Brian Mansfield (born September 24, 1963) is an American writer and journalist.

Early life and education

Mansfield grew up in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. He graduated from David Lipscomb High School. In 1984, Mansfield received a bachelor's degree

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

from

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. From 1984 to 1987 he attended

Belmont University Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...

in Nashville, taking classes in journalism and the music industry.

Career

From 1988 to 1991, Mansfield was entertainment editor at ''

Nashville Scene ''Nashville Scene'' is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with ...

.'' He then began working as a freelance reporter covering music for ''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

'' in 1993. From 1993 to 1997, Mansfield was the Nashville editor of ''New Country'' magazine. He was Nashville editor of CountryNow.com from 1997 to 1999, then a senior editor at CD Now from 1999-2003. From 1997 to 2015, Mansfield was the Nashville correspondent for ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

.'' During this time he also provided commentary on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' at the Idol Chatter blog for ''USA Today.'' In addition to his 18 years as a music writer and critic for ''USA Today,'' from 2004 to 2014, Mansfield was the writer/producer of a syndicated weekly radio program about the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

called ''America's Opry Weekend'' for American radio network Dial Global Radio Networks, which was syndicated by

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and ...

. Starting in 2009, Mansfield has produced a weekly live concert series for the Grand Ole Opry called ''Opry Country Classics.'' In 2015, Mansfield joined the public relations firm,

Shore Fire Media Shore Fire Media is a public relations firm based in Brooklyn, New York that specializes in entertainment and popular culture. According to ''Variety,'' at 21 nominations, Shore Fire Media had the largest number of Grammy Award nods of any public r ...

, as content director. Mansfield is the editor and writer of six books.

Personal life

In 1989, Mansfield married Nancy Mansfield (née McDoniel). They have four children. In 2012, Mansfield was diagnosed with and successfully battled

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

. He has a genetic disease called

Lynch Syndrome Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) or Lynch syndrome is an autosomal dominant genetic condition that is associated with a high risk of colon cancer as well as other cancers including endometrial cancer (second most common), ovary, ...

, which is a hereditary disorder.

Membership

* 2002-2006:

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

, Board Member

Works and publications

Books

* * * * * *

Selected writing

;Music * * * * * * ; My Semicolon Life series * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

*
Brian Mansfield
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Brian Mansfield
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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansfield, Brian American music critics American music journalists USA Today journalists 1963 births Living people