Business leaders have swapped the cut and thrust of the boardroom for a morning in the editor's chair.

Confederation of Guernsey Industry members transformed into hungry newshounds after accepting the Guernsey Press editor's challenge.

Dividing into groups, they put their heads together to design a copy of the morning paper using all the main stories of the day.

Then, after watching the genuine pages roll off the press at 9.15am, they gathered to see if their mock versions came anywhere near the real thing.

Businessman Peter Budwin decided it would be no problem for such avid readers of the Press… but after mulling over their efforts, the guests were not planning to give up their day jobs.

Representatives of 10 firms from the influential group used their know-how from the world of finance, management and telecoms to put their paper together.

Peter said afterwards: "We got the front page and the second page right so we are pleased with our efforts. Putting 50 different stories in page order was definitely a challenge and I am looking forward to having a good read of the paper this morning.

"Although it was interesting, I can definitely say I am not planning a second career in the world of journalism."

Their tour of the new open plan office was part of a series of visits organised by member companies of the Confederation. It gives managers from the business community a view of the behind-the-scenes operations of different firms on the island.

Guernsey Press director Steve Mauger wanted to give them a taste of one of the most exciting jobs within the company.

He said: "I thought the editor’s challenge would be a great way to give members a practical experience of the newsroom.

"The Guernsey Press is such a familiar product on the island but the planning of the daily newspaper is not something that people have any insight into. They all got stuck into the task and came up with some interesting ideas."

Despite the competition, it appears editor Richard Digard’s job is safe – for the time being.