In the build-up to the PPA Independent Publisher Conference, we spoke with last year's keynote speaker, Mark Allen, Founder & Chairman of the Mark Allen Group and soon-to-be published author. Having successfully steered his company through the last six months, Mark gives his advice to publishers to get through these difficult times as well as explaining more about his productive lockdown during which he wrote a novel.

Following the recent partnership between TikTok & the Hearst brands, Women's Health & Men's Health, we spoke with the Head of Social Strategy about the process behind this collaboration. Having started in the industry before Instagram or TikTok even existed, Lauren Smith has been at the forefront of social media management from the very beginning. Smith explains how she successfully manages the social media strategy of 13 Hearst brands, how Instagram reels will change the way we interact with the platform and future social media trends she's interested in.

As we return to a life that allows us to venture outside and more or less enjoy the reopening of our cities, we spoke with CEO of Time Out Group about how the media and leisure brand, which is based on the buzz of the city, navigated such a rapid lockdown of worldwide cultural life, how they realigned their mission and how it has benefited Time Out in the long-run.

As one of the winners of our PPA 30 Under 30 2020 awards, Alice Wikinson, Deputy Editor of Waitrose & Partners HEALTH magazine explains how she got to where she is now so early on in her career and the ways in which she has navigated the changing media landscape. Our judges said that Alice is clearly a hard-working, 360-degree thinking, conscientious editor who is always thinking about ways to drive the brand forward.

As the national news agency for the UK & Ireland, PA Media Group provides a whole range of content for a whole range of customers. The likes of Sky and the BBC to regional newspapers and digital-only publications all benefit from the news, sports, features, real-life, entertainment and many other types of content created by PA. Editor-in-Chief, Peter Clifton explains how they have worked in partnership with their customers during COVID to help them "weather the storm" and the concept behind their new award-winning platform, PA Explore.

For our final Radar interview before the August break, we spoke with Gideon Spanier, Editor-in-Chief of Campaign magazine and 1 of the 3 judges on the PPA Diversity Award judging panel. Spanier spoke to us about what he was looking for from a winning Diversity Initiative, what others in the industry can learn from the winning entry, Vogue, and what steps he is taking at Campaign to keep momentum around diversity in the industry.

It has been a unique few months for all publishers, but no more so than for The British Medical Journal (The BMJ) which has been at the forefront of the COVID coverage for the clinical and medical industry. Editor-in-Chief, Fiona Godlee reflects on its evolution since she inherited it in 2005 and the many moving parts which continuously come together to produce this highly respected, readable academic journal both online and in print.

At this year's PPA Awards, Haymarket Sustain was awarded our inaugural Sustainability Initiative Award. The judges unanimously agreed that Haymarket Sustain was an excellent example to all when it comes to implementing sustainability initiatives and it was clear they had a sincere desire to improve their environmental impact. We spoke with Head of Procurement at Haymarket, Gary Charlton, about what it meant to win, how the Haymarket at initiative has evolved and what he sees for its future.

Last week at The PPA Awards, the History Extra podcast from BBC History Magazine received the inaugural Podcast of the Year award. With up to 3 million listens a month and a roster of episodes dating all the way back to 2007, the podcast remains one of the most popular general interest history podcasts out there. Editor of the magazine and podcast, Rob Attar, explains exactly what value the podcast brings to the BBC History Magazine brand and how they keep it relevant and fresh.

For a second year in a row, the public voted for Cosmopolitan to win the PPA Front Cover of the Year award. Forever pushing boundaries and providing a platform for a diverse range of communities, the winning Cosmopolitan cover featuring the TV star, Jonathan Van Ness demonstrated exactly this. We spoke with Editor-in-Chief Claire Hodgson about what it meant to win last night and the evolution of the magazine since she took up her role last April.

As Reviews Editor at What Car?, Will Nightingale covers new car launches, writes and films comparison tests, always making sure there's real science behind all the information they provide. In recent months however, the science has gone further than how many miles to the gallon a car can do, as Will has spearheaded a project introducing new COVID car testing guidelines. While this may lengthen the process of car testing, it has ensured the What Car? team can continue to produce trusted content for their readers.

From the very start of her career, Lisa Smosarski learnt that to be a successful Editor is to "live or die by how well we know our audience." Having taken on the editorship of a number of iconic magazines, namely Smash Hits when she was 25, she is now the Editor-in-Chief of the incredibly popular Stylist magazine, which caters to 'Women Who Want More From Their World.' In this interview, Smosarski reflects on these last few months, the digital innovation that has taken place within The Stylist Group with the introduction of the app and when they hope the beloved print magazine will be returning.

A publisher which caters to the gardening, baking, crafting & TV needs of a locked down population will inevitably reap the rewards of providing high-quality content week after week, month after month. The subscription success story of Immediate Media, told to us by Subscriptions Director Helen Ward, reminds us of the valuable role magazines have and will continue to play in peoples lives.

As an events business as well as a B2B media publisher, Incisive Media has had to rapidly adapt its events portfolio. Simone Broadhurst, Managing Director of Events at Incisive explains the platforms best suited to the company, the innovation that has taken place over the last few months and the inevitability of hybrid events in the future.

Locked down at home with nothing to punctuate our days other than breakfast, lunch and dinner it's no surprise that olive magazine subscriptions are up 277% this month and digital traffic is up 200%, increasing steadily every week. Editor Laura Rowe, picks out the processes they'll be carrying forward, the importance the magazine plays in championing the food industry at this time and their reactive content which shifts daily as our quarantine eating habits change.

From a science lab in America to a digital publishing platform in London, Kimberly Karman's career progression into publishing is not typical. However, after 12 years at New Scientist during which she was part of the digital launch of the magazine in the UK and time as Marketing Director at Pugpig, Karman has found her purpose in supporting the ideals of great journalism. She unpicks the engaging power of an app for publishers versus the internet, the acceleration of digital transitions during this pandemic and digital developments on her Radar.