Entering my Substack era

An introduction to who I am, what I do, and why I'm joining the Substack community

I've been thinking about how to start this for a while.

The truth is, I've spent two decades telling stories — interviewing heads of state, moderating panels at global summits, anchoring breaking news as the world shifted in real time. I've been very comfortable holding the microphone and pointing it at someone else.

While I have some experience of turning it on myself, that’s always felt a little self indulgent.

So why start a Substack now? Mid-life, fresh perspective, and self-care. I’m here to tell my own story.

My name is Hannah Vaughan Jones. I'm a British journalist and broadcaster with over 20 years of experience in global news. I've anchored for CNN International and Sky News, covered the stories that shaped our era, and I'm proud to have received an Emmy nomination along the way. It's a career I have loved — and my family is still very much in the thick of as my husband, Lewis, is an anchor for BBC News. One newsreader per household is definitely more than enough!

As the founder and CEO of my own production company, Lewnah Ltd (a terrible amalgamation of our forenames), I now work as a storyteller across Global Health, Global Energy, and Global Politics. I moderate international conferences, I consult on communications strategy, I host podcasts, and I help people in important roles speak with clarity, confidence and real human connection. If there's a common thread in everything I do, it's this: I believe stories are how we make sense of the world, and how we change it.

But I am more than my career. Aren't we all?

I'm also a mum. And that sentence, simple as it looks, carries more weight than anything else I've ever written or said.

I became a mother after many years of infertility and fifteen rounds of IVF treatment. Fifteen. If you know, you know. And if you don't — I hope you never have to. That journey was the hardest, most humbling, most character-defining experience of my life. It changed the way I see myself, the way I see others, and the way I think about the stories we carry, we sometimes share, and which ultimately shape us.

It's part of why I'm such a passionate advocate for women's health. Too many of us suffer quietly because we've been told our bodies — our fertility, our hormones, our pain — are private, shame-filled matters. I disagree as loudly as I possibly can.

So what is this space going to be?

It's going to be me — genuine, honest, multi-faceted me. The broadcaster and the mum. The professional and the patient. The moderator of other people's conversations and, now, the sharer of my own.

I've given my portfolio career an umbrella title: Storyteller. Because that's what I am at every level — whether I'm on an international stage or on the school run.

I'll write here about my lived experiences and my perspective on the world around me — including mid-life, motherhood, and navigating a portfolio career. I'll link each post back to my website, https://www.hannahvaughanjones.com, where you can find out more about what I do and how we might work together.

I speak honestly. I speak from experience. And I believe the stories we share have the power to build connections and make us all feel less alone.

That feels like a good enough reason to start.

Croeso. I'm really glad you're here.

— Han

You can find out more about my work at https://www.hannahvaughanjones.com

https://substack.com/@hannahvaughanjones