Paul McNamee is Editorial Director of Big Issue Group. He started out on local newspapers in Northern Ireland before co-founding, over 25 years ago, Belfast-based Irish music magazine Blank with Colin Murray. He moved to the NME in London and subsequently wrote for a number of newspapers and magazines, amongst them the Daily Mirror, The Guardian, Belfast Telegraph and The Irish Times. He has been with Big Issue for 19 years, first as deputy editor of the Scotland edition, then, since 2013 when Big Issue amalgamated all regional titles, as UK editor and now Editorial Director for the entire Big Issue group. He has guided Big Issue through a shift to digital-first output, while maintaining street sales. He has been named British Editor of The Year four times by the BSME (British Society of Magazine Editors 2013, 2016, 2022, 2024), was named Editor of the Year four times by the leading publishing industry body PPA Scotland, was inducted into the PPA Scotland Hall of Fame in 2021 and was voted BSME Editors Editor of the year in 2021. He recently served as Chairman of the board of trustees of Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre and on the board of Glasgow Jazz Festival. Also a broadcaster, he is a regular contributor to news, politics and sports shows across BBC and Sky – including Newsnight, sports panel show Fighting Talk and Politics Live.