The newsroom
Meet the authors
The people who write newsrt have spent real time in the subjects they cover — in newsrooms, and on the operational side of the industries they now report on.
David Ashworth
Economy · Public finances · Employment
David Ashworth spent fifteen years in print and digital journalism covering UK news. He started at a regional evening paper in the North West, moved to a national digital outlet, and spent four years as a business and economics correspondent before going freelance.
He writes about the economy, public finances, employment, and the corporate news that lands differently depending on whether you read it from a boardroom or a break room. He files on deadline and prefers evidence to opinion.
David lives in Lancaster. He reads the ONS releases before most people have read the headlines about them, and considers the lag time instructive.
Megan Hirst
Retail · Supply chains · SMEs
Megan Hirst came to business writing from the operational side. She spent eight years in retail management at a national chain, running stores across the North of England, and moved into regional operations before leaving to write about the sector she knew from the inside.
She writes about high street retail, employment, supply chains, SMEs, and the business stories that look like numbers on a spreadsheet but feel like people losing shifts. She knows what a P&L looks like from the shop floor, not just the head office.
Megan lives in York. She has strong opinions about retail footfall methodology and considers them a public service.