Michelle Byrne
Michelle Byrne is a talented and professionally qualified journalist with more than five years of experience working for national magazines, newspapers and websites. She specialises in writing lifestyle, arts and entertainment features, news and reviews – particularly focusing on food and drink, television, sport and outdoors, shopping, music and literature. She is a gifted interviewer and has a flair for feature writing, as well as a passion for photography.
Employment history
SoGlos.com | March 2007 – Present | Editor
As editor and co-founder of the newly launched online lifestyle and entertainment magazine, my role encompasses everything from writing daily features to managing a team of talented journalists, ensuring that SoGlos.com is essential reading for residents and visitors to Gloucestershire alike.
Fyrne.com | September 2006 – Present | Freelance Journalist
I currently write regular features, interviews and travel articles for an array of titles in the UK and Dubai, as well as supplying a majority of the published photographs.
Time Out Dubai, Dubai | August 2005 – September 2006 | Section Editor
As a section editor on the United Arab Emirates’ leading weekly magazine my role included:
- Writing restaurant, TV, sport and consumer reviews and features on a weekly basis.
- Conducting interviews with high profile actors, sportsmen and celebrities.
- Commissioning writers and managing listings staff.
- Continually contributing creative editorial ideas for all sections of the magazine, many of which were implemented by senior management.
This is London, London | November 2004 – July 2005 | Section Editor
As a journalist on Associated New Media’s award-winning website my role involved:
- Editing several sections of the website on a daily basis.
- Writing music, bar and nightclub, restaurant and product features and reviews.
- Conducting interviews and organising live web chats with celebrities.
- Promoting and working with commercial partners.
Guardian Unlimited, London | March 2004 – December 2004 | Politics Night Editor
Employed on the daily newspaper’s website I was solely responsible for:
- Editing the politics section – one of the most demanding, popular and important sections on the influential website.
- Uploading copy from the newspaper using a content management system.
- Liaising with Guardian newspaper editorial staff to cover breaking stories.
TV and Satellite Week magazine, IPC, London | May 2004 – November 2004 | Subeditor
As a full-time freelance subeditor on the weekly magazine my responsibilities included:
- Using QuarkXPress to layout television listing pages to extremely tight deadlines.
- Sub-editing copy and writing snappy headlines and captions to house style.
- Freelance sub-editing on additional IPC magazines, including Nuts and TV Times.
The Daily and Sunday Express, London | March 2004 – June 2004 | Features Writer
Working both in-house and as a commissioned freelancer my role predominantly involved:
- Previewing television highlights on a daily basis.
- Interviewing celebrities, artists and authors.
- Researching and writing features.
- Cultivating an impressive array of celebrity and public relations contacts.
A&S Publishing, Gloucester | March 2003 – September 2003 | Subeditor
Sub-editing a series of monthly motoring magazines my responsibilities included:
- Writing headlines, standfirsts, captions and furniture.
- Fact-checking and re-writing copy – ensuring it adhered to media law guidelines.
- Laying-out magazine pages and making design changes in QuarkXPress.
The Citizen, Gloucester | April 2001 – September 2001 | News Reporter
As a full-time news reporter on this daily newspaper my role included:
- Writing on- and off-diary news stories on a daily basis from press releases, news wires and official sources.
- Conducting interviews with politicians, business leaders and members of the public.
- Writing arts and entertainment reviews and features.
Education
City University, London | September 2003 – July 2004
Postgraduate Diploma in Newspaper Journalism.
Queen Mary University of London, London | September 1998 – June 2002
BA (Hons) Degree in History and Politics (2:1).
Muhlenberg College, Pennsylvania, USA | August 1999 – December 1999
Studied History and Political Science on a semester exchange programme.
St Peter’s Sixth Form, Gloucester | September 1996 – June 1998
A’Levels in English (B), Geography (B) and History (B). A/S Level in Performing Arts (C).
Skills
- Exceptional copywriting ability – producing imaginative and attention-grabbing copy to tight deadlines.
- Excellent contacts book featuring professionals in the local and national media, as well as actors, authors and salacious celebrities.
- Experienced subeditor and proofreader, with expert knowledge of QuarkXPress.
- Published photographer with experience of Adobe Photoshop.
- Proficient in major software packages, including all MS Office applications.
- Professional experience of HTML, content management systems and web design.
- Highly proficient in the use of media tools including MediaDisk, FeaturesExec, YearAhead and LexisNexis.
Interests
- Passionate photographer, with a growing portfolio of published images.
- Avid reader of modern literature, as well as newspapers and magazines.
- Regularly enjoy going to music gigs, theatre performances and the cinema.
- Advanced scuba diver currently aiming for an instructor qualification.
- Keen independent traveller which has included European city breaks, African safaris, and back-packing in Asia, as well as volunteer work in Latin America.