Guest Blog Adam Gratton – Storytelling with your community

Adam Gratton, 40, is a freelance media consultant, journalist and podcaster who has worked in local community radio and Stoke-on-Trent Live, while supporting citywide community projects such as the Appetite Art programme.

Adam has also worked with Staffordshire University and Expert Citizens to create a podcast series ‘Keep Talking About…’ to enable them to shine a spotlight on the impact of COVID-19 and the affect is has had on the local communities in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.

It has been a journey of some 20-years for Adam to reach a point where he feels passionate and focused in what he does, by using creative multimedia methods to work with people and their communities to tell human stories… Read more from Adam here.

Being creative and pursuing creative outlets have always sat at the heart of my personality.

At school I swayed more toward the less typical academic subject, the exam results did indeed reflect that, and was drawn to art.

During the latter part of the 1990s I attended Leek college, spending three years there doing Art and Graphic Design GNVQ’s.

However, I still never settled on a particular focused career path instead floating from one interest to the next, supplementing my endeavours working in clothing retail and later banking as a means to keep the coins coming in.

Although I had no clear direction, writing and story telling have perhaps for the past 20 years been both a fascination and inspiration to me, speaking out to my creative side.

Knocking on later in life than is perhaps customary in finding your vocation I began to follow the pull and began writing my first novel Ultra-Violence in 2010. Writing a book, I began to realise is no mean feat and one which takes discipline and time – I self-published it in 2017.

While attempting to pen my book in 2014 I enrolled on a Copyediting and Proofreading diploma alongside an introduction to Journalism course. These new skills I put to use by volunteering for a Cultural reporter programme as part of the Appetite Art project, again a valuable experience which helped cement my feelings on continuing to follow my heart in what I now knew I wanted to do – Journalism, more to the point multimedia journalism based around people and community.

In 2017 I was taken on by local community radio station 6 Towns, here I was able to write, develop, produce and host my own culture and community show – again a fantastic opportunity which only went to strengthen my decision to continue down this path. Enrolling at Staffordshire University in 2016 I completed my Master Degree in Broadcast Journalism.

In 2018 I went to work for local news outlet Stoke-on-Trent Live as a Feature Writer where I oversaw heritage, history and nostalgia title The Way We Were and helped to widen its appeal through digital platforms using podcasts, film and social media to share the stories of the local North Staffordshire community.

During the past six months, these difficult times put upon us all by the COVID-19 pandemic, I  had to find new ways in which to continue my love of supporting the local community through the use of multimedia story telling.

I have recently worked closely with Staffordshire University and CIC Expert Citizens in creating a podcast to help their team of Community researchers voice their message and tell a story of the impact lockdown has had on the local communities dealing with disability, mental ill health, poverty, creativity, friendship and family.

I also am working with the local St Mark’s community in Shelton to help them tell, their story of life in the Stoke-on-Trent suburb.

I know this may sound a tad ‘cheesy’ but for me it continues to be an exciting journey of self-discovery which I believe I will continue to pursue for the rest of my life through writing, recording along with the whole wonderful rest of multimedia platforms in helping people in communities of all types to tell human stories.

Well that is it from me, for now. Thanks for popping in to read my opening guest blog. There will be more to come… Adam Gratton.