John Byrne
(He/Him)
London
As seen in:
The Stage,
LinkedIn,
Dailymotion,
IMDb,
Medium,
MSN,
MSN Canada,
MSN Money Canada,
The New York Times,
UOL,
Yahoo Life
and
Covers:
Entertainment, Theatre, Film, TV, Music, Drama Schools, Health and Wellbeing, Acting, Performing Careers
Resident Career Advisor @TheStage. Author of The Always Working Actor tinyurl.com/actorcare No longer on this platform but same handle on IG/threads/FB
Interview
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, my mum, a former legal secretary taught me to read and type when I was young. forever grateful and miss her so much
How is social media changing news?
Con: Removing nuance. Pro: allowing news to get out when in Britain at least press is becoming increasingly supine to the powerful
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Clark Kent ( as brilliantly portrayed by Christopher Reeve in the movies)
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To communicate the truth...and to keep looking for it until you find it
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Laptop, phone and...most essential...earbuds to keep me writing without distraction (I am very distractable!)
What's your favorite social network?
It used to be Twitter...still hanging in with X for the moment, it needs some positive content despite the new boss's best efforts.
Why did you become a journalist?
Always a fan of music, film, theatre etc but many performers I loved died poor and exploited. Wanted to share info, resources to change that.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I did a cartoon strip which I had to ''draw'' by cutting the pictures into stencils as it was pre-photocopier days
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My regular Careers Clinic column-love hearing stories of how it has helped people.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
listen to everyone, then make your own decisions
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Any pitches from health gurus/coaches etc who want to talk about their services using some recent disaster or tragedy as their 'hook. '
What's your favorite drink?
Spiced Apple tea
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That it involves interviewing star names...it does but that is only 10 per cent of the vast amount of talent working front and backstage.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.