From BBC to Cumbria:

Tom Speight on Creative Careers and Storytelling

Tom Speight spent 28 years at the BBC before leaving in February 2024. What struck me wasn't the length of his career – it was the depth of experience and how it translates into lessons for those starting out.

The Journey In

Tom started at the BBC on 12th February 1996. He showed us the actual letter confirming his selection. His advice? Keep those letters, those emails – the evidence of your career milestones. They're markers of where you've been.

He didn't start as a journalist. He joined, trained for two years, then became one. Sometimes you have to invest time in becoming the professional you want to be.

What Journalism Actually Is

Journalism isn't just reporting what happens. It's news gathering – actively hunting for stories, deciding what matters, and determining what your audience needs to know.

Three Stories That Show What Journalism Means

The Carlisle Floods (2005)

Tom was the News Editor at Radio Cumbria. The day before the floods, he worried about the rain. He thought about his contacts. Helen Skelton was in the newsroom. He asked: Where were the first floods in Cumbria? Her auntie in Appleby – that goes first. He asked her to call if it flooded. She did. At 11 p.m., Tom went into the newsroom and stayed there for three days.

That's preparation, meeting opportunity, meeting instinct.

The Grayrigg Rail Crash (2007)

Tom was sitting down for his birthday meal when the call came at 9pm, a train had derailed near Kendal. Someone high up in the BBC was on the train and called immediately. The train was destroyed after hitting a defective point at 80mph. Miraculously, only one person died.

News is about being ready to respond when crisis hits.

The Lady in the Lake (2005)

Gordon Park was found guilty of murdering his wife in 1976. Her body was discovered in Coniston in 2004 – almost 30 years later. The case generated massive national interest, and Tom's job wasn't just covering the story, it was managing all the attention it generated.

The Evolution of the Job

When Tom started, you were either a TV journalist OR a radio journalist. Now? You do TV, radio, AND online simultaneously. Technology has driven this change. The tools change, the expectations change, but the core skill – telling stories – remains constant.

The Listening Project

After Radio Cumbria, Tom moved to Radio 4 to work on The Listening Project, a program that records conversations between two people who share a common interest. They converted a caravan into a radio studio and towed it across the UK, "sucking up stories."

Two people, one thing in common, one conversation. That simplicity sustained a 12-year radio career. Sometimes the most powerful creative work comes from stripping everything back to essentials.

What This Means for Creative Careers

Tom's trajectory shows there isn't just one path. You can build a career in a large organisation, develop skills and credibility, then pivot into something that serves your community differently. He's now producing the Behind the Scenery podcast for CACN, using those same journalism skills in a new context.

The lesson isn't "work for the BBC for 28 years." It's about developing real skills, being curious, building relationships, being ready when opportunities arise, and understanding that your career can evolve unpredictably.

The Storytelling Through-Line

What connects everything Tom did, from news gathering during floods to recording conversations in a caravan studio and showcasing Cumbrian creatives on a podcast, is storytelling.

Regardless of the medium I work in or the projects I pursue, the ability to tell a compelling story will always matter.

Refrencess

BBC News (2017) Gordon Park 'Lady in the Lake' case: New hope for son. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-38970987 (Accessed: November 2025).

News and Star (2005) 6,971 homes flooded, 44 schools shut, 2,625 with no electricity. Available at: https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/16702050.6971-homes-flooded-44-schools-shut-2625-with-no-electricity/ (Accessed: November 2025).