CV

Profile

After nearly two decades in the media industry I have developed an entertaining and clean writing ability and can write quick, accurate copy on a variety of subjects in a number of styles.

I am especially adept at presenting subjects that could be considered dry and complicated in a clear and interesting way.

My background as a reporter and account manager has provided me with excellent people skills and interview techniques.

In 2009 I was awarded Local Campaign of the Year in the West Midlands Media Awards for the Nuneaton Tribune ‘Dump It’ Campaign.

As a PR account manager I have successfully worked to enhance the media profile of businesses like Joules, Heathrow, npower business, Siemens, Black Cab manufacturers LTI, child seat manufacturer Britax, Irwin Industrial Tools, Selco, Michelin, and Halfords Autocentre.

In my previous role as deputy editor of food industry news website just-food I covered hard news, wrote in-depth analysis features, interviews and comment pieces and managed the workload of reporters and freelancers. Examples of my work can be found at www.just-food.com

For more than two years I was a reporter for the Daily Mail Online, one of the world’s largest newspaper websites at the forefront of online journalism.

In my role I covered breaking news stories on a global scale, including the death of Margaret Thatcher and the hurricane that ravaged the East Coast of the United States.

After the Mail I moved to the Mirror.co.uk and was an integral part of the award-winning and rising news website’s successes in gaining readership.

In October 2016 I was asked to join the world news team at the Sun to specialise in my passion, foreign news. I have a particular interest in terrorism issues and the Middle East and global crime.

I have also developed an understanding of the importance of SEO, social platforms, use of pictures, and the importance of video in online news coverage.

I was informed by a former colleague who works at the Press Gazette that a story I wrote - 'Did gypsies cut off man's p*nis in revenge for him sleeping with one of their girlfriends? Police search A-road for missing manhood after arrest of suspect, 22' - was the most-read story in the history of MailOnline.

Employment History

November 2017 – present Freelance report and copywriter | Coventry

October 2016 – November 2017 World reporter at sun.co.uk | London

January 2015 – October 2016 Reporter at Mirror.co.uk | London

October 2012 - December 2014 Reporter at MailOnline | London

Duties: Responsible for writing, news-gathering, page layout, copy checking and the effective use of pictures, often balancing the various disparate elements of a number of complicated stories at the same time.

February 2012 – September 2012 Account manager at Seal | Birmingham

Duties: Getting media exposure and social media management for clients, principally tyre manufacturer Michelin and food wholesaler Wing Yip.

September 2010 - August 2011 Account manager at WAA| Birmingham

Duties: Media management for Halfords Autocentre and Esporta gyms.

August 2008 - September 2010 Account manager at Rave Communications | Birmingham

Duties: Writing advertising copy and media management for Irwin Industrial Tools and insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson.

March - August 2008 Freelance reporter for Nuneaton Tribune and Hinckley Times

Duties: News-gathering, maintaining contacts, writing, features and colour pieces.

September 2004 to January 2007 Senior reporter at Coventry Evening Telegraph

Duties: Working a patch, breaking exclusives, working to tight deadlines, features, reviews and a stint on health reporting. It was here I cut my teeth as a reporter, learning techniques for interviewing, writing effectively and managing my workload.

2002-2003 English teacher at World Foreign Language Middle School, Xuhui district, Shanghai, China, with the Cultural and Educational Section of the British Consulate General

Living and working as an English teacher in a Chinese school.

Education & Qualifications

Staffordshire University 100 wpm shorthand certificate.

BA First Class Honours in Journalism with English Literature from Staffordshire University.

Teaching English as a Secondary Language (TESL) Qualification from Sydney Institute of Language and Commerce, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

Nominated for newcomer of the year in the West Midlands Media Awards 2004.

Achieved Local Campaign of the Year in the West Midlands Media Awards 2009 for the Nuneaton Tribune ‘Dump It’ Campaign.

Trinity Mirror pre-entry journalism certificate including 100wpm shorthand.

Trinity Mirror senior reporter certificate.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Basic spoken Spanish and French

Cinema

Running

Cooking

True crime

References available upon request