Helen McKenna: From Newsroom to New Beginnings

It's so important that we celebrate people who grow through what they go through... those who turn challenges into chapters of strength, creativity, and connection. Meet Helen McKenna. From her days in journalism to navigating personal turning points, career shifts, and sobriety, Helen has continually evolved while staying rooted in her passion for storytelling.

I’ve worked as a news journalist at ITV Granada Reports, two  Island radio stations and for Isle of Man Newspapers. I’ve also worked in copywriting, marketing and as a PA and secretary within government. 

I’d say I’ve always been a writer - from an early age I was interested in stories and this led to taking an undergrad course in drama at the University of Chester. It was during my time there, I started presenting on student radio. This fueled my desire to step into journalism, eventually leading me to study a postgrad in multimedia journalism at Glasgow Caledonian University.

From there, I did an internship at a commercial radio station on the Isle of Man for one year, then worked as a self-shooting video journalist for ITV Granada on-island. I liked going out and about, meeting all different kinds of people and filming and editing news stories. I worked from home, long before it was the ‘norm’ (this was from 2015 to 2018) and visited Salford Quays for training and to see other members of the news team every 6 to 8 months. 

Towards the end of 2018, at age 26, I experienced what I’d call an identity crisis. I’d only ever worked full-time from home and was also self-employed. Although I was being paid by ITV, I was a sole trader. I decided to go back to doing more writing, taking up a copywriter and social media position for a telecoms company.I was made redundant after 10 months there, then went back into journalism as a broadcast journalist at a local radio station. 

By February 2020, I was trying to recover after a significant event in my personal life, and perhaps because I was vulnerable and not completely  able to cope with the demands of the job, I quit and had another identity crisis. This all happened just before the pandemic started in March. I managed to find a job as a receptionist and marketing assistant. Working from home, as we all did between March and May 2020, made my already difficult emotions hard to cope with.

The period following up until December 2020 saw me losing my sense of direction and purpose. What was I meant to be doing as a job? I was 28 and trying my best to enjoy a marketing role for a recruitment company, but my mental health was not good, and I don’t think I had enough confidence in myself to see it through. 

I took an opportunity to delve into print journalism that month and up until May 2021, I think I managed to write some good feature articles amidst all the Covid-19-focused news stories. 

Other roles since then have been as a PA for high-level individuals within government and private sector companies, as well as a secretary for a police station.

While navigating finding a job which will, I hope, last longer than 3 years, I’ve become sober from alcohol (2 years so far), and I’ve been writing an audio drama series inspired by stories I’ve heard either through my role in journalism, or in my personal life. I’ve started recording with local actors and hoping to bring it to platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube later this year.

It’s a story about two friends who reunite after nearly a decade of not seeing one another, set in a fictional place, and each episode will signpost people affected by the drama’s themes to charities such as Motiv8, the Foodbank and Victim Support. I really hope it will help those who are either going through similar experiences or know anyone who is.

I also narrate for local charity Sight Matters IOM, reading news stories for their news service, but also children’s stories for its audio library. I hope to one day have enough experience to narrate for audiobooks on Audible or other platforms. It will probably take a while, but I’m willing to try!

Helen’s journey is a testament to resilience, reinvention, and finding purpose in unexpected places. Whether she’s writing, narrating, or creating space for conversations that matter, she’s using her voice to connect, inspire, and empower others.