Crisis Communications and Media Expert
35 years of media experience in radio, newspapers and television, and as a head of media, communications lead and communications advisor in the public and charity sectors.
I have worked in newspapers, radio and television for more than 35 years as a reporter, news editor, producer, news reader and presenter. I’ve also run media training courses and produced corporate videos for Government, councils and businesses for the last 25 years.
I trained with Thomson Regional Newspapers on the South Wales Echo, the evening newspaper in Cardiff. After that I made the move into radio, joining BBC Radio Sheffield as a reporter during the Miners’ Strike, and then went to BBC Radio West Midlands in Birmingham where I covered the Handsworth Riots. I also reported for BBC network radio.
I then moved to ITV starting as a programme journalist with Television South West in Plymouth, then worked at Yorkshire Television as a reporter and news editor in Sheffield and Leeds. I ran ITV’s first ever ‘city TV’ station in Sheffield which was praised by the Independent Broadcasting Authority for its innovative approach to news coverage. A survey carried out by Harris Research showed it had taken over from the local press as the primary source of local news.
In 1992 I joined Meridian Television as one of the launch producers in the South East of England when they took over the ITV franchise from TVS. The evening news programme I produced for Meridian won a Royal Television Society award for best regional news programme in its first year. I also worked for Meridian as a news reader and sports presenter, and was awarded an RTS commendation as a reporter, as well as twice winning the Shepherd Neame Sports Reporter of the Year award. I produced a range of other programmes for Meridian including a documentary on the Tour de France, live hour long outside broadcasts from Portsmouth’s Festival of the Sea and the international showjumping at Hickstead, strands for the regional series Meridian Focus on cigarette smuggling and neo natal specialist care for mothers, and a more light hearted special called ‘Christmas Crackers’.
I have also worked at SKY and ITN as a freelance producer, and spent 2 years as Head of Media Services for Kent Police providing advice to senior officers during critical incidents.
I have also worked as a consultant to local authorities on controversial issues and was the communications lead for Barnardo’s – the UK’s leading children’s charity.