John Barnes (English broadcaster)

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John Barnes is a radio broadcaster and journalist for the BBC.

He was born in Dudley, England in 1961.

He began his career as a freelance broadcaster at BRMB in Birmingham and then moved to the highly regarded experimental BBC service WM Heartlands in East Birmingham between 1989 and 1991.

Barnes was involved in the campaign for community radio and was News Editor of the UK's first community radio station, Wear FM in Sunderland. He later broadcast with the Chiltern Radio Network at Northants 96, Chiltern FM and Severn Sound.

He was the launch manager of Welsh commercial station Radio Maldwyn and News Editor of 97.4 Rock FM and Red Rose 999 in Preston, Lancashire.

While at Rock FM, Barnes co-ordinated the award winning EMAP Radio response to the IRA bombing of Manchester. The bomb had taken Manchester's Key 103 and Piccadilly Magic 1152 off air. Barnes arranged an emergency news service for the Manchester stations and a replacement radio service from a studio in Preston

His more recent career has been at the BBC where he has broadcast at BBC Hereford and Worcester, BBC Radio Berkshire and BBC Radio Lancashire.