Who are we all and who do we work for?

[TheThinker]

My name is Gareth Duggan and I'm the deputy news editor at the Telegraph and Argus newspaper in Bradford. I did my journalism training in New Zealand, and helped to launch the www.stuff.co.nz news website in 2000 as sports editor. O worked at PA on their sports desk for a couple of years after moving to the UK in 2002, then moved into news in 2003 with a brief stint at the Hexham Courant in Northumberland, and arrived at the T&A via two-years with Geronimo Communications in Leeds.

I'm very interested in how newspapers can be developed using innovative approaches to internet publishing, as well as design, content and relationships with readers. I love newspapers and I think the media as an industry is one of the most fascinating and complex elements of our modern society, redefining our relationships with politics, celebrity, our local communities and the rest of the world. It's also good fun to work in, and I'm lucky enough to work with some great people.

I also think if we're serious about the media becoming better and more professional it needs to have a regulatory body and formal qualifications for journos, news editors, editors and subs. Nobody thinks doctors or lawyers are told what to do by the Government, and a well planned move to 'professionalism' would vastly improve our industry's quality, reputation and career prospects.

[smcmullin2001]

Hello,

My name is Stephen McMullin. I graduated from Dublin Institute of Technology in 2005 with a degree in journalism.

During college I wrote for the DIT Indo, worked on publications for the Union of Students in Ireland and contributed to The Slate, a short-lived but fairly notorious Dublin mag. Since graduating I have written a regular column, reviews, interviews and such for an independent music mag in Dublin, called Connected. This is great fun, but pays only in advance CDs and Good Karma.

I was working for the Irish Daily Mail (or Ireland on Sunday as it was when I started) as a sub-editor before spending a year as their TV Ed., with responsibility for their TV magazines and everything TV-related. I found this to be soul-destroying and unfulfilling (except the bits where I got to rave about Doctor Who, watch Heroes before everyone else and all that sort of thing). There's a long story attached to my getting the job and my leaving it, but I'll spare you.

About a month ago I decided to take the plunge and ran away to the Netherlands, where I am now casting about for freelance writing work. This makes me either ambitious or extremely naive, although I keep hearing Del Boy in my head saying, "He who dares, Rodders…"

Ideally, I'd like someone to ring me up and offer me a job as a regular columnist with The Guardian, Uncut or Death Ray, but I'm not holding my breath. (Although any interested parties, feel free to drop me a line!)

Looking forward to exploring this site and perhaps even learning something — it's a great resource which I can't wait to mine.

All the best,
Steve

[Mitt90]

Hi

My name is Matt Moggridge and I am currently editing two magazines and overseeing another two. The magazines are European Baker and, wait for it, Potato Processing International and the mags I'm overseeing are Asia Pacific Baker and Biscuit World (that's a magazine, not a theme park!).

I suppose you could call me an all-round magazine editor, journalist and publisher. In November 2004, after four years as editor of Hotel & Restaurant, prior to which I was editor of Pub Food for six years, I launched Foodservice Forum. It worked well for 18 months, but doing the whole thing myself, ie all the writing and editing, plus the print and production and liaising with designers and photographers AND performing the publisher and ad manager role, proved too much. So I closed it and concentrated on freelancing. That's how I became editor of Potato Processing International and then European Baker (at which point I went full-time with the company concerned).

I've had a great career to date. Not only have I travelled the world (this year alone I've been to Miami, Canada, Hungary twice, Netherlands three times, France, Belgium, you name it) but generally, all my jobs have involved a lot of writing and travelling. I've had something like seven or eight magazine editorships and will shortly be joining Alchemy Media as editor of Club Mirror. It's all very well working on an international title (or titles) and experiencing 'extensive international travel' but if the money's not there, what's the point?

I've interviewed a number of key people too: Sir Terence Conran (in front of a live audience); Gordon Ramsay (in print and in front of a live audience); Michael Palin, Keith Floyd, Terence Stamp and many more.

Anyway, nuff said, as they say. Merry Christmas to all on the site and a Happy New Year.

[simonburgess]

As my none-too-clever username suggests, I am Simon Burgess and, after just returing to the UK (Brighton) after a four-year stint overseas, I have just gone freelance. In the past, I've edited B2B mags as well as newsstand, including the Malaysian edition of FHM.

[xpandedmedia]

Im Benjamin Hurley - the director and owner of http://www.xpandedcareers.com - An international media job board that has a huge focus on all forms of journalism. We also develop custom job boards for newspapers, magazines, and related media sites.

[mhmedia]

According to my web site i'm a "freelance photo journalist", but in reality that's only my part-time profession. By day I'm a software developer for a market research company and that subsidises my wannabee career as a Gentleman of the Press.

I do have some journalistic credentials though: I take pictures and report on the international music scene, not only taking pictures on a variety of Nikons but also reporting live to my blog using a cellphone and software that I've developed myself. It's a formula that works well and I'm able to send back live pictures and video right from the middle of the dancefloor. I'm a regular contributor to several clubbing web sites and have appeared in print in a couple of music weeklies.  I've also been blogging mobile since 2003 covering scenes of both local life and my European travel.

Sadly, the journalistic side of my life does not pay the bills: the music industry is notoriously "poor" and the "free lunch" syndrome is alive and well: if one could live on reputation alone I'd be up there among the rich and famous. So let's change that in 2008.. get in touch and hire me!
 

[michael_walsh]

Hi everyone, and a fair wind for your endeavours. My name is Michael and Liverpool is my location; naturalised though google brought me here to you.
Setting my stall out I have always written on topics of wide diversity, which has been well received. So far it has been self published (which was profitable); a labour of charity, or on a barter arrangement (articles for advertising). I am here to build on that so wish me luck.
I have written for national periodicals, appeared on TV, chatted on air, so I reckon I am good enough to be paid for what I do. My testimonials would agree. 
In particular I am looking for a commissioning editor who appreciates that an engaging style of writing on topics that appeal to a broad spectrum of middle-brow readers, will have readers gagging for more.
My style is relaxed: think of Terry Wogan or Alan Whicker of the keyboard and you have it. Jeremy Clarkson; that's even better.
So if there are any such editors out there who like to ride by the seat of their pants then why not say 'Hi; show me what you can do.' The rest is up to me - and then it is your turn.

[newshound]

Hello, my name is Chris and I am write custom news feeds for web sites for a company called Newsvend Ltd, based in South West London. I am also editor-in-chief and will soon be looking to hire well educated journalists with at least a couple of years experience. I just discovered this excellent website today, and I will revisit soon with more details of available positions.

[BeckieJ]

Hi all,
I'm Beckie, 23 from Cardiff. Newbie to the site and just starting off doing freelance journalism full time. Finding it a little more difficult getting work than thought, but I'm not giving up just yet!!!. 

[Matt]

Hello,

My name's Matt Day and I'm based in Warsaw. I've been a full-time journalist for close to 10 years now, and love the job, although the pay, zero-career structure and now-you-see-me-now-you-don't tendency of publications can drive me up the wall. Anway, mainly I write mainly about  Poland and Central Europe for the business press but also string for the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph and The Scotsman. Writing for a big London paper provides a touch of--totally unwarrented--glamour, is a great help at getting your foot in the door but perhaps, most importantly, teaches you an awful lot about the trade. If anybody needs to know anything about my part of the world, I'm happy to help.

[matt_oleary]

Hello,

My name is Matt O'Leary and I'm an English journalist currently based in Sienna, Italy.  I've spent the last year and a half living in Gothenburg in Sweden, and before that I was working at Virgin.net, where I ran the Food & Drink, Lifestyle and Going Out sections.  I still write for Virgin Media and its associated websites, as well as a couple of Swedish & Italian magazines and a few other publications in the UK and US.  I mainly write about music and travel, but am looking to expand into folklore, arts and culture/counterculture, and so on.  In Sweden I also worked as a chef, which I quite miss.

[GreenFish]

Hello all - I am a 27 year-old chap who is starting a NCTJ course in September with noSWeat; I can't wait to get into an industry that has always fascinated me.  My dream would be to work for The Guardian. 

[Canuck1]

Hi everyone my name is Laura, and at the moment I have no job.  I graduated from a post-graduate program in Journalism-New Media at Sheridan College in Oakville Canada.  Before that I got my Bachleor of Arts degree in History and Contemporary Studies from Wilfrid Laurier University in Brantford (Wayne Gretzky's hometown).

The program at Sheridan was very cool.  In first term we learned the theroy, and process of journalism.  Second term we actually produced a weekly television news show live to the net as well as our news website.  The part of the program I liked the most was writing, and it's what I love to do.  I also liked producing, and seeing a broadcast come together.

After a 6-week internship with 680News (an all-news station based in Toronto) I'm looking for a new job.  After a month at the search I'm beginning to broaden my horizons and am looking in other parts of Canada and a bit internationally (preferably UK).  In the meantime I'm trying to break into free-lance writing.

-Laura

[Caviar]

My name is Russell. I freelanced with The Scotsman, Big Issue and other publications up until about 12 years ago when I went into social welfare law. Now I write full-time again as a financial journalist and write the "debt doctor" column with Mature Times and contribute articles to a bunch of websites. I also write PR, marketing and sales copy for ethical businesses. My BA Degree is in Photography. I found first time round that my experience with various campaigning groups gave me a USP/niche that got me published in "letters to the editor" pages for UK national press before my first commissions for national papers in Scotland. I now find, based in England, that I am able to rely on my considerable experience in credit/debt law as I rebuild my writing career a second time. I write a financial/social welfare blog at http://uneviedematelot.livejournal.com/ and recently put up my "commercial" website. I find intriguing the difference between trained journalists who want to write and those of us who come to writing because we have niche expertise and experience that we want to take to another level through the media.

[tenaciousp]

Hi guys.

My name's Pete, and at the moment I'm trying to freelance whilst looking for work. I've written for Time Out London, Canary Wharf magazine, The City magazine, and the British International Motor Show Guide 2008.