Annette Sharp
Annette Sharp writes high-profile celebrity and entertainment columns for the masthead, with a focus on the power struggles and reputational crises around television talent, media personalities and the music industry. Her work centres on the friction between public image and behind-the-scenes behaviour, and she often frames stories through the impact of these disputes on long-running shows and marquee names. She approaches entertainment as a serious beat, treating television and music as workplaces with competing egos, contractual pressures and shifting alliances.
Celebrity power, TV shows and reputational crises
Sharp is best known for columns that examine rifts and instability around flagship television programs, including breakfast shows, reality formats and other entertainment franchises. In pieces such as a recent column on a looming crisis at the Today show, she foregrounds internal tensions, audience fatigue and the strain on hosts whose off-screen dynamics become part of the story. She writes in a direct, critical style that highlights who is driving a conflict, who is exposed and who stands to benefit, using ratings history and production decisions as context rather than simple gossip. Across these columns she regularly scrutinises the behaviour of on-air personalities, executives and their advisers, making the reputational stakes explicit for those involved.
Music, entertainment and celebrity culture
Within entertainment, Sharp pays close attention to the role of music in shaping celebrity narratives, whether through artists’ visibility on television, festival line-ups attached to broadcasters, or the crossover careers of singers and musicians who move into presenting and reality formats. She treats music as part of a wider culture industry, linking artists and managers to the same cycles of publicity, backlash and rehabilitation that surround television stars. Her columns often track how musicians use media partnerships, talent shows and broadcast appearances to reposition themselves, and how missteps in that arena quickly become public crises. She is comfortable writing about label relationships, commercial tie-ins and the promotional machinery around releases when they intersect with her core interest in entertainment power and image.
Long-running gossip and media commentary
Sharp has a long tenure as a gossip and entertainment columnist, having spent a decade writing a well-read gossip column before moving to News Corp in 2008 to continue in senior journalism and commentary. That background shapes her current work: she writes with the certainty of a veteran observer of celebrity culture, and her columns often assume detailed reader familiarity with television shows, on-air incidents and the public history of particular personalities. Her pieces function as media commentary as much as entertainment reporting, drawing on industry knowledge to explain why certain stories break when they do and how management decisions contribute to turmoil. She is particularly attuned to how publicists, rival outlets and social media intensify small disputes into larger scandals, and she frames her coverage around those mechanics rather than individual anecdotes.
Style and format
Sharp typically writes opinion-led columns rather than straight news, using strong, declarative language and clear judgements about the behaviour of the people she covers. Her work is narrative in structure, often opening with a pointed observation about a show, personality or incident and then unpacking the context over several sections. She favours short, sharp descriptions and pointed character sketches instead of long scene-setting, which keeps the focus on the decisions and consequences at the heart of each story. Across her body of work, she consistently uses the column format to blend reporting, industry context and critique, making her coverage distinct from general entertainment news on the same beat.
4 more music journalists.
Abby Webster
Abby Webster zeroes in on the storytelling side of contemporary pop, writing for Billboard about how songs build worlds around K-pop groups, fictional pop stars and ambitious soundtracks. She covers K-pop projects through close, song-by-song features, like her track-by-track piece with SEVENTEEN’s Vernon and The 8 on their EP ‘V8,’ and fan-centered lists such as “7 Best Moments from BTS’ Long-Awaited Return.” She treats soundtracks and fictional acts with the same rigor, mapping the inspirations behind “The Vampire Lestat” soundtrack and profiling in-universe groups like HUNTR/X and Saja Boys as if they were chart acts. Through Chart Beat stories on projects like “KPop Demon Hunters,” she connects these releases to industry strategy, global fandom, and the business systems that turn pop narratives into durable IP.
Alex Suskind
Alex Suskind is a freelance writer and editor who covers music with concise news stories and curated release lists. He focuses on new songs, album roundups, and archival access, from Carly Rae Jepsen’s “On Wires” to Neil Young opening his full catalog to residents of Greenland. His reporting stays close to the release cycle and foregrounds the core hook of each story. He has written for Pitchfork and has freelance work in Vulture, The Guardian, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and The Atlantic. He also covers broader arts and culture, but his music beat is built around what is newly out now or newly available.
Ali Shutler
Ali Shutler links chart pop, alternative music and fan culture with the ways songs move through festivals, streaming platforms and games. He is a freelance culture journalist specialising in music, writing news and features for NME and other music and culture titles. He covers breakout chart acts, legacy artists whose catalogues are resurfacing, and how audiences rediscover songs via TikTok, streaming or in‑game soundtracks. His reporting on streaming-era pop and live festival moments tracks virality, catalog access and fan behaviour as part of the story of a track. He also examines music, gaming and visual art crossovers, treating game soundtracks and artist-led campaigns as part of a wider cultural map. Alongside this, he profiles emerging chart artists for outlets including The Telegraph, Vice, The Independent, Dork and Upset, focusing on early-career trajectories and fan culture.
Annie Marino
Annie Marino is an editorial assistant who covers how music acts and character-driven entertainment turn into toys, collectibles, and recurring content. She works across The Toy Book, The Toy Insider, and The Pop Insider. Her beat sits at the meeting point of music, pop culture personalities, and the toy and collectibles market, with a focus on news about new launches and branded releases. She reports on music icons becoming collectible dolls, tracking how toy makers position performers within signature ranges and licensed collaborations. She also covers kids’ characters and animated content tied to toys and children’s media, following new cartoon episodes that keep brands active for young audiences. Across her stories, she treats artist branding and character-led storytelling as product strategy, watching how entertainment becomes tangible merchandise and ongoing content for fans.