Mick Dennis
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mick Dennis (born 10 May 1952 in Isleworth,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
, England) is a retired
sports writer Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...
, broadcaster, editor and author. In a career of more than 40 years in newspapers he wrote (mostly about football) for '' The Sun'', ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
'', ''
The Daily Mirror ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'', ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'', the ''
London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...
'' (where he held a number of executive positions, including sports editor) and ''
The Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...
'', (where he was football correspondent from December 2003 until March 2015, when he retired from day-to-day journalism). During the first 15 years of the 2000s he appeared regularly on Sky News, had a weekly spot on
Sky Sports News Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British paid television sports news channel run by Sky, a division of Comcast. History Since 1992, Sky Sports had broadcast sports news, initially a brief ''Football Update'' and later this was expanded into a ...
, was a guest presenter on '' Talksport'' radio and ''
LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadca ...
'' radio and frequently contributed to programmes on BBC Radio 5 Live. Born in Isleworth, Middlesex, the son of Lawrence, an airport worker, and Gladys, nee Hasler, he grew up in Hounslow and attended Isleworth Grammar School (now ''
Isleworth and Syon School Isleworth & Syon School (formerly Isleworth Grammar School) is a non-denomination secondary school and sixth form for boys aged 11 to 18 years old. Girls are admitted to the school's sixth form, which is part of a consortium with other secondar ...
'') before taking a ''
National Council for the Training of Journalists The National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) was founded in 1951 as organisation to oversee the training of journalists for the newspaper industry in the United Kingdom and is now playing a role in the wider media. It is a self-ap ...
'' course at '' Harlow College'' and then training as a reporter on the ''
Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is published daily in Norwich, UK. Founded in 1870 as a broadsheet called the ''Eastern Counties Daily P ...
''. He was a
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
from 2005 until 2022 and was an active football referee for more than 25 years. He worked as a volunteer in the communications department of the international aid charity Plan UK and was a trustee of Victim Support Hertfordshire. He still mentors young referees. He served on various funding panels for the Football Foundation as an independent member, including spells as chair of the Foundation's Social Fund and as the initial vice-chair of the Premier League & FA Facilities Fund. He was a trustee of Norwich City's Community Sports Foundation for nine years, during which that organisation raised funds for, and opened, a community sports and education hub: The Nest. He was a trustee and director of the Dacorum Sports Trust (which trades as Sportspace) from its formation in 2003 until May 2018 and was its chair for five years, during which the Trust built an extreme sports facility. On resigning from Sportspace's board of trustees he was appointed an honorary patron. He was a founder member of Kick it Out's grassroots advisory group. He collaborated with referee
Graham Poll Graham Poll (born 29 July 1963) is an English former football referee in the Premier League. With 26 years of experience, he was one of the most prominent referees in English football, often taking charge of the highest-profile games. His final ...
on the latter's autobiography, "Seeing Red", and "Geoff Hurst, The Hand of God and the Biggest Rows in Football." He has written a book about football, ''The Team'', which is part of the
Quick Reads Initiative ''Quick Reads'' are a series of short books by bestselling authors and celebrities. With no more than 128 pages, they are designed to encourage adults who do not read often, or find reading difficult, to discover the joy of books. Quick Reads are a ...
series of books, aimed at readers who lack confidence, and has contributed to four anthologies of sports writing. After retiring from newspaper and broadcast journalism in 2015 he edited three volumes of Norwich City essays called Tales From The city. He was one of the original contributors to the Norwich City blogsite My Football Writer and continues to write occasional columns for that site. He lives in
Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a new ...
, Hertfordshire, and has been married for more than 45 years. He and his wife, Sarah, a former journalist and charity worker, have two married sons and six grandchildren.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dennis, Mick Living people British male journalists 1952 births