Lecturing

I teach automotive journalism to Coventry University postgraduate students (seen above meeting Ferrari's Jason Harris, and a California).

The course mixes theory and practice, and covers journalism skills and an introduction to cars and the motor industry. The topics I cover include:

• Automotive industry - history, current and future technology, manufacturing, marketing, challenges and future
• Basic journalism skills - news and feature writing, interviewing, research
• Specifics of automotive journalism - contacts and networks, road testing, car photoshoot techniques
• Print production - digital images for print, page design, Adobe InDesign, content planning and flatplanning, managing a production process

I also regularly bring guests from automotive media, the motor industry and motorsport to meet students or give guest lectures. Guests I've invited in recent years include:

• Murray Walker - legendary F1 commentator
• Steve Cropley - editor in chief of Haymarket motoring titles and Autocar columnist
• Gavin Green - CAR contributor and former editor
• Sue Baker - freelance motoring journalist and former Top Gear presenter
• Karun Chandhok - racing driver and commentator
• Mike Valente - renowned automotive photographer
• Jason Harris - head of communications, Ferrari North Europe
• Chris Thorp - editorial director, Newspress

For more on the course see the web pages for Coventry University's media department.