Ellen Manning / empr - freelance journalist & PR consultant

25/12/2025

This already appeared in the paper last week, but there's something lovely about the interview you did with someone who upped sticks and moved to LAPLAND appearing online on Christmas Day that's rather magical :-)

From frozen phone batteries to a reindeer-heavy diet, living in northern Sweden takes some adjustment, but the gentle pace of life and friendly people have been a game-changer

14/12/2025

I’m chuffed that I’ve helped several clients reach finals - or win - awards in their field by helping write submissions. After all, it’s often easier to wax lyrical about someone else than yourself. Maybe that’s why I’m terrible at entering myself for awards, because it just feels so weird trying to convince people you’re great, and counter intuitive to how we were all brought up (my generation anyway) being told not to brag. However, when you’re self employed nobody’s gonna do it for you so sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. And I’m glad I did because being in the top 100 home-based businesses in the and highly commended in the small business of the year category gave me a little boost.

There are far better, more ambitious, people out there than me, but I like to think I do what I do well, add value for my clients, build long lasting relationships and do my work with integrity and whilst sticking to my values. That’s what matters to me, and it’s got me some great long-term clients, a busy client roster, and recommendations from people I’ve worked with, not to mention some great projects. I’ll take that over awards if I’m honest, but there’s no denying it’s a lovely little boost to know the judges saw something of value in my little business 🤩

14/12/2025

When the office went all festive. Now to just organise a Christmas do for one 🙌🤣

07/12/2025

A lovely segment on BBC regional news on Warwick’s events for and a look at how many great independent businesses there are in the town. All part of my ongoing work with various organisations in Warwick to raise its profile and remind people quite how great a place it is to live, work, and visit - whether that’s for the day, an evening or a weekend.

EDIT - To be clear, as mentioned in a comment below, a PR Is only really a tiny cog in a bigger machine of the organization they are contracted to work with. It’s the people in those organisations - in this case Warwick Town Council and Warwick Visitor Information Centre - that often organise events, field media queries, are willing to show up for interviews, and ultimately represent a place that the media want to cover, that make this stuff happen.

When you’re a one-man band the most cringy thing is sharing work like you’re bragging. And the last thing I would ever want is for it to be misconstrued that I’m claiming any success is wholeheartedly down to me. But the sad truth of being a one-man band is that if you don’t show people what you do, you don’t get any business. Which means you can’t pay your bills. So when I do occasionally talk about little things I’ve been lucky to play a part in, this is why. But I never forget that all these organisations would undoubtedly still get the same success without me - I just hope maybe I help them in a way that makes it a bit easier and brings some value.

07/12/2025

Loved delivering a Mentor Masterclass for the Professional Mentoring Programme last week. A little walk down memory lane of my career from university right through to now. Funny how you forget all the cool stuff you did until you start talking about it. From door knocks and court cases to Royal tours abroad, embeds with British troops in Afghanistan, the Olympics and a whole load of stuff in between and since, right up to a Diploma in Public Relations and building a little business that mixes journalism, PR, writing and more. A wild ride, but if it inspires one student to chase their dreams then that’s a good thing, surely.

27/11/2025

Fab to get Warwick Town Council on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire talking about the fabulous Victorian Evening and lights switch on tonight. Such a fab afternoon and evening and brilliant to remind people just how fab the town is. Listen in at about 2:39 🙌

JD has great stories, great guests and The Rewind.

24/11/2025

Funny how we tend to talk about some parts of our jobs more than others. Once upon a time I did a lot of defence reporting as a journo, and a few years ago I found myself doing some copywriting for some defence magazines, and now helping some defence companies with their PR. It’s techy, challenging, and world’s apart from some of the other stuff I do, but another piece in the jigsaw puzzle of this fun freelance life.

22/11/2025

The Instagram vs reality of self employed life.

When people talk about ‘switching off’ it’s a funny old thing.

I have come to the conclusion that I’m rubbish at switching off. And also that that’s not the worst thing in the world because I don’t really want to. I’ve spent nearly 10 years building up a sustainable little business that pays the mortgage, interests me and brings me loads of variety, professional satisfaction and joy, so opening the laptop on a balcony looking at the sea, writing and issuing a press release before a long lazy lunch, or dealing with the odd client WhatsApp by the pool really doesn’t feel like the end of the world.

Each to their own, but I’m happy not to turn my back on one of the things I’m proudest of. And if that means not switching off, then so be it 🥰

Also, working in the sunshine is lovely 🫣

10/11/2025

The fact this was published while blissfully spending a weekend pretty much on my tod seems to back up my thinking

Deep down, I’m counting the moments until I can head home and sit in silence, relishing the solitude.

09/11/2025

Throughout my career Remembrance has been a big thing, from marking it at Camp Bastion and forward operating bases in Helmand, to more local stuff in the UK. I just think it's super important to stop for a minute and remember people who gave their lives for others. So putting this together for Yahoo News was more of a privilege than a chore, and a reminder that this act of remembrance has historically brought us all together, no matter what else is going on and how our views differ.

Every year, veterans - in dwindling numbers - are joined by politicians, the Royal Family and the nation in marking Remembrance Sunday

01/11/2025

Latest travel piece for The i paper on a glorious weekend exploring Lichfield. Funny how you can find all sorts of new things in a place you already know when you go as a tourist

Lichfield in Staffordshire is easy to reach by train and was once home to Samuel Johnson and Erasmus Darwin

20/10/2025

I’ve actually wanted to write this piece for yonks - I grew up in the era of being offered a pants cup of instant in places like the hairdresser. But those days are gone, these days you get barista-style coffee wherever you go, from the salon to the tattoo parlour. So I spoke to them about why and how it all works ☕️

From hairdressers to jewellers, high-quality beans are being ground in spaces that may surprise you