Casey Cooper-Fiske
Casey Cooper-Fiske covers music and entertainment stories with a focus on how artists, legacy acts and broadcasters connect with fans through live performance, television and major cultural events. Their work often combines artist interviews with coverage of programming decisions and factual shows, joining the dots between performers, the industry and audiences.
Music interviews and legacy artists
Casey spends significant time on interviews with established musicians and bands, exploring how they frame new work against long careers. They has spoken with Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine about closing the band’s recording career and why a final record matters at this stage of their history, giving space to creative choices and the emotions around ending a catalogue. In another feature, Casey talks with American singer Vanessa Carlton about releasing her first album in six years and finally making a sustained push into the UK, drawing out the story of a return and what changed between records. Across these pieces, they foreground the artist’s own words about longevity, creative control and the practicalities of touring and releasing music after early success.
Alongside interviews, Casey highlights the continuing pull of rock and pop heritage acts. They report on a rock legend booking an intimate Liverpool gig, framing it not as nostalgia alone but as a chance to see a major figure in a smaller room, and situating the show within the city’s live scene. When covering comments from Paul McCartney, they focus on his reflections on loss and searching for answers after an item was stolen, tying it back to the relationship between famous musicians and the public attention that follows them. Casey also writes about John Lennon’s resentment at having to be a Beatle, presenting his words as a way of understanding the cost of fame rather than only the mythology around the band.
Live events, broadcast music and fan experience
Live shows and broadcast events are a recurring point in Casey’s work, often approached from the audience’s perspective. They cover performances such as Ronan Keating bringing out Bryan Adams during a Radio 2 in the Park set, using the on-stage collaboration to show how legacy performers still create surprise and shared moments for crowds. Their reporting on Eurovision looks at how organisers and broadcasters manage participation and geopolitical tensions around the song contest, treating Eurovision as both entertainment and a complex international event rather than a light novelty.
Casey’s pieces on BBC factual and entertainment programming highlight music-related shows within wider commissioning decisions. They report on new factual history programmes that include a documentary examining abuse allegations against Michael Jackson, setting the film within a slate of shows that revisit contested cultural histories. In coverage of BBC Gavin & Stacey, they relay cast and creative views on why a finale has been made and how audiences are expected to respond, keeping attention on how television built around music, comedy and nostalgia is shaped for viewers. This balance between the stage, the screen and the fan experience adds texture to stories that might otherwise be simple listings or announcements.
Entertainment personalities and the emotional side of fame
Although music is central, Casey also writes about entertainment figures whose stories intersect with performance, public life and wellbeing. They cover Brooklyn Beckham’s public vow to “protect” Nicola Peltz Beckham in a Valentine’s Day message, focusing on how children of famous musicians and actors navigate visibility and family narratives in the public eye. In another piece, they report on Geordie Shore’s Holly Hagan-Blyth announcing a second pregnancy and sharing the news with her sister before her death, treating the story as one about grief, timing and the strain of public narrative on private milestones.
Casey’s coverage of a Strictly Come Dancing personality describes how the star cried in the car, shower and bed as she felt herself “crumble” after a diagnosis, highlighting the tension between performing on national television and coping with serious health issues. Across these stories, they show an interest in the emotional costs of visibility and the way performers and reality stars describe their own resilience, making the human side of fame part of the entertainment beat rather than a separate subject.
Beat, role and format
Casey works on the entertainment desk with a strong emphasis on music, major performers and broadcast-led cultural moments. Their pieces for the Liverpool Echo and other outlets range from short news stories on announcements and new shows to longer interviews and features built around an extended conversation with an artist. They frequently share bylines with editors and other reporters on bigger commissions and event coverage, indicating a role that mixes originating stories with contributing expertise where music and entertainment intersect.
The format is direct reporting with clear headlines, quotes from principals and a focus on the core angle rather than commentary. Casey’s through-line is consistent: they treat music and entertainment as serious cultural work, whether the subject is a metal band closing its catalogue, a singer returning after a long break, a broadcaster reshaping its factual slate, or a reality star handling illness. That combination of artist-led interviews, attention to legacy and interest in how audiences experience live and broadcast events marks their coverage out on the music beat.
4 more music journalists.
Abigail Kellett
Abigail Kellett is a news reporter at the Halifax Courier who stands out for visually led coverage that shows how culture, nightlife and local life play out on the ground. She documents gigs, festivals and major live shows at venues such as The Piece Hall through curated photo sets that capture atmosphere, crowd and setting as much as performers, and she uses extensive image galleries to tap reader nostalgia for nights out in Halifax town centre. Her beat spans arts, entertainment, going out, heritage, books and literary events, along with community life, people stories, local challenges, milestones, transport, regeneration, lifestyle and food. She reports through photographs, checklist-style features, reader-driven lists and roundups of most-read stories, turning announcements, programmes, author events, festivals, shop lists and everyday characters into stories about place, shared memory and how people spend their time.
Adam Lyon
Adam Lyon is a digital audience and content editor whose news beat sits at the intersection of Ayrshire’s cultural life, business environment and public affairs. He works for the Ayr Advertiser and as Digital Audience & Content Editor for Newsquest in the west of Scotland across multiple weekly titles. He covers Ayrshire news with a strong thread of music and local culture alongside business, courts and public affairs. He reports on music when it has a clear community or national hook, treating songs as news events rather than reviews. His business work explains how local firms and retail policy shape town centres. His court coverage uses round-ups of sheriff court cases to show patterns and outcomes. He also fronts video previews and is active in a football supporters trust community.
Adam Maidment
Adam Maidment is a senior What’s On and LGBTQ+ reporter whose work links big-name gigs, new venues and cultural flashpoints to everyday fan culture and inclusion. He covers music, nightlife and the wider cultural scene for the Manchester Evening News, focusing on how concerts, openings and immersive events land with real people and communities. His beat spans live music, arenas and stadiums, new restaurant and bar openings, food reviews, exhibitions, street art and nightlife infrastructure, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ audiences and neighbourhoods. He reports on venue ambitions and problems, cultural institutions and equality issues, and franchise-led experiences, using straightforward, on-the-ground reporting and clear description. Drawing on a background in community reporting, he looks for underrepresented perspectives and uses social media, analytics and local sourcing to find stories where culture, identity and place meet.
Alison Brinkworth
Alison Brinkworth is a freelance journalist who treats music as a gateway into place, history and everyday life, often through exhibitions, performances and city-centre events. She covers music within the wider cultural and lifestyle scene, leaning toward accessible, on-the-ground stories framed by familiar artists, venues and local attractions. Her work often focuses on music exhibitions and attractions built around well-known performers, alongside theatre reviews, live events and city attractions. She brings a lifestyle, travel and human-interest sensibility, using interviews and personal stories to show how people spend their time. With over 25 years of experience across print, digital, social media and internal communications, she writes clear, factual, audience-facing articles with dates, locations and organisers, suited to listings, guides and practical recommendations.