Marc Crosby

Freelance Journalist

United Kingdom

I am a multi-skilled NCTJ Gold Standard journalist with a First Class degree in Philosophy and Theology. I am currently assistant editor at moneymagpie.com.

Follow me @MarcCrosby5 or contact me at [email protected]

Portfolio

News

Shorehamherald
Siblings get the inside story on SpongeBob

TWO Shoreham siblings had lunch with their hero after being invited to hang out with Tom Kenny, voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, at Nickelodeon's London offices. Charlotte and George Horlock, of Church Green, were invited after Mr Kenny heard about their Facebook and Twitter fan page, Tom Kenny is Lovely.

Shorehamherald
Voice of SpongeBob sends gift to Shoreham pair

TWO Shoreham siblings had a surprise on Valentine's Day when they received a bunch of goodies and a personal message from the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, Tom Kenny. Charlotte and George Horlock, creators of the Facebook fan page, Tom Kenny is Lovely, received a message from Mr Kenny written on a 1990s edition of the Syracuse New Times which read 'thank you for caring'.

Finance

Moneymagpie
How to make money from number plates

Personalised number plates are becoming increasingly common. Many celebrities boast having one, such as Alan Sugar (AMS 1) and Vinnie Jones (100 VJ). However personalised number plates are not just for the rich, powerful or egotistical; they're also big business.

Moneymagpie
How to choose high dividend shares

People invest in shares for different reasons. Some do it to grow their money over time. Others do it to get an income from what are called 'dividends'. In fact, in recent years more and more people have been investing in shares that give good dividends and reinvesting the income to grow their money.

Moneymagpie
Buying property to make a profit

Investing in property is a big decision and one you shouldn't treat lightly. You will be spending a big chunk of your money that will be tied up for some time and you have no guarantee you are going to make a return.

Moneymagpie
08/12/2014
10 ways your home can kill you

You probably think of your home as a safe haven. A place where you can relax and forget about the problems of the world. However there are still dangers you have to be aware of. There are plenty of pitfalls to consider, everything from carbon monoxide poisoning to your tumble dryer catching fire.

Moneymagpie
Make money from the Disney Vault

If you're anything like me, you'll love Disney. No matter how old you get there's something timeless about their best movies. Embarrassing or not, I am every bit as emotionally invested in Beauty and the Beast now as I was when I was three...if not even more so!

Moneymagpie
Make money performing magic

Magic is a bit of an oddity when it comes to entertainment. Whilst most people enjoy a good magic trick, unlike singers, actors and musicians, comparatively few people feel inspired to take it up. Whatever reason there may be for this it does mean that there is often a higher demand than supply for magicians in a lot of areas, which is handy for you!

Moneymagpie
How to make money by playing video games

Has anyone ever said to you, in a futile bid to cut back your gaming habit, "you won't make money playing video games"? Well here at Moneymagpie we disagree with them. You may well be able to make some money from your favourite past time.

Moneymagpie
Understanding the new mortgage rules

If you want to buy a home, it's likely that you'll need a mortgage. That means you're going to be affected by the new mortgage rules which have come in because of the Mortgage Market Review (MMR). It's not a complicated set of rules.

Moneymagpie
Make money as a nightclub photographer

When you've been out partying at a club you may have noticed someone going around with a camera taking photos. Chances are you may have wondered who exactly they work for and how they make money photographing drunkards like yourself.

Moneymagpie
Getting the most out of Swagbucks

As you may know, we at Moneymagpie think online surveys are a good way to make a bit of extra money and Swagbucks is one of the internet's biggest survey sites. Swagbucks gives you the opportunity to earn Swag Bucks, their reward currency, for a whole host of things; from using their search engine to watching online videos.

Moneymagpie
How to get funding for starting a business

Trying to find funding to start a business, particularly without using a bank loan, can be quite complicated. However there are government initiatives out there to help people kick start their businesses, as well as other soft loan and grant opportunities, so here is Moneymagpie's guide to these often quite confusing loans and schemes.

Moneymagpie
How to get a cheap home through a housing association

In a time when affordable housing isn't easy to come by, many people are looking for different ways to get a home. If it is a struggle to get enough money for a deposit or a mortgage, housing associations may offer you a cheaper alternative.

Moneymagpie
Make money taking part in paid clinical trials

Taking part in paid clinical trials can be a way to make a lot of money in a short amount of time, but there are serious potential downsides so be very clear about those if you go in for this.

Moneymagpie
Ten ways to save money at the airport

Going on holiday can be an expensive business so the last thing you want to do is spend a fortune whilst you're at the airport. Luckily for you Moneymagpie has ten great ways for you to save money at the airport.

Moneymagpie
Save £200 by shopping around for your energy

A new energy survey has shown that 32% of Brits are worried about their energy bill yet 62% have never switched before. People shop around for a whole range of things, from holidays to gadgets, but almost half of British shoppers have confessed to not prioritising energy shopping despite the fact it could save them around £200 a year!

Moneymagpie
How to make money investing in art

Over the past couple of years, art, particularly fine art (paintings basically), has performed better than many other investments, partly because of the amount of money that foreign investors have been putting into the market. This has attracted new people to start buying art for the first time.

Entertainment

Whatculture
Star Wars Prequels: Time For A Re-Evaluation

I have a confession to make, one not easy to admit to, especially on the internet, but here it goes: I like the Star Wars prequels...I mean I really like the Star Wars prequels.

Whatculture
5 Things Bond 24 Can Learn From Daniel Craig's Previous 007 Outings

Skyfall, the 23rd official Bond movie, was a tremendous outing for Daniel Craig's 007, with a fantastic cast and a simple but relevant story keeping everything going. Most notably it really dug into the characters and gave the film a depth that has seldom been witnessed in the Bond franchise; demonstrating that Craig is an incredible Bond and has got many more films in him yet.

Whatculture
Doctor Who Series 7: Strong As Ever

Reaction to a new series of Doctor Who is always an interesting phenomenon, in fact if you only gauged the shows popularity by referencing the internet you'd be forgiven for thinking that it's not very liked at all.

marccrosbyblog
06/11/2014
Maleficent Review (...well, more a splurge of thoughts!)

Contains spoilers* By rights I should hate Maleficent. Firstly, I detest stories that insist that 'everything you know is wrong' and purport to tell you the 'true version.' To my mind that is something you do in the early years of school to make the tale of the three little piggies more interesting, not an...

marccrosbyblog
07/06/2014
Are critics really too harsh on the Transformer movies?

The performance of the Transformer movies raises an interesting point about the relationship between movie critics and the paying audience. Each movie gets a critical slating and is an opportunity for reviewers to sharpen their vitriolic insults to impress each other with just how well they hate the movie.

marccrosbyblog
05/03/2014
marccrosbyblog

Last night I had the pleasure of watching new band VEGA perform their second gig at Worthing's Bar 42. It was a great evening and they clearly have a great fan base, the place was packed out with enthusiastic music lovers whilst they were on stage.

marccrosbyblog
02/07/2014
My first ever video game experience - Super Mario 64

"It's me, Mario." These words weren't merely the opening to a brilliant game but the first words from a video game I ever heard. The year was 1997, I had fumbled the clunky cartridge into my brand new Nintendo 64 and had sat back ready to take my first steps into the world of gaming....

marccrosbyblog
01/22/2014
Torchwood: Children of Earth - A Retrospective

Without any hyperbole I can honestly say that Torchwood: Children of Earth, a five episode miniseries that aired in 2009, is my favourite TV series ever. Having had a chance to re-watch it recently, I thought it would be enjoyable to write a retrospective on the series and the many issues it raises.

marccrosbyblog
01/13/2014
Comic Book Movies Still Proving Super Popular

People can't get enough of superhero movies. Whether they are functioning as a cathartic exploration of difficult topics through an exaggerated reality or offering pure escapism, film goers keep paying to see them.Three of the top ten highest grossing films of 2012 were superhero movies.Marvel's Avengers Assemble made $623,279,547, making it the highest grossing film of...

marccrosbyblog
12/09/2013
Frozen review

Since 2007's Enchanted, Disney has been trying to recapture the nostalgia of the princess era whilst adapting to a world in which it is no longer acceptable to portray women as damsels in distress waiting around for Prince Charming. Frozen, Disney's latest movie, is perhaps the ultimate culmination of this effort.

marccrosbyblog
11/14/2013
Dirty Dancing West End Review

So just a heads up, as I'm working on my NCTJ course some of the material I've written for my portfolio isn't going to be published so it just made sense to put some of my work on here. First up here's a particularly camp review of a musical I shouldn't have enjoyed anywhere near...

marccrosbyblog
09/07/2013
Film Review: Riddick

Riddick, the third movie in its respective series, is less a follow on from 2004's dumb mythology heavy Chronicles of Riddick, and instead is more of a straight up retread of 2000's Pitch Black. With Vin Diesel once again returning as the titular hero, we find him left for dead on a desolate, inhospitable planet...

Opinion

marccrosbyblog
01/28/2014
Is 'New Atheism' a thing of the past?

At the point I began reasoning for myself and was becoming a genuinely autonomous thinker, the New Atheism movement was in full swing. Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, Sam Harris' A Letter to a Christian Nation and Christopher Hitchens' God is Not Great were all books on my shelf, and all bestsellers.

marccrosbyblog
05/07/2014
The Gospel of Barnabas and so called 'free thinkers'

I like to think of myself as a 'free thinker'. I am also a theist. Despite some of the more noisy atheists' claims, I don't think being a 'free thinker' is inherently tied to one position. To say otherwise would be to suggest that there is only one rational position and that everyone who does...

marccrosbyblog
02/26/2014
It's only natural

One of my personal pet peeves, something that really bugs me, is people who seem to think that if something is 'natural' then it is intrinsically good or acceptable. For example, if I'm watching a wildlife documentary I'll usually either squirm at, or flat out refuse to watch, moments when a predator catches and kills...