Emily Bell is Professor of Journalism and Director of the Tow Center at Columbia University. Previously She was Director of Digital Content for Guardian News and Media, Editor-in-Chief of guardian.co.uk, founder of mediaguardian.co.uk, Business Editor of the Observer, a foot soldier in the advertising trenches of Campaign magazine and, at the very beginning, a trainee reporter for Big Farm Weekly, a title which sadly doesn’t exist any more.

Under Bell, the Guardian received numerous awards, including the Webby Award for a newspaper website in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009, and British Press Awards for Website of the Year in 2006, 2008 and 2009. She is a 1987 graduate of Christ Church, Oxford University, where she earned a master’s degree in jurisprudence.