Fergus Bell

Fergus is an experienced journalist, editor and leading expert in digital newsgathering, verification, newsroom innovation and collaborative journalism projects.

Fergus’ experience spans both the business and editorial sides of the news industry. He spent eight years as a journalist and producer at the Associated Press, where he became their first International Social Media and UGC Editor. He then headed up newsroom partnerships and innovation for digital newsgathering start-up, SAM Desk.

In 2015 Fergus founded Dig Deeper Media – advising broadcasters, publishers and start-ups on social and digital newsgathering, newsroom transformation and innovation.

In 2017 he co-founded Pop-Up Newsroom, a framework for collaborative journalism projects that has already seen success in the US, UK, India, Sweden and with the multi-award winning “Verificado” – an initiative designed to monitor for misinformation during the Mexican elections. Fergus is a 2019 Reynolds Journalism Institute Fellow and is a faculty member of the European Broadcast Union’s Academy. In 2019 Fergus co-founded Fathm Ltd with Tom Trewinnard. He joined the Online News Association’s Board of Directors in 2020.