Michael O'Doherty is a television talent judge, newspaper writer and the publisher of the VIP

VIP (magazine)

VIP is both the title of a magazine and a publishing group owned by the Irish publisher Michael O'Doherty. It was launched in 1999, the second of O'Doherty's business ventures with his friend and business partner John Ryan, following Magill and before TV Now...

magazine group in Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. He is originally from Killiney

Killiney

Killiney is a suburb of Dublin in south County Dublin, Ireland. It is within the administrative area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County. The area is by the coast, south of neighbouring Dalkey, and north to Shankill area in the most southern outskirt of Dublin....

 in County Dublin, and was educated at Sandford Park School

Sandford Park School

Sandford Park School Ltd. is a small private, non-denominational, all-boys secondary school, located in the inner suburb of Ranelagh in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1922.-School principals:* Alfred Le Peton 1922-25* Gordon Sylvester Bradshaw Mack 1925-34...

  in Dublin and studied English and French at Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

 to undergraduate level. O'Doherty's multi-million-euro publishing empire includes magazines such as VIP

VIP (magazine)

VIP is both the title of a magazine and a publishing group owned by the Irish publisher Michael O'Doherty. It was launched in 1999, the second of O'Doherty's business ventures with his friend and business partner John Ryan, following Magill and before TV Now...

, TV Now

TV Now

TV Now is an Irish magazine containing a television guide, interviews with television stars and other television-related items. It is part of the VIP publishing franchise of Michael O'Doherty...

, Kiss

Kiss (Irish magazine)

Kiss is an Irish magazine aimed at a teenage market containing knowledge about adolescent matters such as fashion advice, confessions, features on teenage cultural icons, relationship advice and problem pages with solutions especially designed for teenage readers. It is part of the VIP publishing...

, Stellar

Stellar (magazine)

Stellar Magazine is a glossy Irish lifestyle and fashion magazine targeted at female readers in the age group of eighteen to thirty-four. It is part of the VIP publishing franchise of Michael O'Doherty...

and The Dubliner Magazine. O'Doherty also known for his joint business venture with John Ryan

John Ryan (publisher)

John Ryan is an Irish former publishing tycoon-turned comic actor/writer. He is best known for his publishing empire which included the magazine New York Dog and the website blogorrah.com, he did achieve success with magazines such as VIP with former business partner, Michael O'Doherty...

, the unsuccessful New York Dog

New York Dog

New York Dog was an unsuccessful lifestyle magazine for animal lovers based upon women's fashion and lifestyle magazines but instead featuring dogs. It was owned by the publishing empire of John Ryan, now known for his 2009 RTÉ Two comedy television show This is Nightlive, which mimics the antics...

, a magazine for dog lovers.

O'Doherty has also written for the Evening Herald

Evening Herald

The Evening Herald is a mid-market tabloid evening newspaper published in Dublin, Ireland by Independent News & Media. It is published Monday-Saturday, and has three editions — City Edition, City Final Edition and National Edition...

newspaper. He served as a judge on TV3's reality television show Total Xposure

Total Xposure

Total Xposure is a seven-week reality television show broadcast by TV3 in Ireland It involved a nationwide search to find a new presenter for the channel's prime time entertainment magazine programme Xposé...

, adopting a somewhat unconvincing Simon Cowell

Simon Cowell

Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...

 persona on the jury.

Early ventures

O'Doherty's first solo publishing venture was Level3, a magazine aimed at university students in Ireland. The first issue of Kiss launched in Ireland on 31 October 2002, aimed at a teenage market. His previous magazine launches - Magill in 1997, VIP in 1999 and TV Now in 2000 - were alongside his business partner, John Ryan.

New York Dog collapse

The idea for the magazine came from a joint business venture by Irish magazine publishers O'Doherty and Ryan. Ryan's publishing company inititally owned the publishing venture Stars on Sunday

Stars on Sunday

Stars on Sunday was an unsuccessful Sunday tabloid newspaper in Ireland which famously went bankrupt in May 2003 just two months after its launch the previous March. A total of approximately €500,000 was invested in the title...

which folded with losses, whilst O'Doherty still maintained VIP. New York Dog magazine was promoted on The Late Late Show

The Late Late Show

The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...

, and was set up alongside a New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

-based website, blogorrah.com

Blogorrah.com

bloggorah.com, also known as blogorrah, was a cult award-winning New York City-based Irish website owned by the publishing "empire" of John Ryan. The site was edited by Derek O'Connor in New York. It was known for scathingly satirising well-known social figures in Irish life such as politicians,...

, which was described by the Irish Independent

Irish Independent

The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...

as "a sort of Phoenix

The Phoenix (magazine)

The Phoenix is Ireland's best selling political and current affairs magazine. Inspired by the British magazine Private Eye, and a source of investigative journalism in Ireland...

without portfolio". The site was edited by Derek O'Connor

Derek O'Connor (journalist)

Derek O'Connor is an Irish journalist, blogger, playwright and theatre and television director, perhaps best known by bloggers for his time editing the now-defunct satirical award-winning website blogorrah.com. He is a regular contributor to a variety of publications, including the Sunday Tribune...

 but mysteriously stopped filing new posts in July 2007.

Stellar

The most recent addition to O'Doherty's publishing "empire" were Stellar

Stellar (magazine)

Stellar Magazine is a glossy Irish lifestyle and fashion magazine targeted at female readers in the age group of eighteen to thirty-four. It is part of the VIP publishing franchise of Michael O'Doherty...

, a glossy monthly targeted at women in the age group of eighteen to thirty-four, and The Dubliner magazine.