Ian Penman (producer)

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For the NME rock critic, see Ian Penman.

Ian Penman began working for BBC's Radio Newcastle's Bedrock show in the mid-1970s and also for local and national music magazines. In the late 1970s to mid-1980's, he wrote for Sounds under the name Ian Ravendale, for Pop Star Weekly and The Sunderland and Washington Times as Rick O'Shea and The Northern Echo as Chris Coupar. Contributions to Radio 1 and Radio 4 were under his own name.

From 1982 to 1992, Penman was a researcher, producer and director for Tyne Tees Television, Border TV and the independent sector, working with Carol Vorderman, Muriel Gray, Janet Street-Porter and many others. He also ran River City Productions, the production wing of Stonehills Studios, the North East's largest independent facilities company.

Penman ran New College Durham's Music Industry Management HND for four years in the mid-1990s. He also promoted hundreds of concerts for the likes of the Bootleg Beatles, B'Eagles, U2our and Voulez Vous. He returned to radio and television production and journalism in the late 1990s, working again for Tyne Tees and BBC Radio Newcastle. He also presented a long-running programme for Wear FM and was Broadcast Journalism tutor at the WOLF FM community and Internet radio project.

Recently, he has concentrated on writing television drama, including Death Of A Pirate about the 1960s pop entrepreneur and pirate radio pioneer Reg Calvert. He also works as a media and entertainment consultant, does freelance PR and is currently studying for a Masters Degree at Sunderland University.