The Editor of the football magazine FourFourTwo, deems the role of the monthly publication to bring the football community together as more important than ever. Watchalong events of old matches and virtual pub quizzes provide this "escapism" that readers look for and demonstrate new ways of engaging, which James Andrew hopes will continue once we return to normality.

After 40 years in the industry, editing, publishing and launching magazines followed by 10 years of bringing the industry together as CEO of the PPA, Barry McIlheney looks back on the career that began in Belfast and brought him to London where he instantly made his mark as Editor of Smash Hits at 26-years-old. "I didn't really know it at the time, but this was the big break," he says. "Everything I have done since then stems from that." As he steps down from his official role at the PPA, McIlheney reflects on the highlights, his favourite covers and the striking changes in the industry that have taken place over the last 30 years.

Keeping track of the rapidly changing COVID-19 global data set and finding ways to visually present it to readers is all part of the job for Helen Atkinson. As a visual data journalist at The Economist, she works to adapt data, collected and cleaned by a non-visual data journalist, into clear and meaningful charts. Atkinson explains what her job entails day-to-day, the things to consider when presenting data and data in the time of COVID-19.

As our lives change dramatically we look for continuity in the places we trust. For many that is the magazine subscription delivered through their door each week, full of the positive, life-affirming content they are looking for.

As a print publisher and a content and experience business, Hearst must focus on maintaining this relationship with clients as well as readers. Jessica Saller, Head of Business Marketing at Hearst explains how they have adapted their strategy to focus on more regular and valuable communication with clients.

In the last week alone, Bauer Media has seen their subscription performance more than double with an increase of over 160% as people seek out content to help make the most of being at home. "Clearly magazines are well placed to meet these content needs", says Liz Martin Commercial Marketing & Insight Director at Bauer, "and we are seeing this having a significant impact on magazine subscriptions."

In her interview with the PPA, Martin explains what Bauer research projects are planned around, the "Bauer Insiders" that provide this data and what she hopes to focus on when this crisis is over.

Ashwin Saddul is the Founder and Managing Director of Better than Paper, a service that helps to democratise the publishing industry by providing publishers of all sizes with cost-effective software to build digital magazines. From the start "it was all about levelling the playing the field and giving publishers the chance to experiment with their own format," Saddul explains. "The technology is affordable so you can go out and experiment, fail quickly and learn quickly."

The Corporate Responsibility Manager of TI Media, Jane Mortimore, explains exactly what her role entails, the four pillars she focuses on and how she is navigating these uncertain times.

A lesson we learnt last week was that when we all pull together as an industry we can achieve great things. Later this year, we look forward to the axing of a digital reading tax, as Rishi Sunak announced in his March 2020 Budget. ​​​​​​​I spoke with Owen Meredith, PPA MD, who charts the success of our #AxeTheReadingTax campaign and what this now means for publishers in the UK.

Winner of Best Branded Podcast at the Publisher Podcast Awards was The River Group's audio creation for Holland & Barrett, Healthy For Men. We spoke with its producer, Andy Greening, about the secret behind this success and the podcast he has recently produced for The River Group, Content Talks.

The biggest story in the world at the moment is a science story and "right in the wheelhouse" of New Scientist, a brand that has gone from strength to strength in the last two years. Emily Wilson, Editor of New Scientist speaks to PPA about the process behind editing a weekly magazine, the driving forces behind its first circulation rise in 12 years and how the Coronavirus will be dominating the front page this month.

Colouring Heaven magazine launches a new paid-for newsletter this week, dedicated to giving colourists the chance to discover new illustrators and artists.

Having worked in the publishing industry for over thirty years, Adrian Barrick has taken on roles in all areas, from reporter, to editor to publisher and now editorial director at Incisive Media. In this Under the Radar interview, Barrick charts the change in the industry he has experienced first hand and reflects on the highlights of his career, which have included winning PPA Editor of the Year and launching a magazine, website and awards in three weeks.

With only two days to go until The PPA Awards entry deadline, we spoke to the Editor of the PPA Magazine Brand of the Year, 2019. Launched in 1897, Country Life has been in publication for over 120 years and this year celebrated a decade of ABC print increases, testament to to the strength of the title's editorial and loyal audience."The best piece of advice I ever received was that you must put the reader first," said Mark Hedges, Editor of Country Life. "A reader is the most precious thing."

Last September, DC Thomson Media launched a new glossy, monthly magazine, aimed at women over 55. This marked the biggest women's magazine launch in over a decade, and it is Ali Kirker who sits at the helm as Editor. Since getting her first job at Jackie magazine when she was 17, Kirker worked across the industry, in both newspapers and magazines, with a little detour into finance, before returning to magazines to edit Platinum.

This week is National Apprenticeship Week, the annual celebration which brings this community together to celebrate the impact of apprenticeships on individuals, employers and the economy. We spoke to Felix Page who is coming to the end of his apprenticeship at Haymarket and the start of his full-time contracted position as a reporter on Car & Accessory Trader (CAT) magazine.

After years of experience working across the magazine industry, from TV Hits, to Company to Good Housekeeping, Victoria White now works to provide commercial content to brands outside of Hearst as Editorial Director of Hearst Content Agency. "Brands are really hungry for content," she tells me, which can include in-store magazines, websites and social channels. "The world of commercial content is incredibly creative and expansive."