Fergus Bell is the founder & CEO at Fathm, an independent news lab, agency and consultancy supporting clients from across the globe. His work focuses on improving newsroom processes and efficiency, making use of emerging technologies, generating new revenue, tackling mis and disinformation and creating impactful and increasingly essential reporting initiatives around the climate crisis. He is an experienced journalist, editor, manager and leading expert in verification, fact-checking, newsroom innovation and collaborative journalism projects. He spent eight years as a journalist and producer at the Associated Press, where he became their first International Social Media and UGC Editor. Since 2015 Fergus has been advising broadcasters, publishers and start-ups around the world on editorial challenges, misinformation, newsroom transformation and innovation. He is the co-founder of the Online Journalism Award-winning “Pop-Up Newsroom”, a framework for collaborative journalism projects that has run initiatives in the US, UK, India, Sweden, Indonesia and Mexico. Fergus is a mentor for the UK’s John Schofield Trust and he joined the Online News Association’s Board of Directors in 2020.
Fergus Bell
Founder & CEO • Fathm • Guildford, England
Last edited January 2, 2024
ONA Involvement
Resources Contributed
- Digital Journalism Insights 2019: Lightning Talks from ONA Board Candidates — ONA19, September 11, 2019
- The Male Allies Toolkit — ONA18, September 12, 2018
- Verificado 2018: Global Lessons Learned from Debunking Fake News in Mexican Elections — ONA18, September 12, 2018
- Digital Journalism Insights 2018: Lightning Talks from ONA Board Candidates — ONA18, September 12, 2018
- Bringing Ethical and Social Newsgathering to Your Newsroom — ONA16, September 17, 2016
- When News Breaks Bad: UGC in the Newsroom — London16, March 31, 2016
Moderated
- Blood on the Screen: Dealing with Vicarious Trauma Via UGC — ONA15, September 23, 2015
- Time for a Chat: Engaging with Audiences via Mobile Messaging — London15: Mobile, March 5, 2015