Media jobs and advice blog

I was interested to learn recently that the age-group most likely to make a New Year's Resolution is Gen Z. It seems it's still fresh and exciting when you are 18-25 to set yourself some goals for the coming twelve months. For older people, the yearly failure to adhere to most of these resolutions seems to tire us out and mean we are less likely to make any. But it is natural to start January thinking about changes you would like to make in your life and perhaps this will f

Del Amitri's Scotland World Cup song from 1998 When Scotland beat Denmark in that dramatic game to reach the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, my thoughts immediately turned to my favourite band. Admittedly I think about Del Amitri a lot, as they are a very important part of my life ( see previous blog ). What many people had forgotten was that the official song when Scotland last reached a World Cup was by Del Amitri. But 'Don't Come Home Too Soon' was and remains di

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first UK version of The Celebrity Traitors I was hungry to digest analysis of the dramatic finale and the series as a whole. My choice for analysis is always a podcast, as I like to drive and listen, where I can really concentrate on what is being said. So I rushed to my BBC Sounds and Spotify apps on the morning after the last show was aired. My first choice was the official BBC show, The Traitors: Uncloaked, which is made by Listen (part of Pl

When BBC Radio 4's Soul Music won a silver at the British Podcast Awards in the Arts & Culture section this week (Ocotber 2nd 2025) I was...

Would you want to work here? I work in news where there are hundreds of cliches, but job adverts are also full of them. Below are some of the most common and what I think they really mean. A Competitive Salary We will pay you the minimum we can get away with. Salary Based on Experience We are looking for the cheapest hire. A Team Player This is a cliquey place. Deal with it. Self starter We have no time to train you for this role or explain properly what you will be doing. Ev

Asking good questions at an interview can make a good impression I have heard some awful stories of how media interviews have been...

On a recent episode of The Media Mentor podcast I talked to an AI specialist in recruitment and discussed the key things candidates and...

There are so many podcasts, this list highlights some of the very best!

Football is what people watch Match of the Day for not Lineker When I was working in radio in the 1990s with the brilliant Peter Gordon...

I have no idea what was going through my mind, when at the age of 10 or 11 I started playing my mum and dad's vinyl records and talking...

A lot of radio news hasn't changed since the days of black and white Listening to the newly structured news bulletins on Bauer's Greatest...

When Boris Johnson told the country on March 23rd 2020 that we were all to stay at home, issuing the most dramatic and draconian...

We all know that providing and receiving feedback after job interviews is a valuable part of the hiring process. For candidates, it...

If, like me, you read dozens of job adverts every week, you will be familiar with the call for 'passionate' and 'enthusiastic'...

What not to include on a CV or resume

My top tips for job hunting in January - the busiest time of year for applications January is the most common time of year for people to...

So many mentoring clients tell me that they feel 'lost' when thinking about a cover letter. Where to start? What to say? How long should...

When a colleague at Sky News once said to me "Why do you care so much you're just a freelancer?", to say I was taken aback is an...

A recent exchange with a close friend about the salary of the BBC's political editor Chris Mason had me thinking. He was astounded that...