John Bishop: writer, mentor, speaker, traveller and broadcaster
John Bishop practised journalism, and then public relations for many years, and became an experienced communications, marketing and business strategist, who also acquired skills as a media trainer, presenter, facilitator and commentator.
He worked in journalism, public relations, and corporate relations for private sector and government clients, and has won international and domestic awards for his work. From 1995 he has been an independent consultant on communications.
He has particular interests in economic and public policy and in the tourism, transport, energy and aviation and travel industries.
From 2010 his work interests have mainly been in feature and travel writing and in mentoring start-up businesses.
As a journalist, he has worked for Radio New Zealand, and was Chief Parliamentary Reporter for Television New Zealand. From 2004 to 2009 he was a Wellington correspondent for the National Business Review on economic and political issues.
John was a director of Consultus NZ Ltd, General Manager of Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations, and Director of Public Affairs at the New Zealand Tourism Board, and as a consultant he has completed assignments with Telecom, KPMG, and Aetna Health.
He worked in the government sector for the Ministry of Social Development, the Department of Internal Affairs, EECA and other agencies. He was the spokesman for the New Zealand Bankers’ Association in 2009-2010.
In 2009, he contributed two chapters on media to Public Relations and Communication Management: An Aotearoa/New Zealand Perspective, an academic work now used in several tertiary institutions. He was a member of the adjunct faculty of the Department of Communications at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand 2004-08.
He has worked with a wide range of organisations to help them manage their communications with the media, and has trained many executives and managers to give them the skills and confidence they need in media situations.
He has an MA (Hons) in Political Science and two post graduate diplomas in management. He is an Accredited Business Communicator from the International Association of Business Communicators in San Francisco, and was a member of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand, the Institute of Directors, and the Network of Public Sector Communicators. He is currently a member of the Travel Communicators Group
He has served on the boards of a number of professional associations, sporting and educational bodies. He was a judge for the Wellington Gold Awards in 2016 and 2017, and QANTAS Media Awards in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
He is an active business mentor (through Business Mentors NZ), a Rotarian, wants to own a dog, and lives happily in Wellington.