Joanna Gosling talks switching news reading for mediation

The former newsreader spoke to Morning Live today about her career change.

Gosling, a newsreader and presenter at BBC News from 1999 to 2023 decided to make a career change last year, although continues to dabble in broadcasting with a weekly show on Classic FM. Speaking on her move from news to mediation Joanna told Gethin Jones and Gaby Roslin;

“It shocked people when I switched because it does look very different and it did feel quite different for me actually, initially, because I was doing it on the side while I was still doing the day job because I was basically pursuing this passion for improving communication, learning about communication and the importance of listening.”

“That ultimately led me down the path of training as a mediator, so yeah I’d been doing it for a while but then decided it was time to go for the full change.”

Joanna began her broadcasting career in the 1990s, as a trainee reporter with work placements at Birmingham’s BBC WM, Fox FM in Oxfordshire and also BBC Radio Scotland. A full-time position with Independent Radio News followed, reading bulletins for commercial stations across the UK before switching to television. Firstly as a freelance reporter for Central News, ITN and later Sky News.

In her new role as a Professional Mediator, it is personal experiences that have helped this new career move.

“I had my own experience of conflict which made me understand at the very visceral level it’s not easy when you’re going through something difficult. Obviously, when your emotions are engaged in something that’s difficult you can’t communicate very well, feels like you’re not being listened to and we’ve all got that experience of not feeling listened to, it’s frustrating it can feel like you’re banging your head against a brick wall. …It seems like a really important way of navigating through a dispute and I kind of wanted to be able to be the person that you want to be there when people are going through these very difficult times.

Speaking about the process of mediation for separation and divorce Joanna explained how the steps are taken, noting it can take between three to five sessions to get all the issues resolved ‘it’s a forward-looking process. A very honest and open discussion… and that’s deciding what the issues are, and talking through the issues…’

“It is a voluntary process and that’s part of the strength [of the mediation] you cannot force people to have a conversation, you can’t force people to agree.”

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