Electric Ink
by Alistair Beaton, Tom Mitchelson, Alex Jennings, Ben Willbond, John Sessions
Narrated by Alex Jennings, Ben Willbond, Debbie Chazen, Elizabeth Berrington, full cast, John Sessions, Polly Frame, Robert Lindsay, Stephen Wight, Zita Sattar
About This Audiobook
A veteran print journalist and his digitally native counterpart navigate the chaos of a modern newspaper under constant threat of irrelevance. Maddox clings to the old virtues of source cultivation and shoe-leather reporting, while Freddy treats repurposed press releases as perfectly acceptable journalism. Between them sits a cast of newsroom characters pulled in competing directions: a pragmatic editor desperate to keep the paper alive, a news editor chasing clicks over substance, and a Russian social media chief harboring secrets about the office golden boy. The result is a sharp, ensemble comedy that uses Fleet Street as a lens on a media industry tearing itself apart.
The production thrives on its full-cast format, with Robert Lindsay, John Sessions, Alex Jennings, and a deep ensemble bringing distinct comic registers to each character. The episodic structure suits audio perfectly, delivering punchy scenes and overlapping newsroom chatter that would feel cluttered on the page but crackle when performed. At five and a half hours, the series maintains its rhythm without overstaying its welcome, making it an easy binge for anyone who enjoys workplace satire with genuine wit behind it.