Making a Spectacle of himself

John Hollingsworth, Community Foundation chief philanthropy officer

“I’ve always said, the most talented, enthusiastic and passionate people in the world are from the North East.

“The more you expose young people to what is possible and what’s out there, the more you raise ambition.”

Having left Newcastle to go to university, Richard Conway felt he had no option but to stay in London if he was to get ahead in his career.

Now, 25 years on, with a successful career in sports journalism under his belt, he is co- founder and managing partner of Spectacle, providing reputation management for global sports federations, club owners and sponsors.

Close family ties regularly bring him home but, with a key client involved in a high-profile sponsorship deal with a North East team, Richard has made new links with Newcastle’s business community and become a keen advocate for fulfilling the region’s potential.

He says: “The work I’m doing with our client has really showed me how the region has bloomed from when I left at 18.

“That growth has not been without its challenges, but I sense a real confidence in the region now.

“Pride has always been there, but there is a renewed confidence in what the North East can offer.”

Among his new connections is the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, and its North East Roots Fund, which aims to inspire young people by sharing stories of success.

And Richard certainly has a story to tell.

An early foray into politics as a researcher following a post-graduate degree in international relations was rather different to his schoolboy dreams.

He says: “I’d always harboured an ambition to work in media, but growing up I didn’t really think that was for me – I didn’t know how I could get there, I didn’t have any connections in the industry.

“But I saw a job advert for a researcher on the Jonathan Dimbleby Sunday programme, and I took a chance.

“My Westminster experience played a big part in getting that job, given I had no TV experience or links otherwise.”

Richard later moved to Sky News, writing scripts for live news, before taking a job that combined his two loves – news and sport.

He says: “Sport had long been a big interest of mine, so the opportunity to become sports producer with Sky News was fantastic.

“It got me out of the studio and on the road, going to major events and tournaments.

“At the time, there was a lot happening with FIFA, particularly around its president Sepp Blatter.

“My politics background led me to that story, and I thought it was an amazing thing to have the chance to follow and investigate the world’s most popular game, and the men that ruled it, surrounded by controversy.”

Although still behind the camera, Richard gained a public profile as an early adopter of Twitter, now X, sharing insight into the stories behind the news, particularly the goings on at FIFA.

It also got him noticed at the BBC, which he joined in 2011 as a sports correspondent, covering the Olympics, World Cups and Champions League finals.

He stuck with the Blatter story, his persistence paying off when he emerged as the only UK journalist in the room when the FIFA president finally resigned at a Swiss press conference.

An exclusive interview with Blatter led to Richard being named Broadcast Journalist of the Year at the Sports Journalism Awards in 2015, a feat he would repeat two years later for his work covering the unifying power of football in Syria during the country’s civil war.

In 2019, after eight years with the BBC, Richard decided to leave journalism.

Having spotted a gap in the market, he moved into sports reputation consultancy.

He says: “I saw there were lots of organisations, sporting federations, football clubs – or potential owners of football clubs – who didn’t know how to manage the media or build their reputation to a mainstream audience.”

He joined forces with friend Scott Bowers, former chief corporate affairs officer of the Jockey Club, to create sports agency Spectacle, hitting the ground running thanks to their combined contacts book.

With one of those clients the aforementioned major North East sport sponsor, Richard has made a successful professional return to his boyhood city.

He says: “It’s an exciting time for the region with the Crown Works Studios in development at Sunderland, Warner Music coming to Newcastle and tech start-ups too.

“When I wanted to work in media, I had to stay in London, rather than coming home to Newcastle; the opportunities were down south.

“But now it feels like there’s a way for young people here to enter an industry and develop, without automatically leaving the region.

“It’s now on those of us in business to create jobs and offer chances to young people.

“They need to know what’s out there, and how they can get their start.

“Seeing is believing.”

 

Community Foundation
www.communityfoundation.org.uk
[email protected]
@CFTyneWearNland

www.spectacle.partners
LinkedIn: Spectacle