May 2 September Media Consultancy

Making The Media Work For You

 

About Us

The name May 2 September Media Consultancy arises from the relationship between its principals, Julia Netherton, 29, and John Thorne, 49.

It comes from the song about a 'May to December' relationship between a young woman and a much older man. In this case, while Julia can rightly be said to be still in the 'spring' of her life, John felt he had not yet reached 'winter' but was still in his 'autumn' years - hence May to September!

The couple met while working on the same Devon newspaper and as their relationship blossomed, so has their media relations business.

M2S was founded in late 2001 when Julia left the newspaper industry, to be followed a few months later by John. The business is run from an office in their home in rural Somerset, in the heart of the Westcountry.

Julia holds a degree in politics and a post-graduate journalism qualification, and has intermediate French and basic Italian and German languages skills.

Julia worked as an event and photographic assignment organiser before starting a career with local newspapers in Cornwall, Somerset, and Devon, working in the areas of general news, feature writing, and community relations.

John left journalism after 29 years in the industry, during much of which he also pursued a parallel career as a businessman, served as an elected councillor, and was a national trades union negotiator.

John has worked for daily and weekly newspapers across the Westcountry and was Group Editor of a series of four newspapers in Somerset, Devon, and Dorset. He has also contributed to national newspapers, radio, and television.

John is a registered advisor with the Media Trust, which matches small charitable organisations to professional assistance they would not otherwise be able to afford.

M2S prides itself on contributing to the local community and consequently we try to ensure a ratio of 10 per cent of our work is pro bono.

The great majority of the work carried out by M2S is in the Westcountry, and deliberately so, as the area offers such a wonderful quality of life, with magnificent scenery yet the convenience of urban life never far away, quick and easy transport links with the M5 and the A303, a main rail line running through the length of it, and a choice of three regional airports within not much more than a 60-minute drive.

Not for us the 9-5 daily urban grind of commuter/office work, or the crawl to work along a three-lane traffic-choked motorway. The photographs here were taken on some of the roads we regularly use to visit a client in West Somerset.

OK, so we sometimes have to work late into the evening and at weekends, and the pace of life can be every bit as demanding as in the city, but we are more than compensated with the priceless treasures of Westcountry life.

You can benefit from the vitality and freshness M2S can bring to your business.