An independent local press publisher has appointed its editor-in-chief to its board of directors.

Barrie Jones, left, is now executive editorial director with NWN Media, publisher of North Wales-based daily the Leader and a host of sister weeklies across Shropshire, Cheshire and North and Mid Wales and associated websites.

He will not however be relinquishing his day-to-day editorial role overseeing the various titles.

Barrie said: “The appointment is an excellent opportunity to extend my involvement right across the company and I relish the challenges and opportunities ahead.”

A philosophy graduate, Barrie started as a reporter with broadsheet weekly The Wrexham Leader 28 years ago before moving to the then Evening Leader title.

In the 1980s he spent time working with the North Wales Weekly News group and then with Thomson Regional Newspapers at Chester.

He returned to NWN in 1989 as editor of the Wrexham Leader before being appointed assistant editor and then editor-in-chief of the Evening Leader.

Appointed to the company wide editor-in-chief role in 2008, he has in recent years has been closely involved in creating a new multi-platform newsroom and transforming the Leader into a morning publication.

A Welsh speaker, he recently developed a training course for journalists with Glyndwr University in Wrexham.

The accredited course is the first partnership of its kind in the UK between a news organisation and an academic institution.

NWN Media MD David Faulkner added: “The appointment recognises the contribution that Barrie has made to the business over many years and emphasises to the communities we serve, the importance the company places on delivering quality editorial services across our entire portfolio, whether in print, online, digital or television.”