Pete Clifton is a celebrated media executive and News Presenters & Correspondents specialist, with a career spanning decades across the BBC, MSN UK, and most recently as Editor-in-Chief at PA Media, leading its transformation into a digital‑first multimedia news agency.
He played pivotal roles as launch editor of both the BBC Sport and BBC News websites and helped usher traditional newsrooms into the digital age – marking him as one of the foremost figures in modern journalism and newsroom strategy.
In this exclusive interview with The Motivational Speakers Agency, Pete reflects on the dramatic evolution of news production – from typewriters and Teletext to AI-assisted digital publishing – and shares his insights on what the future holds for credible, sustainable journalism.
Q1. Looking back over your career, how would you describe the most significant transformations in the newsroom?
Pete Clifton: “I mean, the transformation across the time that I’ve been working has been extraordinary. When I began at the Chronicle and Echo in Northampton, you had to type everything. You had a carbon paper – that was your kind of filed copy of what you’d written.
“You kept what was called the black, which was the copy. The paper went off to the news editor, they subbed it all, and it went off down to the compositors who typed it all back in again, and off it went to print. So you could hardly imagine a more arcane process than that.
“But while I was there, computers were introduced – very basic computers, green screens always falling apart and not working. Even then, when we had computers, you still had to write it in the computer.
“The news editor would edit it on screen, but then it would be printed off and then sent down to the compositors, who would type it all in again. Such was the strength of the print unions in those days that there was no way it was all going to be done by one person. That’s how basic it was back then.
“Fast forward to when I left PA, and clearly, instant publishing across the world had become the norm. We could deliver video for anything we were doing. We were delivering live video, we were delivering content just to customers who wanted the words, but we could also send ready-to-publish digital content with graphics, video, and instantaneous updates.
“To try and get your head around those changes is extraordinary. When we first started the BBC News website, you could maybe get a grainy three or four-second video up, and everybody thought it was dreadful. Now look at live streaming, with video at the centre of news products in a way you could never have imagined.
“When I was editor of Ceefax, we rightly said it was the first interactive news service in the world. You could update news headlines on the Teletext service on your TV instantaneously – a live news service.
“When you describe Ceefax now, people can barely believe how clunky it was – waiting for pages to come round on your TV.
“But in its day, it was cutting edge. It was the quickest form of news you could get before mobiles and the internet. Then the internet overtook Ceefax, and the two came together.
“During my time at the BBC websites or PA, we’ve gone to an extraordinary level – not only with the content you can put together but the understanding of how audiences are engaging with it. Back then, you were publishing into a black hole, not knowing who was reading.
“Now you know what they’re looking at, how long for, and their journeys around your content. On all fronts – creation, presentation, and engagement – it has changed at every level, but it’s been an extraordinary ride.
“I laugh because when I was at Ceefax, there was no way of knowing how many people looked at it. When we relaunched it in 1997, I asked my deputy, ‘How many people do you reckon look at Ceefax every week?’ He said, ‘Well, nobody knows.’ I said, ‘Well, let’s say 20 million.’ That number became what we always quoted.
“I still hear people now, when Ceefax had its 50th anniversary, saying it had 20 million viewers a week – a number we just made up. And now, you can say almost to the last person how many people are engaging with your content. It’s been amazing to go through those changes.”
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Q2. In what ways has digital transformation reshaped the skills, roles, and expectations within modern newsrooms?
Pete Clifton: “Well, it’s changed the ways you present content. It’s changed the skills required in a multimedia newsroom. Back in the day, you were either a writer or a photographer, and that was it.
“Now in a modern newsroom, you may be a writer but also the photographer, and you might shoot some video too. The expectations around content creators have completely changed. The way you present that content has also transformed.
“You can create a rich, multi-layered experience with words, pictures, and video for websites and apps, or you may create short-form content for TikTok. There are multiple ways to deliver news now.
“So, from a news-gathering perspective, the skills and expectations have shifted dramatically. From a publishing perspective, the tools, platforms, and back-end systems are far more sophisticated than they ever were.”
Q3. With AI and emerging technologies increasingly integrated into journalism, where do you see the balance between automation and human reporting?
Pete Clifton: “That’s a really good question. As a die-hard news gatherer who cares passionately about news being told well, accurately, fairly, impartially, and quickly, there is nothing to beat people on the ground covering stories – going to courts, covering breaking news events, whether it’s terror attacks, fires, or dramas of one sort or another.
“That can only really be done well and reliably by people. It’s expensive, but it’s essential, and that’s where the tension lies – balancing what can be afforded.
“For me, the best news gathering will always be done by people who are experts and who go to cover events. That’s the kind of content that should be trusted and should lie at the heart of journalism.
“AI, however, has its place. In the newsroom, it can take care of practical, repetitive tasks: checking content, tagging, sourcing relevant pictures, even suggesting headlines. It can help interrogate data and make production slicker. It can assist with research and ideas. But before you publish anything, you still need a human to review it.
“Some outlets may lean more heavily on AI, but for me, the line is clear: let AI handle the drudgery and support processes, but always rely on people for gathering, verifying, and final sign-off. That balance is what newsrooms are working out now.”
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Q4. What do you view as the biggest challenges facing the sustainability and trust of modern journalism today?
Pete Clifton: “A lot of it is around funding. Back when I began, it was only print, with a very strong local and regional press alongside national newspapers. Now, many regional titles have much smaller circulations but stronger web presences.
“The tension lies in how much is being given away for free, and as print revenue dwindles, can subscriptions or other models sustain the business?
“Many are moving to partial subscription models. The test is whether audiences are willing to pay for online content they once had in print. Some outlets have succeeded, others are still struggling. During this transition, resources are tighter, which affects journalism.
“Another challenge is trust. Down the years, issues like phone-hacking scandals have eroded trust in the media. There’s also fatigue with constant bad news, and some people avoid news entirely. So the challenge is maintaining balanced coverage, and producing content that is trusted.
“At PA, where I’ve worked for the last 10 years, I’m proud that we have no political viewpoint or agenda. We believe in delivering both sides of the argument, quickly and accurately, correcting mistakes when needed. That impartiality and honesty are refreshing, and it’s the kind of journalism people value.
“For me, the real tension in today’s media landscape is creating sustainable models for local, regional, and national journalism. People’s appetite for news hasn’t declined – they still care about what’s happening around them – but finding a model that sustains it remains the biggest challenge.”
This exclusive interview with Pete Clifton was conducted by Megan Lupton of The Motivational Speakers Agency.
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