Les Rowley: A Career Shaped by Versatility and Unpredictable Paths

Les Rowley’s career in journalism began unexpectedly. Despite his initial interest in writing and news, he started his career without following the traditional path of getting a degree in journalism. He was solely driven by his passion for writing and storytelling.

Whilst completing his degree in business, Rowley knew his passion lied with news. With this, he realised he could submit his own stories to the BBC, a moment that would kick start his career.

“I enjoyed writing these stories, even though I didn't think of it as a career,” Rowley admits, “but I'd had a few things published which were successful, I liked writing and news and the two kind of came together once I left university.”

Rowley is now a versatile journalist and lecturer and throughout his career has covered a wide range of roles within the industry, admitting “I never knew where I would be the next year” ultimately showing his adaptability and love for journalism.

From his early days submitting articles to the BBC, Rowley demonstrated nothing but ambition through his stories and eventually came across an opportunity to apply to the BBC’s prestigious journalism training scheme in writing and radio news. He landed the job and with that made his first move from Leeds to London to begin his journalistic career.

Whilst at the BBC, Rowley received valuable training in the principles of news writing and was allocated to programs where he contributed research and writing for the BBC News current affairs output across the radio, reflecting, "I was almost on a fast track, doing whatever I wanted to do." Rowley came across many opportunities whilst working at one of the industry's leading companies.

After four years at the BBC, Rowley transitioned into the world of print journalism with IPC magazines, one of the biggest magazine publishers at the time. This unexpected shift from broadcast to print wasn’t part of his original plan, but his openness to change and new opportunities created a new path in his career.

“I wasn't really looking for a change,” he recalled, “but when opportunities came up, I would just say yes, it sounded quite exciting as a journalist.”

After spending two years at IPC Magazine, Rowley transitioned to The Sun newspaper, just as the publication was making the pivotal change from print to digital and starting up their website. Rowley found himself at the forefront of this change and described it as "a revolution”, touching on how “it was a new avenue for journalists, we didn't know it was going to change everything like it has done now.”

Rowley acknowledged that the beginning of the digital era in journalism could bring added pressures along with it. He saw this digital shift as an inevitable evolution, one that required journalists to be more adaptable, though this was something he already knew. Though through this change, it wasn't all positive. Rowley felt that now “anybody can be a journalist” and with the rise of fake news being published online, it put more pressure on journalists to conduct their research more closely than before.

After his time at The Sun, Rowley returned to broadcast, but this time stepping into the world of documentaries, something very different to the fast paced nature of news that he was used to. He spent the next two years producing documentaries for Channel 4 and Sky, where he found an appreciation for the depth and slower pace of documentaries, as it gave him an opportunity to delve deeper into the topics.

“News is much more singular, focused on your drive and enthusiasm to find stories, documentaries are longer projects. You might be working on one story, but you’re exploring it from many different angles, allowing you to become much more knowledgeable about a particular subject."

Despite his enjoyment in documentary making, Rowleys career took yet another turn as he had a “full circle moment” and went back into news for his final few years in journalism. Through proving himself in the past, Rowley was given an opportunity at News 24 where he got back into the swing of the fast paced environment of the newsroom.

After spending his last five years covering news, Rowley took a break from the industry between 2004 and 2012, shifting his focus to writing. He began creating film scripts, plays and writing novels. Alongside raising his children and moving back to Leeds from London.

While Rowley’s career in journalism had flourished over the years, he found a new passion in teaching, despite it coming as “utterly surprising” he says. Rowley transitioned into education, becoming a part time lecturer at Leeds Beckett University. His move into teaching allowed him to pass on the knowledge he’d gained from years of experience in a variety of avenues of journalism to the next generation of journalists.

Rowley’s career demonstrates the importance of staying open to change and embracing new opportunities. Looking forward, he plans to continue his work as a part time lecturer whilst writing and publishing novels. He remains open to new opportunities that may arise whether it’s in teaching, writing or exploring different forms of storytelling that suit his life at the time.