As the world is entering a new era, so is Prospect. Alan Rusbridger is joining us as our new editor, bringing a wealth of experience with him.
Watch as he outlines his plans for the future of the magazine over the coming months.
Alan Rusbridger says
I am very excited to be joining Prospect. It’s a magazine I’ve long admired and I couldn’t be more pleased to be occupying the editorial chair.
It’s no secret that modern journalism is in danger of becoming a hamster wheel. A relentless demand for 24-hour a day "content" has led to reporters, columnists and critics being always "on." They are, as one wise editor observed, better at recording the weather than reporting on the climate.
A monthly magazine allows for a different rhythm. Over time Prospect has become a cradle of ideas, reflective writing and thoughtful debate. If information today can feel like a cacophony, Prospect should feel like a still, small voice of calm.
The magazine can also be a meeting place and melting pot of ideas. We seem to live in an ever more polarised society which sometimes feels as if it’s lost the art of listening. Prospect is politically independent. We will never tell you how to vote or think. What we can do is give multiple perspectives—and leave you to make up your own mind.
About Alan Rusbridger
For 20 years, Alan edited the Guardian, taking it from being a UK newspaper with a modest print readership to a global news organisation accessed by more than 35m adults per month. During that time the Guardian won numerous international awards, including the 2014 Pulitzer Prize—the only time a UK-founded newspaper has been thus recognised.
In 2015, he moved to be Principal of Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford, launching a pioneering Foundation Year for students from under-represented backgrounds. That scheme is now being rolled out across both Cambridge and Oxford universities.
In 2020, Alan joined the Facebook Oversight Board, a new global independent body whose role is to regulate content published on the largest social media in the world. He also chairs the Oxford-based Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and sits on the board of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
For five years he was on the board of the Royal National Theatre and is a keen amateur musician and author of Play it Again, a book about the importance of maintaining cultural interests alongside a demanding career. Alan’s book, Breaking News, attempts to describe the turmoil involved in making the transition from print to digital journalism.
