I have over 25 years of journalism experience at various national newspapers, and in radio and television - much of it involving research work. I have also freelanced solo and worked for news agencies where I had to rely on my own abilities to find stories, and then write them for so-called "broadsheet" quality newspapers, tabloids, magazines, TV a... Read More

I have over 25 years of journalism experience at various national newspapers, and in radio and television - much of it involving research work. I have also freelanced solo and worked for news agencies where I had to rely on my own abilities to find stories, and then write them for so-called "broadsheet" quality newspapers, tabloids, magazines, TV and radio. As well as working as a researcher on TV news magazine shows at ITV Meridian and BBC South, I was both a news and feature package reporter for BBC Radio. This involved researching, interviewing, and voicing longer feature items on a wide range of subjects for the breakfast show.I worked for over 20 years on staff for Express Newspapers and Reach PLC, both as a reporter and as a News Editor (Daily Star, Daily Express, Sunday Express, and Daily Mirror). I previously worked on the Mail on Sunday and The Sun newsdesks.My reporter role has covered all kinds of subjects, ranging from hard, serious news to human interest, real life, entertainment, showbusiness and humorous stories. I was highly regarded for my ability to do thorough research, persuade sometimes reluctant people to talk, and get the most out of interviews - as my referees will testify. (Their comments are on my LinkedIn profile) Several news editors said they regarded me as their best "on-the-road" reporter for digging up stories and information, and I was renowned for being dogged and persistent - always leaving no stone unturned - and for showing a great attention to detail. As a result, I was regularly assigned with the more in-depth, lengthy story investigations and research projects, and this included consumer, crime and travel journalism.My work would regularly entail researching big background articles surrounding court cases, tracking people down, and finding background on them. My in-depth investigative work included background features on the man accused of Jill Dando's murder, and a series of articles exposing fraudsters for a column I was in charge of at The Sun called "Scambusters". My investigative work for the column led to arrests and inquiries by consumer watchdog bodies. I also ran a consumer column about people's bad holiday experiences for The Sun.My notable interview successes included persuading Colin Stagg, the man accused of Rachel Nickell's murder, to give a series of exclusive interviews, and gaining an exclusive interview with the parents of a girl who was abducted from her primary school in a case that attracted the nation's media. They consented to a recorded interview which was used on Radio 4, Radio 1, and on television, and my written version made national newspaper front pages. On another occasion I tracked down French actress Beatrice Dalle in Paris after reports she was having an affair with football star Eric Cantona, and I persuaded her to give a full interview for no fee.Often, I would have to set suitable people up for case studies for stories - for example, members of the public with very different lives to illustrate the effects of government Budget changes, a suicidal police officer to highlight traumatic stress within police forces, and a football manager to talk about mental health problems within the game.My entire career has involved spotting good story angles and presenting sometimes complex issues in an appealing and easily-digested way - often at pace to tight deadlines.As Night News Editor, I was solely in charge of covering all stories from late afternoon onwards, and I managed and briefed reporters, and edited their copy.I have travelled, hiked, climbed, canyoneered all over the world - often going to very remote places few people visit. These trips have also demonstrated my research and organisational abilities, since my interest in photography has led me to organise many logistically-complex expeditions to sometimes dangerous places. These involved initially tracking down and making contact with world-leading experts in several fields, gaining their trust, and gleaning invaluable information from them. In a number of cases I have arranged meetings abroad with them and even persuaded them to accompany me where their skills, knowledge and experience were required. A number of these trips led to articles being published and photos sold to various outlets. The use of social media and regular participation and networking was key in this success.I have also worked in PR, most recently for edible group, who specialise in public relations aimed at coverage in broadcast media. Read Less