Breaking newsroom barriers

Leading the Newsroom: Top Female Editors Share Paths to Power, Mentorship, and Overcoming Bias

At Web Summit Lisbon 2025, Aja Whitaker-Moore (Editor-in-Chief, Axios), Laura Williamson (Editor-in-Chief, The Athletic), and Katie Drummond (Global Editorial Director, WIRED) discussed their rise to leadership. All began as reporters, with Ms. Drummond discovering a love for management and taking risks like directly contacting Anna Wintour. Ms. Williamson was drawn to shaping coverage, while Ms. Whitaker-Moore focused on understanding business operations and leading by example.

Mentorship was a recurring theme. Ms. Drummond learned commitment and advocacy from a “brutal” editor, now striving to pay it forward. Ms. Williamson highlighted support from female peers in sports journalism, emphasizing not “pulling the ladder up.” Ms. Whitaker-Moore, as a Black woman in leadership, feels a strong responsibility to invest in and uplift others.

The panelists shared experiences with stereotypes. Ms. Whitaker-Moore confronts bias by being direct and transparent, turning “emotion” into “passion.” Ms. Williamson maintains a clear communication style. Ms. Drummond frequently encounters visible surprise from men at her leadership of WIRED, a historically male-dominated tech publication, which she counters by excelling at her job.

When hiring, Ms. Drummond seeks curiosity and openness to new media formats, valuing differentiated ideas from diverse backgrounds. Ms. Whitaker-Moore looks for experts and leaders who bring unique specialties, aiming for “Beyonce, Madonna” level talent. Ms. Williamson prioritizes personality and infectious drive to break stories, essential in an AI-filtered world.

Ms. Williamson’s path into sports journalism was driven by a deep passion for football and “bloody-minded determinedness.” She noted the persistent surprise at a woman in sports media and the ongoing disparity for women in written sports journalism compared to broadcasting, despite the demanding nature of the field.

Ms. Drummond recounted her time at Vice, where she was tasked with instilling “law and order” amidst a “wild culture” and “lawless arrogant disregard for organizational best practices.” Her firm leadership aimed to clean up the environment and refocus on quality journalism to ensure the company’s survival.

The panelists offered crucial advice for new journalists: there are “no shortcuts” in media. Success requires building relationships, breaking news, and reporting truth. They urged new journalists to avoid a “hive mentality” and instead offer something unique and essential that AI cannot replicate.

Ms. Williamson encouraged aspiring journalists not to “follow the pack,” but to seek out unique stories and play to their strengths. Ms. Drummond concluded with a powerful call to action, advising them to “take the biggest risks you can” in their careers.