John Macgill
John Macgill is a fromer ournalist who bcame a lobbyist in 2002 when he joined Grayling Political Strategy to manage its Scottish office in Edinburgh. In 2004 Macgill set up his own lobby shop called John Macgill Communications
Journalist
According to a biographical note on the Physiology Online website:
- John Macgill is the Director of a Scottish firm of political consultants, a role he moved to at the beginning of 2002 after seventeen years as a journalist.
- John graduated from Dundee University in 1985 with a BSc (Hons.; 2.1) in Physiology. Although he enjoyed his degree, John was clear that he wanted to follow a career as a broadcast journalist. Having gained voluntary work experience on local radio stations, John was accepted onto the BBC's Local Radio Journalist Training Scheme.
- "My physiology degree helped," says John, " not least because it made me different from the hundreds of graduates with degrees in English or Media Studies. The skills I developed studying for a BSc were almost identical to those required of a journalist: time management, research, presenting and summarising facts - and being able to defend your work under scrutiny. Journalists have to be able to communicate in a way that is appropriate for their particular audience. They need to have enquiring minds, and must not be afraid to ask questions or disagree with accepted wisdom. These are skills which should be second nature to any scientist."
- John has worked across radio and television including posts as a reporter and correspondent, and later as a magazine editor before being lured away to political consultancy.
- "I suspect my time in the Physiology Department at Dundee is to blame for the many arguments over science and medicine stories that I had with editors while I was a reporter. It certainly influenced my approach, as an editor, to consumer scares and apparent medical breakthroughs. Even in my present job, which is all about research and the presentation of facts on behalf of clients, the skills and disciplines acquired as a science undergraduate continue to play an important part."[1]
Affiliations
- APPC, Head of APPC, Scotland, 2002-4
- has attended meetings of the Cross Party Group on the Scottish Economy
Notes
- ^ Physiology Online John Macgill Careers Information: Real stories of real physiologists, accessed January 2007.
