Laurie Upshon spent 35 years in mainstream journalism before setting up Upshon Media Limited in 2005. Most of his career was in television where he was Controller of News and Operations for ITV Central and a Director of Central Independent Television plc. He is a fellow of the Royal Television Society and was awarded the Society’s top accolade, the annual Baird Medal, for an outstanding contribution to broadcasting. (Other recipients have included Chris Tarrant, Jasper Carrott, Robert Lindsay, Patrick Moore, the late Bob Monkhouse, John Craven, Frank Skinner and Lenny Henry.)
He has won further national and international awards for both programme making and the introduction of new technology and working practices. He was a member of the Newsworld advisory board and a founder member of the ITV Heads of News group which he chaired for eight years.
He lectures on news issues at several universities and was a former visiting examiner on the Broadcast Journalism MA course at University College, Falmouth.
He started his career in regional papers before moving to Fleet Street and was a former board member of the Association of British Editors and a former chairman of the Royal Television Society’s Midland Centre.
He was a member of the Screen Commission for Central England and the founder chairman of the Media Archive for Central England.
He was Chairman of the Journalists’ Charity from 2014-5 and oversaw the charity’s 150th anniversary celebrations, supported by its patron, HM The Queen.