Daniel J. McLaughlin (Dan) was named Podcast Hero of the Year at the 2025 Publisher Podcast Awards for his work with Reach, the UK and Ireland’s biggest commercial publisher.
He has championed community voices in podcast journalism for the past six years, first with the GNI-funded Laudable project, a collaboration between Reach and National World, and later with multiple titles at Reach, including the Daily Mirror, the Manchester Evening News, the Liverpool Echo, the Northern Agenda, and more.
He is a proud member of the Class of 2025 for the University of Lancashire’s prestigious Journalism Innovation and Leadership postgraduate programme.
Outside of podcasting, Dan is an associate lecturer in journalism at the University of Salford, and regularly performs as a stand-up poet. His debut one-man show ‘Rant in Iambic Pentameter’ was nominated for Best Spoken Word at the Greater Manchester Fringe Awards.
One of Dan’s proudest achievements is writing the ‘Bigger on the Inside’ magazine for the Mirror, celebrating the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who.