Biography
James Parsons
Managing director James Parsons worked as a journalist before moving into publishing in the regional press, with South News and Trinity Mirror.
He headed the commercial team at journalism trade title Press Gazette and helped manage the UK Press Awards before joining photo agency Newscast as managing director.
He fronted the commercial team before his appointment as managing director.
A keen fan of horse racing, his idea of sporting heaven is a day at the Cheltenham Festival.
Twitter – @JParsonsSB
David Parsons
David Parsons is a director and editor-in-chief, with responsibility for all agency coverage, across all platforms.
He manages all our editors and reporters and is the primary contact for all editorial clients.
He started his journalism career in the regional press, before joining Sportsbeat as a senior reporter in 2000. He had a spell as news editor before heading the editorial team.
David lives in London and is a regular supporter of Arsenal and county cricket team Surrey.
He sits on the editorial advisory board of News Associates, the UK’s number one rated NCTJ journalism school.
Twitter – @DavidParsons80
James Toney
James Toney is a director and managing editor. He has responsibility for editorial strategy, major event coverage and our journalism school, News Associates, ranked the UK’s number one by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.
He started his career in national newspapers as a news reporter and has been highly-commended for his journalism by the Sports Journalists’ Association and Press Gazette and is a regular contributor to radio and television. His book on sports journalism, Inside Track, was published by Bloomsbury in 2013.
He carried the Olympic torch in the build-up to the London 2012 Olympics and is a keen sailor and runner. He sits on the British Olympic Association’s media accreditation advisory committee.
Twitter – @jtoneysbeat
Ric Sumner
Ric Sumner heads the broadcast and social media team and is a member of our senior management team.
An experienced journalist, he started his career as a news reporter and edited two local newspapers before joining the agency in 2012.
Ric’s creative vision has led to the agency winning a succession of high-profile broadcast clients, from the London Marathon to the Football Association.
Visit www.sportsbeatvideo.co.uk for more background on the broadcast and multimedia content produced by Ric and his team.
Twitter – @RicSumner
James Andrew
James Andrew is a member of the senior management team and the agency’s day editor.
After completing his NCTJ Diploma in Journalism, James started his career in local newspapers and agencies before joining the Daily Mail.
He became a key member of their sports desk’s award-winning website team, rising to the position of night editor.
Twitter – @JamesAndrew_
Rachel Bull
Rachel Bull is a member of our senior management team. She is the course director at News Associates and is responsible for the delivery of the NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Sports Journalism, Sportsbeat’s exclusive and unique partnership with the UK’s number one rated journalism school.
She is an award-winning journalist with experience in local and national newspapers.
To find out more about our NCTJ-accredited sports journalism training visit www.sportsbeattraining.co.uk
Graham Dudman
Graham Dudman is a member of our senior management team and the deputy managing editor.
He started his career in local newspapers in Manchester and spent two decades at News UK in senior executive roles. He held a number of positions at The Sun, including head of news, head of features and managing editor and spent several years on the paper’s editing rota.
More recently he was News UK’s editorial development director, working across The Times, Sunday Times and The Sun. He sits on the board of the Society of Editors and advises the Newspaper Licensing Agency.
SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM
James Parsons
Managing director James Parsons worked as a journalist before moving into publishing in the regional press, with South News and Trinity Mirror.
He headed the commercial team at journalism trade title Press Gazette and helped manage the UK Press Awards before joining photo agency Newscast as managing director.
He fronted the commercial team before his appointment as managing director.
A keen fan of horse racing, his idea of sporting heaven is a day at the Cheltenham Festival.
Twitter – @JParsonsSB
David Parsons
David Parsons is a director and editor-in-chief, with responsibility for all agency coverage, across all platforms.
He manages all our editors and reporters and is the primary contact for all editorial clients.
He started his journalism career in the regional press, before joining Sportsbeat as a senior reporter in 2000. He had a spell as news editor before heading the editorial team.
David lives in London and is a regular supporter of Arsenal and county cricket team Surrey.
He sits on the editorial advisory board of News Associates, the UK’s number one rated NCTJ journalism school.
Twitter – @DavidParsons80
James Toney
James Toney is a director and managing editor. He has responsibility for editorial strategy, major event coverage and our journalism school, News Associates, ranked the UK’s number one by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.
He started his career in national newspapers as a news reporter and has been highly-commended for his journalism by the Sports Journalists’ Association and Press Gazette and is a regular contributor to radio and television. His book on sports journalism, Inside Track, was published by Bloomsbury in 2013.
He carried the Olympic torch in the build-up to the London 2012 Olympics and is a keen sailor and runner. He sits on the British Olympic Association’s media accreditation advisory committee.
Twitter – @jtoneysbeat
Ric Sumner
Ric Sumner heads the broadcast and social media team and is a member of our senior management team.
An experienced journalist, he started his career as a news reporter and edited two local newspapers before joining the agency in 2012.
Ric’s creative vision has led to the agency winning a succession of high-profile broadcast clients, from the London Marathon to the Football Association.
Visit www.sportsbeatvideo.co.uk for more background on the broadcast and multimedia content produced by Ric and his team.
Twitter – @RicSumner
James Andrew
James Andrew is a member of the senior management team and the agency’s day editor.
After completing his NCTJ Diploma in Journalism, James started his career in local newspapers and agencies before joining the Daily Mail.
He became a key member of their sports desk’s award-winning website team, rising to the position of night editor.
Twitter – @JamesAndrew_
Rachel Bull
Rachel Bull is a member of our senior management team. She is the course director at News Associates and is responsible for the delivery of the NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Sports Journalism, Sportsbeat’s exclusive and unique partnership with the UK’s number one rated journalism school.
She is an award-winning journalist with experience in local and national newspapers.
To find out more about our NCTJ-accredited sports journalism training visit www.sportsbeattraining.co.uk
Graham Dudman
Graham Dudman is a member of our senior management team and the deputy managing editor.
He started his career in local newspapers in Manchester and spent two decades at News UK in senior executive roles. He held a number of positions at The Sun, including head of news, head of features and managing editor and spent several years on the paper’s editing rota.
More recently he was News UK’s editorial development director, working across The Times, Sunday Times and The Sun. He sits on the board of the Society of Editors and advises the Newspaper Licensing Agency.
Biography
Ross Lawson
Ross Lawson is a member of the senior editorial team.
He is a former NCTJ sports journalist of the year and was our lead reporter for the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang and European Championships in Glasgow/Berlin.
Twitter – @RossLawson03
Dan Barnes
Dan Barnes is a deputy editor and a member of Sportsbeat’s senior editorial team.
Twitter – @misterdanbarnes
Charlie Talbot-Smith
Charlie Talbot-Smith is a member of the senior editorial team.
He is an award-winning reporter and was named Young Cricket Journalist of the Year by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2013 for an impressive portfolio of stories for our client, The Cricket Paper.
He has covered World and European Championships and was a member of the Sportsbeat reporting team at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics. In 2017, he fronted our coverage of the British and Irish Lions Tour of New Zealand.
Twitter – @TalbotSmith
Paul Eddison
Paul Eddison is a member of the senior editorial team.
An experienced journalist he has worked in England and France and specialises in coverage of rugby union.
Twitter – @PaulEddison
Deborah Halliday
Deborah Halliday is the production manager, with daily responsibility of all multimedia content output. She joined from IMG where she performed a similar role for their coverage of golf’s European Tour.
Charlie Bennett
Charlie Bennett is a member of the senior editorial team, working directly with some of our landmark clients on their content strategies.
Luke Baker
Luke Baker is a member of the senior editorial team, with day-to-day responsibility for running our news desk as sports editor.
He was appointed after graduating as a trainee reporter on our award-winning partnership with leading journalism school News Associates.
Twitter – @LJBaker91
Will Thompson
Will Thompson is our social media editor and is responsible for developing and delivering strategies across all emerging digital platforms to showcase the best of our content.
He leads on content discovery, verification and copyright and takes responsibility for social media training, working closely with our editorial team to ensure we are always ahead of fast-moving trends.
SENIOR EDITORIAL TEAM
Ross Lawson
Ross Lawson is a member of the senior editorial team.
He is a former NCTJ sports journalist of the year and was our lead reporter for the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang and European Championships in Glasgow/Berlin.
Twitter – @RossLawson03
Dan Barnes
Dan Barnes is a deputy editor and a member of Sportsbeat’s senior editorial team.
Twitter – @misterdanbarnes
Charlie Talbot-Smith
Charlie Talbot-Smith is a member of the senior editorial team.
He is an award-winning reporter and was named Young Cricket Journalist of the Year by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2013 for an impressive portfolio of stories for our client, The Cricket Paper.
He has covered World and European Championships and was a member of the Sportsbeat reporting team at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics. In 2017, he fronted our coverage of the British and Irish Lions Tour of New Zealand.
Twitter – @TalbotSmith
Paul Eddison
Paul Eddison is a member of the senior editorial team.
An experienced journalist he has worked in England and France and specialises in coverage of rugby union.
Twitter – @PaulEddison
Deborah Halliday
Deborah Halliday is the production manager, with daily responsibility of all multimedia content output. She joined from IMG where she performed a similar role for their coverage of golf’s European Tour.
Charlie Bennett
Charlie Bennett is a member of the senior editorial team, working directly with some of our landmark clients on their content strategies.
Luke Baker
Luke Baker is a member of the senior editorial team, with day-to-day responsibility for running our news desk as sports editor.
He was appointed after graduating as a trainee reporter on our award-winning partnership with leading journalism school News Associates.
Twitter – @LJBaker91
Will Thompson
Will Thompson is our social media editor and is responsible for developing and delivering strategies across all emerging digital platforms to showcase the best of our content.
He leads on content discovery, verification and copyright and takes responsibility for social media training, working closely with our editorial team to ensure we are always ahead of fast-moving trends.