John Spencer-Barnes is a

radio broadcaster Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. He was born in

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1961 and educated at

Wolverhampton University The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverham ...

. He began his career as a freelance broadcaster at

BRMB BRMB is a British radio station based in Aston, Birmingham, which is owned and operated by Murfin Music International. It broadcasts on 89.1FM in Aston and surrounding areas, on DAB throughout Birmingham, and online via the station's website a ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and then moved to the experimental

service WM Heartlands in East Birmingham between 1989 and 1991. He was involved in the campaign for community radio and was News Editor of the UK's first community radio station, Wear FM in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. He later broadcast with the Chiltern Radio Network at

Northants 96 Heart Northants (formerly Northants 96) was an Independent Local Radio station serving Northamptonshire. The station broadcast on 96.6 FM from studios in Northampton town centre, via the transmitter located in the Kingsthorpe area. As of Augus ...

Chiltern FM Heart Dunstable (formerly 97.6 Chiltern FM) was an Independent Local Radio station based in Chiltern Road in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. History Together with sister stations 96.9 Chiltern FM, Northants 96 and Horizon Radio, the station formed t ...

and Severn Sound. He was the launch manager of Welsh commercial station

Radio Maldwyn Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connecte ...

and 107.9 Huddersfield FM in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

. He also spent a period as manager of the commercial radio station at

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. In 1994 he became News Editor of 97.4 Rock FM and

Red Rose 999 Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire is an Independent Local Radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Lancashire and North West England. As of December 2024, the station h ...

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston, Lancashire, City of Preston local government district. Preston ...

. While at Rock FM, he co-ordinated the

EMAP Radio Bauer Media Audio UK is a UK-based radio division of Bauer Media Group owning brands; Absolute Radio, Greatest Hits Radio, Jazz FM, Hits Radio, KISS, Planet Rock, Magic, Kerrang! Radio and Heat Radio. History In early 2008, German ma ...

response to the IRA bombing of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. The bomb had taken Manchester's

Key 103 Hits Radio Manchester, formerly Key 103, is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester. As of September 2024, the station has a weekly ...

and

Piccadilly Magic 1152 Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West En ...

off air. He 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

where he has broadcast at

BBC Hereford and Worcester BBC Hereford & Worcester is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, which were one county from 1974 to 1998. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and online via BBC Sounds from studios on Hylt ...

BBC Radio Berkshire BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Berkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 48,00 listeners as of May 2025. It has ...

and was the presenter of the Late Show on

BBC Radio Lancashire BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lancashire. Originally launched as BBC Radio Blackburn, in 1981 it expanded to cover the whole county and was renamed BBC Radio Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB ...

, which was simulcast to

BBC Radio Manchester BBC Radio Manchester is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater Manchester. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of ...

, for more than a decade. He is now the BBC reporter for

Lancaster, Lancashire Lancaster (, ) is a city in Lancashire, England, and the main cultural hub, economic and commercial centre of City of Lancaster district. The city is on the River Lune, directly inland from Morecambe Bay. Lancaster is the county town, although ...

and

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is an estuary in north-west England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second largest ga ...

. He is a Director of the Maritime Volunteer Service and the Director of Communications for the organisation. He is a

Trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of the search and rescue charity Bay Search & Rescue which operates on the sands of Morecambe Bay and elsewhere in the country. He is also the

town crier A town crier, also called a bellman, is an officer of a royal court or public authority who makes public pronouncements as required. Duties and functions The town crier was used to make public announcements in the streets. Criers often dre ...

of St Anne's on the Sea. In February 2021, it was reported that Spencer-Barnes was moving to a freelance status and would also present a regular slot on the Lancashire station

Rossendale Radio 104.7 Rossendale Radio is a community radio station in the north west of England, broadcasting on 104.7 FM to Haslingden, Rawtenstall, Ramsbottom and surrounding areas and online at www.rossendaleradio.com. Broadcast area The station's p ...

References

1961 births Living people English radio presenters People from Dudley {{UK-radio-bio-stub