Behind the Byline: A look into Sean Dodson's Journalism Career

Sean Dodson is a postgraduate course director of Journalism and Public Relations at Leeds Beckett University. From a working in a mill in Southwest Yorkshire to a researcher at the Guardian, Sean walks through his incredible career in Journalism and his attitudes towards PR.

When working in a mill in West Yorkshire, Sean was eager to find something to occupy his time on his 30-minute break. He cracked open The Independent newspaper and discovered that not only did it allow him to hide behind it whilst he enjoyed his sandwiches, but also the article that led to Sean’s epiphany.

“I was wondering, why am I stuck here in a mill in West Yorkshire, and there is somebody else out there being paid to go to Shelley’s Laser Dome and report on Sasha’s deejaying skills?” said Sean.

And thus started his journey to becoming a journalist. After losing his job in the mill to going on the dole, it wasn’t a straightforward path to journalism. At 22 he applied for an access course and discovered a love for media studies. Ken Bolton, who ran the lesson then offered Sean a place to do a 2-year BTech in media, which he eagerly accepted. After two years of remaining on the dole and completing his BTech, Sean then applied to the London College of Printing, earning him a place at the University.

“It was much harder to get a place at journalism school in those days, there were far fewer places, and the demand was actually quite high, So I was really pleased to get in.”

Having gained experience working part-time at the BBC editing television listings such as Radio Times, as a graduate Sean began working freelance for a company called Quantum Publishing as a sub editor. Over time he took any opportunity that came his way, from subediting at The Press Gazette to late night shifts at what became Guardian Unlimited.

“I was smart enough to learn to never say no,” said Sean. “They always needed somebody to work on a bank holiday or Christmas Eve or something like this. And I said I spent 2 or 3 months just saying, yes, I'll do it and getting into a position where they depended on me.”

Sean became a researcher at The Guardian, describing it as a “fabulous job” where he was able to cover a variety of different topics, even being one of the first UK journalists to write about WiFi. Most memorably though, and a story that means a lot to him is a one he was able to do with his dad who has since sadly passed away.

“I went to Blackpool with my dad, and I wrote the piece on Blackpool now and he wrote the piece about Blackpool then and the memories of Blackpool,” he said.

“They gave me a byline, obviously, but they also gave my dad the byline. So he managed to get one byline in the Guardian. In terms of pride, that is my favourite story.”

Amongst his many achievements, Sean was also asked to be a judge for The Orwell Prize Award by a former student of his who went on to work for the Orwell Society.

Despite a successful career in journalism, writing has never come easily to Sean. Although his work speaks for his talent as a journalist, he opened up about his self-criticism with his written work, expressing that the act of writing itself is one of the biggest challenges he has faced in his career.

“Your relationship to your writing changes all the time. You can be quite proud of something, then see it published and hate it, and then read it back 18 months later and think that it was really good. It changes almost like it has a personality of itself.”

Journalism has seen a lot of changes since Sean started his career. With the move to online and growing popularity of social media as a way to get news, there is now more access and freedom of information. With that though comes issues that Sean discussed.

“You end up looking following the same people, seeing the same things on the feeds, being in your own personal bubble that you've created.”

Sean has been passing on his knowledge and experience from a long career in the journalism field to the next generation of aspiring journalists. He became a lecturer in 2008 and now works at Leeds Beckett University as a Senior Lecturer and postgraduate course director of Journalism and PR.

“I depended on PR for a lot of my sources and material when I was at the Guardian. I do see that PR can have really corrosive influence on journalism and can sometimes stop journalists,” says Sean.

“You've got to you've got to learn how to deal with it. I think that's where we come in as educators.”

So, what advice does Sean have for anyone who wants to try begin their own career in journalism?

“Make as many attempts to get into journalism as you possibly can. If you put enough chips down on the roulette table of life, eventually your number will come up.”