News Presenters

Justin Cottrell

Philip Keeler

I had the pleasure of working with the same team on Spirit FM now as I do on V2 Radio - the first real radio station I ever read news on. I say real because, like most radio professionals, those of us who dare to admit it started reading news from the bedroom, in my case, to my parents, who were sitting listening to me in the lounge on a baby monitor. 

I’ve been doing radio news, podcasting, and live-streaming events for over twenty years, and I have probably freelanced at every radio station on the South Coast; most have changed names and companies, and some are no more.

I was on-air breaking the shocking news of the London bombings in July 2005.  My brother worked in the city at the time, and I was immediately concerned.  Friends of mine witnessed chaos and panic in the aftermath of the explosions.  My brother told me a few days later that he would have been on the Circle Line train that exploded between Liverpool Street and Aldgate had he not slept in that morning.

But you might be surprised by this: the news I love the most is the “and finally.” These are the stories you talk about at work, in the pub, in conversation on nights out.  They make you laugh, cry, shout.  I’m not one of those bloodthirsty journalists wanting to break bad news.  I would much rather report on dolphins spotted off the coast of Sussex; turtles, washing up on our shores, or how a dog has saved its owner by attracting attention.

The news never stops; it is a beast that doesn’t slow down.  In a changing world of journalism and politics, with what some might think is fact and others fiction, I do my very best as News Editor on V2 Radio to bring you the news that sets you up for the day and that you can trust.

Please send news tips to news@v2radio.co.uk