaanthejourno

Now we wait and refresh outlook😅✨ #journalist #journalism #journotok #fyp #worklife #journal

♬ original sound - $

Naja Nielsen, incoming media director, SVT

Naja Nielsen announced at the start of the year she will join Swedish public broadcaster, SVT, as media director. Nielsen spent six years with the BBC as digital director, where she led the newsroom's digital journalism throughout the pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war and the UK and US elections.

She also oversaw changes to the news app, its launch on TikTok, news formats for election voters, the analysis section BBC In Depth and an overall push towards serving the needs of digital audiences. Watch this space.

Anita Zielina, CEO, Better Leaders Lab

There are few better thought leaders in journalism than Anita Zielina when it comes to newsroom management, sustainable transformation and emerging technology - and how the three are interlinked. Zielina launched her own consultancy a few years back but is also co-leading a new initiative between Microsoft and The City University of New York (CUNY) called the AI Leadership Lab.

Eleanor Mills, founder, Noon

Noon, aka the home of the "Queenager", serves women in midlife as they navigate new challenges in careers, relationships and money. Eleanor Mills leads the organisation as it holds community events, produces valuable content and commissions its own research. Mills has also published a book last year, Much More To Come, telling her own story and offering a guide to others.

Hanna Yurchenko, Ukrainian journalist

Hannah Yurchenko is a Ukrainian journalist settled in the UK and on the job hunt. She recently gained her NCTJ qualifications in a scheme for exiled reporters with Reporters Without Borders (after spotting our story on the initiative).

Yurchenko is an experienced journalist who has worked for a range of Ukrainian news organisations including Pryamiy Kanal, Україна ("Ukraine"), PravdaTut, ATN TV. She has projects ready to pitch, get in touch.

Lesley-Anne Kelly, editor, RADAR AI

Lesley-Anne Kelly announced at the start of the year she was part of a spate of newsroom redundancies at DC Thomson. She was the head of data journalism and instrumental in innovating local news storytelling in Scotland.

However, she has bounced back and just announced a new gig as editor of the news agency, RADAR AI. Good luck in the new role.

Lea Korsgaard, editor-in-chief, Zetland

Danish news organisation Zetland has grown to great heights under the leadership of editor-in-chief Lea Korsgaard, amassing 40k paying subscribers, appealing to young people in their 20s and 30s with its blend of progressive news topics, constructive journalism and audio content. At the start of the year, Zetland launched a Finnish title, Uusi Juttu.

Lea Korsgaard is speaking at Newsrewired on 27 May 2025 at News UK, London, on a panel about how to scale audience-first media models.

Laxmi Parthasarathy, COO, Global Press

Global Press is an international news organisation that trains and employs local women reporters in under-covered media markets, spearheaded by Laxmi Parthasarathy. The organisation has just got a shiny new website emphasising three new priority areas of coverage: civil liberties, governments and global health. Check it out now.

Adriana Lacy, media consultant

Adriana Lacy has an extensive background working for news organisations, tech companies and universities, and can even boast being on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Her latest endeavour is launching a rather unusual media consultancy, Influencer Journalism, teaching digital storytelling skills and forging connections between newsrooms and trusted digital voices.

Heather Bryant, media consultant

Media consultant Heather Bryant has recently launched the insanely useful website, Journalism.wtf, which provides an easy-to-navigate directory to journalism fellowships, conferences, news websites, communities, books and so much more.

Julia Hildebrand, project lead, beabee

Julia Hildebrand heads up CORRECTIV's open-source software and community project, beabee. It is used by the likes of The Green Line in Canada, Greater Govanhill and The Bristol Cable here in the UK. The platform is still in beta and is looking for more beta users.

Eliz Mizon, strategy lead, The Bristol Cable

Speaking of The Bristol Cable, strategy lead Eliz Mizon led an effort last year for the co-operative media organisation to crowdfund £60k in membership revenue (a goal which it blew out of the water).

Carole Cadwalladr, investigative journalist

Carole Cadwalladr is a long-standing Observer journalist whose investigations, notably of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, won numerous awards. She has been an outspoken critic of the deal that will see Tortoise Media take over the Observer and it looks like this has costed her the job - the paper will not be renewing her freelance contract after 20 years.

She remains a vocal supporter of media freedom. In November 2024, she launched her own Substack "How to Survive the Broligarchy" in a bid to create a platform where she can continue to hold powerful politicians and tech lords to account, amassing more than 61k subscribers.

Meera Selva, CEO, Internews Europe

After working at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ), Meera Selva was appointed the chief executive of Internews Europe, an international non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting independent media worldwide. She oversees initiatives that train journalists, combat disinformation, and promote media sustainability in 104 countries.

Olga Rudenko, editor-in-chief, Kyiv Independent

Olga Rudenko is the editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Independent, an award-winning media start-up launched in November 2021 by the former editorial team of the Kyiv Post. She led the team of 30 journalists who were fired when an oligarch took over their publication and helped it grow into a successful and sustainable news operation that covers Ukrainian news in English. Kyiv Independent plays a crucial role in keeping the international community informed about the ongoing war with Russia.

Lucy Kueng, media advisor

Strategic advisor, researcher and author Lucy Kueng has been providing media organisations with insights on building success in the times of high disruption. She is a highly sought-after speaker and author of many influential books and papers, including the third edition of her groundbreaking title "Strategic Management in the Media: Theory to Practice".

Jane Barrett, head of Reuters AI strategy

Under Barrett's leadership, Reuters has actively explored AI applications in newsrooms, blending generative AI with other engineering techniques to achieve success. She advocates for immediate experimentation with AI to build the necessary skills and adapt to evolving industry demands.

Free daily newsletter

If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).