Essential Writers > Essential Words > Jamie Hailstone explains how watching 1970s Doctor Who episodes inspired him to become a writer

Jamie Hailstone explains how watching 1970s Doctor Who episodes inspired him to become a writer

Posted by Gina Dyer
July 29, 2009
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Jamie Hailstone

Jamie Hailstone

Jamie Hailstone is a journalist from West Sussex, UK, who writes mainly about politics, local government, music and science fiction. He has written for magazines such as Surveyor, the Municipal Journal, Clash, Blues Matters and Maverick, and has interviewed everyone from Bernard Manning to Tony Benn. He is currently freelancing and dreams one day of being the author of a book on the Blues Brothers Band.

What inspired you to become a journalist?

The short answer is Doctor Who! Like most boys who grew up in the 1970s, I was addicted to watching Tom Baker save the world every Saturday evening and dreamed that one day I would write a story about Time Lords, Daleks and blue police boxes. Every single English teacher who had the misfortune to tutor me tried to persuade me otherwise.

Eventually, I went to university and studied politics and hung around with a lot of musicians. A few years later, I realised that I really wanted to write about politics and music, and fortunately I’ve done both!

Did you receive any formal training?

I did the NCTJ course at Highbury College in Portsmouth. On the first day, they described it as ‘boot camp’ for journalists. They really did throw everything at us, from law to interview skills. We were also given challenges, like being dropped in Soho and given three hours to find a story. It was great fun and I never looked back.

How did you find your first job in the media?

The tutors at Highbury were very good at helping us get work experience and that all-important first job. We all spent two weeks over the Christmas break at local papers, which in my case was the Worthing Herald.

It was all unpaid stuff and you had to find work or stories to do, but I must have done something right, because I was offered a job as a reporter on their sister paper, the Shoreham Herald.

Do you specialise in a particular genre?

I’ve always loved music. I was that 15-year old kid who spent their teenage years pouring over the liner notes on a Ry Cooder album, while all my mates were getting drunk on cheap cider. So, as a local paper reporter, when PR people started offering me interviews with Jah Wobble and Geno Washington, I just said yes!

It honestly was a dream come true to be able to chat with people like Carleen Anderson, Keith Emerson and the late George Melly about their music.

Politics has been the other mainstay over the last few years and that is because I spent several years on the Municipal Journal, which is a magazine all about local government. It gave me the opportunity to travel around the country, meeting politicians and writing about everything from urban regeneration to the rise of broadband television.

How would you describe your writing style?

On a good day, it’s almost readable. On a bad day, I’m a sub editor’s worst nightmare.

What inspires you?

Good interviewees, who have good stories to tell. There’s nothing worse than someone who has nothing to say. I’ve had plenty of interviews from hell. The shortest one lasted all of four minutes before they slammed the phone down.

I’ve always loved writers like P J O’Rourke, just because they are so original, and magazines like Empire, SFX and Doctor Who Magazine are always a good read.

Where are we likely to see your work?

I currently write for Blues Matters, Maverick, Clash and Rock N Reel. You can also see some of more comics/science fiction stuff on www.denofgeek.com.

What are the biggest challenges of the job?

The money, or lack of! Times are hard these days and many magazines do not pay their contributors. Getting paid commissions and magazines interested in feature ideas is a constant challenge for every writer.

What are the biggest perks?

I’ve met a lot of my heroes, including Paul Barrere, from the band Little Feat, and Colin Baker, who was the sixth Doctor Who.

I’ve also been to the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. There was also the day I was onboard HMS Shoreham and we had a trip around the Solent. Good times!

How do you adapt your style to suit different publications?

Adapting your style isn’t that difficult. Most publications will have a style sheet, which you can just ask for. The sheet contains lots of helpful information, like whether they use single or double speech marks, banned phrases and other information.

You should always have a copy of the magazine you are writing for to hand, so you can check anything you’re not sure of.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

I’ve heard Bill Gates speak, once in Edinburgh and on another occasion in Berlin and he is an amazing orator.
Reporting on several local government cases at the High Court in London was great fun and a million miles away from the local magistrate’s court.

I was also front page news myself in July 2006 when the family home was struck by lightning! I’m not sure if that was a highlight or not though…

What advice would you offer an aspiring writer?

Find something you like writing about, and then go for it! Read plenty of magazines and books on the subject. Always do your homework before interviewing someone and get ready for a lifetime of poverty.

What are you working on now?

I have a couple of interviews to prepare for in the next week. Hopefully I should be speaking to Son Volt, The Heavy and Steve Martin if everything goes according to plan. I’m also trying to write a book on the Blues Brothers Band, so fingers crossed!


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