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Regional daily appoints successor to late farming editor

A Scottish regional daily whose long-serving farming editor died suddenly earlier this year has named his successor.

Joe Watson, award-winning farming editor of the Press and Journal since 1996, died at the age of 43 in March leaving the newsroom in shock.

Now the DC Thomson title has appointed its energy reporter Gemma Mackenzie to replace Joe.

Gemma, who joined the P&J last year, had been covering the post since Joe’s death.

Tomorrow is deadline day for Brentwood Gazette news editor Alan Woods when he officially steps up to the top job at the 95-year-old weekly.

Alan, who learned his trade on the News Shopper titles in south London before joining the Gazette in November 2013, is taking over the editor’s reins from Neville Wilson who moved in May to head up special projects on Local World’s corporate development team.

Other recent job moves in the regional press include the following:

  • WalesOnline.co.uk has appointed Ciaran Jones as content editor. Ciaran was previously investigations editor for Media Wales.
  • The Gazette, Blackpool, has appointed Anna Cryer as entertainment and features writer. She was previously a sub-editor and features writer for the Lancashire Telegraph.
  • Francesca Gillett has joined South Wales Argus as a reporter while David Deans has left his role as political reporter at the paper.
  • Gavin Ledwith, assistant editor of the Hartlepool Mail, has left his role.
  • Lisa Meakin has joined the South Wales Guardian as reporter.
  • The Carmarthen Journal has appointed Bethan Haf Marsh as a reporter. She will be covering the Teifi and Lampeter areas
  • Former Deadline News agency managing director and journalist Shaun Milne is leaving broadcaster STV more than three years after overseeing the launch of 22 hyper-local websites across Scottish cities, towns and communities
  • The Horncastle News has announced that its reporter Tom Carlisle has left the publication
  • Reporter Natalie O’Neill has left the Times series, in North London, which includes the Hendon & Finchley Times, Barnet & Potters Bar Times and Edgware & Mill Hill Times.

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