A weekly editor in the Midlands is leaving his role after a restructure by parent company Johnston Press.
As reported on HTFP last month, the publisher is merging the editorial management of six titles in Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire, so reducing the number of editors from six to three.
Among those affected was Harborough Mail editor Brian Dodds whose forthcoming departure after nearly 11 years in charge has now been announced in the paper.
Brian will leave on 28 September with his role in future to be undertaken by Neil Pickford, editor of the Northamptonshire Telegraph.
Said Brian: “There are exciting changes ahead for The Mail, both in terms of improvements to the design of the paper and in its digital output, but the time has come for me to move on.
“I am proud of the way my teams have served the community and I know I leave behind a group of dedicated and talented people who will continue to do so.”
Further redundancies at the Mail saw its advertising manager Andy Cox leave while his deputy, Amanda Palfrey, will depart at the end of next week.
It is not yet clear which if any of the other four editors affected by the recent changes will be leaving.
They were David Summers at the Northampton Chronicle and Echo, Matt Cornish at the Daventry Express, Chris Lillington at the Leamington Courier and Simon Steele at the Rugby Advertiser.
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“Editor moves on…”? Better to say he was MOVED on, under the circs. Very sorry for him all the same. Someone once said, “All political careers end in failure”; a modern day version of this would be: “All editorships end with your arse on the pavement.” (Subs please check original quote and improve/attribute if needed, or make it up to suit my point – there’s very few still alive who have heard of this stuff anyway).
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Is Brian trying to tell us the papers will be better after he’s gone? The bullshit that accompanies every departure is nauseating. No-one believes a word of it but still we go through this charade. I despair.
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He’s trying to leave with some dignity, Curious.
The man has lost the job he loves, try showing some compassion.
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I know what Curious means, but I guess he can’t say publicly how he really feels even though he might want to. Burning bridges and all that. It might also look like sour grapes.
Gone are the days i’m afraid when these small weeklies were able to have their own editor. What tends to happen these days is that one editor oversees several with the inevitable drop in editorial standards.
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Brian and I studied journalism at Cardiff, and when we see each other again at our reunions I saw the same tenacious, friendly, decent reporter I first encountered in 1989-90, only now with a young family to support.
If you’re reading this and you’re an employer looking for a hardworking editor, snap Brian up. You’ll be dazzled by his enthusiasm, his passion for quality local journalism, and his ability to suport and mentor junior colleagues.
Brian – if you’re reading this, looking forward to sharing a pint with you very soon, mate. Had lunch with Polly and Jacqui today. Old friends and all that…
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