Media Masters - Lorna Willis

Media Masters

Lorna Willis is chief executive of Archant. Founded in 1845, they are publisher of 140 local, regional and national media brands; with a monthly reach of 5 million in print, and 9m online with 37m unique page views. She joined a decade ago as digital sales director after a career spent at the Financial Times and The Guardian, and became chief executive in 2021. In this in-depth interview, Lorna reflects on a decade of “disruptive methodology,” modernising the company and tackling its old-fashioned “hierarchical nature” - recalling that in the early days she was sent home for not wearing a suit; describes how many know Archant as a newspaper publisher, but don’t realise the “huge consultancy side” of the firm, providing marketing and audience insight services for over 37,000 commercial customers; and shares her optimism for the future of regional news - with Covid-19 fostering a “renewed level of appreciation” for the value of local journalism.