The Media Mentor

Welcome to the Media Mentor podcast where we give media career guidance and share experiences and expertise from the creative industries. This week I talk to Chris Stone, founder of Podcast Crew, a website portal aimed at linking talent with industry opportunities. Chris is also a podcast & audience growth strategist and here we discuss where the industry is heading and how talent is being imp...

Welcome to the Media Mentor podcast where we give media career guidance and share experiences and expertise from the creative industries. This week. What are ghost jobs and how do you cope with ghosting? These are some of the key questions I answer in this latest episode. If you are looking to expand your portfolio of work but concerned about your CV or need help with cover letters and interviews...

Michelle Morgan Davies is known as The PR's Friend and has expanded her work from journalism into supporting communications teams in getting their story told and expanding their coverage. Here we discuss how journalism work is changing and that we all need to build more of a portfolio of work when we are freelance/independent. Michelle talks about using those transferable skills and work-life bala...

Freddie Clayton first came to me for mentoring advice in 2018 when he was in Argentina. He felt his CV needed a redesign and I helped get it into shape before Freddie then worked at the likes of The Telegraph and Sky Sports. But he moved away from sport and into news and the enviornment and returned to me for more guidance on getting that CV right a few years later. Listen to his advice about care...

Podcasthon is the biggest charity event in the podcasting world. It's a fast-growing non-profit initiative that unites thousands of podcasters globally. There's no money involved it’s all about raising awareness for various charitable causes. This episode is made to support The Committee to Protect Journalists , an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. I talk a...

Dr James Mahon teaches at the Open University and has previously worked for the University of Stirling, University of Glasgow and University of the West of Scotland. His doctoral and postdoctoral work explores digital media and mobile journalism and here talks about how the industry is changing and how teaching needs to change at the same time. James has also worked extensively as a TV and radio r...

Charlie Roberts first came to me for advice in late 2023 and after a few mentoring sessions, working on CV and cover letters, he told me that he was moving from Australia to the UK and going to try and land a job in sport production. He had no opportunities lined up - but showed the determination and persistence to get a job at IMG. If you need CV advice like Charlie did or help with cover letters...

Debbie Ford believes LinkedIn works best when it feels like a conversation, not a performance. She created The Chichester Social in 2016 to help companies make the most of the platform, because she felt too many treat it like a megaphone. On this episode we talk about how to avoid that and how to maximise the platform for your job search and networking. The key bit of advice? Be authentic. Debbie'...

This week my guest is Andrea Fox, who presents the news on Absolute, as well as being a Continuity Announcer at ITV. Her career has also included voice-over work, teaching, presenting and being a Tech-op. We discuss what it is like to be freelance and the lessons Andrea has learnt. We find out about managing yourself well and being reliable and trustworthy and how building your brand that way is c...

This week my guest is Jon Weeks, a freelance podcast producer, presenter and journalist who came to me for CV advice in 2021 and soon landed a job at the Evening Standard producing their daily podcast. Jon talks to me about the move from radio news into podcast, moving from a full-time role to being freelance and how the world of podcast is being transformed and shaken up by video. If you want adv...

This week I take questions from Seong-Jae Kong who has moved from South Korea to the UK and is studying journalism at the University of Westminster. Seong-Jae wants to know how you develop newsroom skills without being in a newsroom, whether you should specialise or develop multiple skills and talks about his recent BBC interview and what he learned from the experience. If you have questions like...

Phil Clark has worked in B2B journalism for the last two decades and tells me why it's an underated sector and how it can help people develop investigative skills and many others. We discuss what attributes you might need and how networking is a vital part of the role, plus how the industry is changing. If you want some advice and support about the next career step then mentoring sessions are avai...

Apparently 2026 is the new 2016! So this week I chat to Emily Uchida Finch, who first came to me for advice in 2016. We find out how she's doing ten years later and what her journey has been like. Emily talks about working for an international broadcaster, moving into local journalism and how she broke into podcasting. There are many valuable lessons that she shares, from my initital advice to mak...

In this week's episode it's all about creating journalism in a world of changing consumption. Matt Capon is a freelance video journalist who lectures at City, St George’s University of London and the University of Northampton. He thinks a lot of content production by traditional outlets is missing the mark. Here we talk about why and the evolving dynamics between traditional media and new digital...

This week I chat to Sylvie Proffitt, who first came to me for advice in December 2020. Sylvie was struggling to navigate sports media after graduating from her degree course and was looking to expand her portfolio of work or find a full-time role. Within weeks she was working at BBC Sport and on this episode she talks about how I helped her prepare for interviews and shape her CV to demonstrate he...

Welcome to Season 2 of The Media Mentor. I begin this series looking at the New Year job hunt. If you have vowed to find a new role in 2026, this episode covers some key tips. I look at how to layout your CV, the challenges of AI, what to write in a cover letter and how to handle panel interviews. Plus I look at the important things to consider when choosing a media course. More personal and confi...

On this episode I pick out some of the key tips from the second half of Season 1. Plus I dip into some of the content I was unable to share from those interviews in the main series. You will hear advice on making a podcast for YouTube, why researching people you contact for work properly is important, making an award winning podcast and how some universities are looking to bridge the gap between a...

This week I chat to Gary Taphouse, a football commentator with Sky Sports and other platforms. He talks about the best way to break into the industry and build those contacts. When to and when not to work for 'free', why getting the small things right matters and how the industry has changed in the last 20 years. If you want some specific advice, then one to one sessions are available. Find out mo...

This week I answer questions from Eliska Janska and Antonia Johlen, who are studying journalism at the University of Westminster. Their questions focus on the challenges of making contacts and how networking is hard. How do you introduce yourself at industry events and what do you say? Why is networking so important? If that is something you struggle with, then listen for advice on how to manage t...

On this episode my guest is Matt Deegan, an expert on radio, podcast and audio and at the forefront of the industry. Matt is Founder and Creative Director of the new media and radio consultancy firm, Folder Media. Outside of Folder, Matt also co-created Podcast Awards Ltd, which runs the British Podcast Awards (and others). He also writes a  weekly audio newsletter  and presents  Th...

On this episode I chat with Christian Smith, who came to me for mentoring advice in 2020. At the time he was a lawyer and aspiring journalist particularly keen on a career in foreign news, broadcasting, or long form journalism. Over the course of the next year or so we had a few sessions and Christian eventually worked for me and progressed through places like Times Radio and is now a Broadcaster...

On this 'emergency' episode I look at the problems for the BBC after a tumultuous week and how it managed to broadcast a doctored version of the Donald Trump documentary. To get an idea of life at the BBC I speak to Sanjeev Shetty, who worked there for 23 years. He talks about how the newsroom always felt a safer space for those on the left than the right. I also talk to PR professional Josh Wheel...

We've reached 25 episodes of the podcast and this week I chat to Jo Wood, Managing Director of The Media Exchange recruitment consultant. As you’ll discover Jo has had an interesting path into this sector and set up The Media Exchange in 1993. We discuss what has changed since, how recruitment can be made more efficient and personal and where bias and discrimination is still sadly a major issue. I...

This week I answer questions from Nour Mouhammed, a student studying journalism who moved from Syria a few years ago. Nour has vast experience from her home country but is unsure how that transfers to the UK media industry and joins me to discuss those concerns and ask other questions about the recruitment process. If you have moved to the UK and are finding breaking into media hard, get in touch...

This week I talk to Robin Zhang about how he moved from China to the UK to study journalism and pursue his dream of working in UK radio. When he first came to me for support he had completed an MA at Cardiff University and was working as a volunteer in radio, but wanted to bridge that gap from student to a full-time job. Find out what we worked on to do that and what extra things Robin did to brea...