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National newsman turned weekly editor leaves job

A former national newspaperman who took charge of a local weekly in Dorset last year has left his job after less than six months.

Tony Bonnici, who has worked as a general news reporter for both The Sun and the Daily Express, took over as editor of the 11,000-circulation Bridport News last September.

But HoldtheFrontPage understands that he left the paper shortly before the end of last month.

It is unlikely he will be replaced and the paper is set to be managed in future from the offices of the Dorset Echo in Weymouth.

Insiders said Mr Bonnici had made a number of changes to the paper in his short spell in charge.

“The paper looked better than it has ever done but it was full of over-long celebrity interviews at the expense of parish pump stuff,” said one.

Mr Bonnici left the Express in the summer after joining the paper from the Sun in 2007. Among the big stories he covered there was last year’s infamous spate of suicides around the South Wales town of Bridgend.

Before moving to the nationals, he also worked for the Gloucestershire Echo as deputy news editor in 1999-2000.

Mike Wright, managing director of Newsquest Dorset, said he had no comment to make on Mr Bonnici’s departure.

Comments

Paul (25/03/2009 13:51:02)
Poor chap