Mike Youds, PR consultant
Mike grew up in North Wales and studied history at the University of Leeds, before being accepted on to Trinity Mirror's journalism training course in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The intensive course gave him experience of writing for daily newspapers such as the Newcastle Evening Chronicle and The Journal, and he covered the 2005 general election for the latter.
His first permanent job in newspapers was as a trainee reporter with the Chester Chronicle series. Here he got to cover his own news patch, reporting on everything from murder trials to town council meetings.
In 2006 he took up the role of reporter on the Flintshire edition of The Leader, a daily newspaper to which he later returned as senior reporter. During his second stint he also stood in as news editor of the award-winning free weekly Chester Standard.
After catching the travelling bug, Mike spent three months travelling across the US and then moved to the Middle East, working for a small publishing firm in Dubai. This varied role involved writing news and features for trade magazines and websites, as well producing flagship customer publications for clients such as BP and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.
Mike moved into PR in 2009, becoming a press officer for business information provider Datamonitor. The position involved working closely with business journalists on national newspapers, as well as broadcast media and the trade press. He was also trained in using social media for PR purposes and ran the company’s Twitter/social media policy.
Mike joined Outwrite as account executive in August 2010, carrying out offline and online PR for clients in a range of sectors.
Outside of work, he is an avid Liverpool FC fan and plays squash regularly. He takes a keen interest in politics and the media.