John Kirtley
John Kirtley is the founder of Sound Of Life Media, a company he started to spread his passion for the importance of high-quality visual storytelling in television news. Sound Of Life Media offers training and job placement for journalists passionate about memorable storytelling. John is also the director of the annual Sound Of Life Storytelling Workshop in Asheville, NC.
Before launching SOLM, John told stories in markets throughout the country, finishing his newsroom career as the Assistant Chief Photojournalist at WLOS-TV in Asheville, NC.
In his decade-long career as a storyteller, he won numerous awards, including 10 Emmy’s, 5 Edward R. Murrow awards and was named the NPPA’s Ernie Crisp Photojournalist of the Year – Runner-up. John has spoken at workshops throughout the country, was the co-director of the NPPA Southeast Storytelling Workshop and was an NPPA Quarterly Clip Contest chair for years.
John also takes North Carolina barbecue way too seriously.