Ross’s Journey from Blackpool Sixth Form College to Media Leadership

It was while Ross Morgan was a student at The Blackpool Sixth Form College, between 2011 and 2013, that he discovered his real passion for the media.

He was studying on a media and business course and just knew from within the first few days of joining the course that this was the career path he would want to follow – and indeed the career path of his dreams!

Ross had always said to himself he wanted to pursue a career which he felt genuinely passionate about – one where he would never dread a Sunday night or coming back from holiday for.

And this certainly the right choice.

During his two years at Blackpool Sixth Form College Ross left no stone unturned - he joined the NHS Hospital radio team in the town and volunteered with the NHS Comms team in Blackpool.

Recognising the need for and importance of fully immersing himself within the industry where he wanted to build a career for himself – giving up his free time and offering his time for free was key to building the right contacts and networks. And probably even more importantly demonstrating how much he wanted a career in media and the lengths he was prepared to go to – to make it happen!

While the studying in the classroom is key and extremely valuable, Ross would say that the importance of time in the “real world” experiencing “the real industry” cannot be overestimated.

Ensuring he focussed on spending valuable time in all areas and aspects of the media, Ross then went on to work for the Talking Newspaper for the Blind in Blackpool.

As an interviewer and assistant tech – gaining experience in multiple areas – Ross interviewed more than 70 people from the world of entertainment, sport and current affairs, including such famous names as: Dame Vera Lynn, Peter Hitchens, Sir Roger Moore, Martin Clunes, Michael Palin, Sir Terry Wogan and Edwina Currie – to name but a few!

His interview with Peter Hitchens even went on to be included on the ‘Mail Online’!

It was from this stage that things for Ross really took off as he then secured himself a role with the BBC.

Working for BBC Radio Scotland, Ross achieved a role with the Kaye Adams morning programme which involved him taking responsibility for not only sourcing guests for the show but also managing the phone lines during the live show and identifying potential contributors.

He also worked on: Get It On where he was an essential member of the production and presenting team, managing the telephones for all the request shows on BBC Radio Scotland. This included the Vic Galloway Show with Ross receiving some incredible feedback from BBC management, among the comments Ross received:  “Great work Ross – very professional, good interview!”

And it didn’t end with news, Ross was talent spotted by the BBC Sport team where he was involved with match day editing, in addition to working on Open All Mics, as well as generating, researching, and presenting a variety of sporting news.

Both BBC World Service, BBC NWT and BBC Radio 5 Live saw Ross’s commitment, talents and passion and it wasn’t very long before Ross was working on the production team for BBC NWT ensuring the planning and scheduling of all programming ran smoothly. This involved working with multiple stakeholders, coordinating all logistics, arranging permits and props, together with contracts and multiple highly complex legal paperwork.

On top of this, Ross supported the senior producers on all live shows, creating Inshorts for the BBC website.

Outreach work in the local community has also been key for Ross during his career and he spent time with the Children’s Development/The L.A.B working alongside the Stepping Out team visiting local schools to help and support them in the production of short films using iPads and iMovie.

From here, Ross’s career took a slightly different turn when he secured a role as Marketing and Events Manager at the Lowther Pavilion Theatre and Gardens.

Here he took responsibility for branding, advertising and customer services, together with managing the development of all marketing plans, ensuring the implementation of effective marketing strategies and reviewing and reporting on all areas of these and the effectiveness of their implementation.

Managing creative agencies and retainer partners was also a key part of this role for Ross.

His next claim to fame was as organiser of the Lytham Ice Cream Festival in 2020 and Lytham’s World Food & Drink Festival later the same year.

Ross then went on to secure a role as Strategic Comms Executive at Lancashire County Council where he was responsible for all partnership, stakeholder management and media relationships.

And then to his current role with Merlin Entertainments as UK Senior Publicity manager – again a position he worked hard to achieve, having progressed from Publicity Manager with Merlin over just a two-year period.

Working with such high-profile media outlets as Sky, DAZN, BBC, ITN, Sky Sports and BBC Sport to name just a few is part all the daily routine for Ross.

His current role involves him looking after multiple and indeed very different brands in the resort of Blackpool and UK wide too, including:

  1. SEA LIFE - nine sites across the UK, including Scotland
  2. Dungeons – three sites including Scotland
  3. Blackpool Tower Eye
  4. Blackpool Tower Circus
  5. Blackpool Tower Ballroom
  6. Dino Golf
  7. Madame Tussauds
  8. Peter Rabbit
  9. Gruffalo
  10. Lego Discovery

Throughout his time with Merlin, Ross has won multiple awards, some of the most notable including:

  1. Data Comms Award winner for crisis comms
  2. Prolific North Champions Award for the best in-house PR stunt