Journeys of Discovery:
About This Episode
In this episode of Change Makers, Michael Hayman is joined by journalist and author Cathy Newman. Best known as one of Channel 4’s leading broadcasters, Cathy shares the lesser-known story of her lifelong love affair with music – and it’s one with strings attached.
From a childhood spark – a stray violin brought home during a bout of chickenpox – to performing in the parliamentary String Quartet, music remained a constant companion. Yet journalism became her stage, and Cathy reflects on the rhythm, focus, and listening both disciplines demand.
Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Cathy reflects on her early musical experiences, the challenges of being a woman in media, and her advocacy for music education through Music for All. Along the way, she shows how passion, perseverance, and listening deeply – whether to a piece of music or a person – can shape both life and work.
Cathy Newman, journalist, broadcaster and author
Cathy Newman is the first female main presenter of Channel 4 News.
She joined the programme in 2006 and has broadcast a string of scoops, including allegations of violent abuse against the British barrister John Smyth, sexual harassment allegations against the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Rennard, and an investigation into a British sex offender, Simon Harris, which saw him jailed for 17 years.
Previously Cathy spent over a decade working in Fleet Street, latterly with the Financial Times.
Her first book – Bloody Brilliant Women: Pioneers, Revolutionaries & Geniuses Your History Teacher Forgot to Mention – about female pioneers in 20th century Britain, was published in autumn 2018.
Her second book, It Takes Two: A History of the Couples Who Dared To Be Different, was published on October 15, 2020.
In her spare time, Cathy is a keen amateur violinist, and plays in The Statutory Instruments quartet with members of parliament and Westminster staff.
In 2000, Cathy won the prestigious Laurence Stern Fellowship, spending four months at the Washington Post.