The people behind the Trust.
The Independent Media Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees who bring experience from across journalism, media, regulation, technology, philanthropy, civil society and public service.
The Board is responsible for the Trust's charitable purpose, strategy, governance and financial stewardship. and it also helps ensure that the organisations and initiatives supported by the Trust remain focused on strengthening the media and information ecosystem in the public interest.
Samuel Regan Asante
Samuel was instrumental in the growth of UNILAD from a bedroom startup to senior leadership of the most engaged social publisher in the world within 4 years; organically growing revenue to £12m+ prior to the acquisition by LADBible Group. He was later pivotal in the acquisition and transformation of social-first publisher JOE Media. As CEO, he significantly increased group revenue and revamped its content offering, growing the following in the process and winning ‘Social Media Team of the Year’ at The Drum Awards for Online Media 2022. Throughout his career, he has positioned himself at the intersection of technology, human behaviour, and culture, exploring the dynamic among these elements and how they perpetually influence and shape one another with the goal of identifying the fundamental product proposition, the way we convey its value, and the effective monetisation of innovative solutions.
Andrea Wills
Andrea has exceptional experience in broadcasting regulation, editorial standards and investigating serious editorial failings in the UK and Australia. A highly experienced journalist and broadcaster, she worked across radio, television and online content production for the BBC for over 25 years, including as Chief Adviser to its Editorial Policy team and Independent Editorial Adviser to the BBC Trust, where she investigated over 60 complaints about BBC content. In Australia, she worked for the ABC in Sydney, conducting independent reviews, developing editorial and media ethics standards, and training senior journalists. She has also worked with the BBC College of Journalism and IMPRESS, where she chaired its Code Committee and led the first revision of its Standards Code. She is currently a member of the Games Rating Authority’s Appeals Panel and has joined the Bristol and Anchor Almshouse Charity, soon to become a founding trustee of its CIO. It runs a thriving community centre and charitable housing for the over 55s.
Jaldeep Katwala
Jaldeep is currently the Director of the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity at Birmingham City University. The Centre carries out research on diversity, equality and inclusion issues which aims to stimulate systemic and structural change working with British media. He is also a member of the Steering Board for the Local News Fund, which was established by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to stimulate innovation in local journalism. At the Public Interest News Foundation, Jaldeep built a network of more than 120 independent local media in the UK. He was also a Director of and worked for the investigative journalism co-operative, the Bristol Cable. He has extensive experience as a journalist and has also worked in global media development in countries such as South Sudan, Haiti, and Papua New Guinea.
Michael Moss
Michael is an independent advisor and consultant with 10+ years’ global experience strengthening independent media and information ecosystems through philanthropy, policy and advocacy. He has expertise in technology and media policy, journalism sustainability and innovation, and journalist safety. Until mid-2025, he served as Program Manager for global media programs at the Open Society Foundations, designing and implementing grant-making strategies to advance media and technology regulation, sustainability and innovation, and journalist safety. He has also worked in the Strategy & Policy Team at Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, and at Media Defence, building legal and civil society capacity around online expression, privacy and digital rights. Originally from South Africa, Michael has extensive experience across Sub-Saharan Africa advancing access to information, media freedom and digital rights, including at the Open Society Foundations’ South Africa office.
Dorothee Archambault
Dorothee is currently Director of Development and Programmes at Media Defence, an international NGO operating across 110+ countries. Dorothee is responsible for fundraising, communications, M&E and is overseeing the delivery of programmatic activities. Prior to Media Defence, she led the Partnerships team at NCT where she was responsible for generating income from corporate partners, trusts, foundations and commissioners. She has over 14 years’ experience in the B2B media industry, working in various sectors and dealing with industry high-level stakeholders, government representatives and lobbyists.
How we work
The Independent Media Trust operates as an institutional home and incubator rather than building a large permanent central organisation.
This allows us to develop new organisations and infrastructure while keeping the Trust itself focused on its core purpose:
We bring together the people and expertise required for each initiative, working with project leads, researchers, journalists, technologists and specialists from across the media and public-interest sectors.
Making great media visible, viable and accountable.