The Global Media Weekly for executives and entrepreneurs

Colin Morrison

The award-winning Flashes & Flames is written by Colin Morrison, who is variously a director and consultant of digital,
unnamedmedia, and information companies in the UK, Europe, and the AsiaPacific. He is also involved in long-term strategic assignments, and M&A. He is up to his eyes in “media change”.

Colin is a former journalist who is passionate about media, marketing and technology – and about the need for transformed thinking across traditional media. In an earlier life, he wrote about media, entertainment, technology, and transportation for magazines and newspapers in London, New York and Dublin.

He was a successful CEO of international media companies for: Reed Elsevier, EMAP, Australian Consolidated Press, Axel Springer, Future, and Hearst, in the UK, Australia and Continental Europe. He is/has been a non-executive chairman and/or director of: Pharmaceutical Press, GRB Entertainment, GlobeLynx Networks, SchoolQuote, Centaur Media, Mark Allen Publishing, IPCN, RCN Publishing, Jacobs Media Group, SBTV News, and Great Golf Media. He is a Senior Adviser of the New York-based media & tech investment bank DeSilva + Phillips. He has been a keynote speaker on media-tech conference platforms in Australia, South Africa, India, the US and the UK.

He has been widely involved in media partnerships and joint ventures with international organisations including: the BBC, Hearst, Axel Springer, Dennis, Sony, Microsoft, Washington Post, SBTV, Press Association, and Hachette.

“Insightful and entertaining mind”

He was honoured as an “influencer” in the US-based Folio:100 for 2016, whose citation noted:

“Colin Morrison uses his authoritative and entertaining voice to critique the media industry. He is an insightful and entertaining mind in a wobbly industry, and the Flashes & Flames blog serves as a forceful watchdog. There, one finds insight into Morrison’s passions, which include: media and how traditional operators are addressing digital challenges; how personal vanity can spoil good businesses; acquisitions that work and those that can’t; and the UK, US, and Australia.”

In the UK, Colin was chairman from 2001-16 of the Royal National Children’s Foundation. He is now Chair of the government’s Boarding School Partnerships which helps local authorities to place vulnerable, disadvantaged young people at boarding schools throughout the country.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), and of the Industry & Parliament Trust; and a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Stationers & Newspaper Makers. He is a member of the Cook Society, the Royal Television Society, and The Media Society. He was formerly: chairman of Magazine Publishers of Australia, and of British Business Press; and a director of the UK Professional Publishers’ Association. He was awarded the OBE in 2018.

Colin Morrison can be contacted via: colin@flashesandflames.com Twitter: @ColinMorrisonUK.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Morrison     

3 comments
  1. Colin, love your blog. Really fascinating stuff – being someone who wants to go into the field, all of this information provides great analysis on what’s done well, what isn’t, and how to learn from success and failure!

    Thanks so much for all your work.

  2. Colin, your blog is a goldmine of useful info for me. I’m in the process of launching a trade magazine for the education sector in Asia and wondering if I should just go direct to online or is there still room for a print version. Your site provides me with a wealth of viewpoints on this.

    Thanks
    Luke

    1. It is difficult for me to generalise. But, while a digital product/service is the most obvious one to launch, hard copy could still be a valuable ancillary product to help build the brand – and even to gain advertiser support.

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