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Reporter promoted to weekly editorship after year in job

Craig GibbonsA 23-year-old reporter is celebrating his promotion to a weekly newspaper editorship a little over a year after joining the paper as a trainee.

Craig Gibbons, left, has been appointed editor at the Malvern Observer after his predecessor Nigel Slater left to take up a new role at the Derby Telegraph.

Craig began working as a news reporter at the Observer in January last year, and also serves as sports editor of its Bullivant Media sister titles the Bromsgrove Standard and Droitwich Standard.

He graduated from Nottingham Trent University’s NCTJ-accredited print journalism course in July 2015, but cannot take his seniors’ exam until this autumn.

Said Craig: “I am delighted to have stepped up to the role of editor of the Malvern Observer. The paper is continually growing and we have fantastic relationships with a large number of contacts in the area.

“Malvern is a brilliant patch and is one I am keen to learn more about. Whether it be all the latest from council meetings, or events at the Three Counties Showground, there is always something going on.

“Nigel did a fantastic job in the time he was editor and built the Observer to what it is today, therefore it will be hard to follow in his footsteps.

“However, I am relishing the challenge of the role and it has been a pleasure reporting on the area.”

During his first few weeks in the job last year, Craig came up with a competition to invent a nickname for Malvern Town football club as it had never had one.

He asked readers to come up with suggestions and eventually The Hillsiders was chosen.

34 comments

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  • March 9, 2017 at 8:03 am
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    With the greatest respect to Craig I find it incredible that after a years experience someone can be ‘promoted ‘ from trainee to editor, it would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.

    I could go on and on about him walking into dradmans shoes,lack of real experience, being a scapegoat and more, I’ll just say the appointment of yet another inexperienced and young person being given once valued,respected and credible editorship had lost its shock appeal as it’s becoming more common as the weeks go by.

    Choosing the easy to manage unchallenging option has become the norm with the days of real time served, experienced editors fighting corners,being the voice of the communities, sticking up for their staff and challenging strategies long since passed.
    I just hope Craig has assurances about the responsibilities of the role and hasn’t simply been installed to carry the can as further copy sales losses are recorded or in the event of any legal issues happening.

    This latest appointment , and it really is no reflection on Craig,just underlines exactly what value regional press publishers put on their publications in 2017. I wish Craig the very very best of luck in this role, boy will he need it

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  • March 9, 2017 at 8:57 am
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    Come on guys, give the young fella a break. Yes, it’s unusual at his age, but he might be a shining star for all we know. Good luck Craig.

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  • March 9, 2017 at 9:10 am
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    Good grief. It isn’t the poor lad’s fault, of course, but this is a joke.

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  • March 9, 2017 at 9:26 am
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    Those of us who are longer in the tooth have to get used to the fact that virtually everything is different these days. One of the biggest differences is the title ‘editor': the role has been changed to meet an entirely altered set of requirements, and yes, it bears little resemblance to what it used to be. I first became an editor in 1992 at the age of 29, and I felt very uncomfortable about it at the time – I was one of the youngest in the country at the time. But if you get the chance, you’re not going to say ‘no’. These days, when titles operate with reporting staffs of one or two, the ‘editor’ is probably the equivalent of what was probably a chief reporter or deputy news editor 20 years ago, if that. Getting promoted to those roles at 23 used to be fairly normal in the days when not everyone went to university, too; 25 or 26 for graduates. As an increasingly old git, I have fond memories of a very enjoyable career in newspapers, but I think we really have to let the new waves of young journalists to have their turn. They won’t have anything like as much fun as we did, but they might just come up with a way of doing something in these troubled times.

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  • March 9, 2017 at 9:27 am
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    Also sports editor… how many people work on this paper, is it just Craig?

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  • March 9, 2017 at 9:31 am
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    I remember when I was a trainee I ended up signing the expenses forms for the office staff . The chief reporter was away on holiday and as I was the most senior junior I took it upon myself to do this important task..
    “”What’s a junior doing signing the expenses,” asked the news editor at head office, before rubberstamping the forms when I explained.
    But a trainee becoming editor? Times are a changing.

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  • March 9, 2017 at 9:38 am
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    Best of luck to Craig, but somebody clearly doesn’t give a toss about that newspaper or the people (?) who work on it.

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  • March 9, 2017 at 10:36 am
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    Craig has obviously proved himself to his superiors and I’m sure readers of the Malvern Observer will still enjoy the content. The editor of my newspaper was only 23 when I took him on straight from University and my readers love him.

    Good luck to him. . . .

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  • March 9, 2017 at 10:38 am
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    This says more about those supposedly running the paper and the importance they place on this position than it does the young lad appointed editor

    And @incontinentia it’s not about giving the lad a chance it’s about the wisdom and value put on this paper and it’s readers to move someone so inexperienced into a ‘senior’ editorial role and at what is without doubt the most critical time for the uk regional press, but when you consider how little importance publishers put on their flagging weekly papers or the communities they supposedly serve it’s no wonder title only appointments like this are becoming nore common.
    I feel for Craig as surely at such a young age he would be better off working his patch and grinding out news copy, gaining real journalistic experience which would stand him in better stead in his csreer going forward
    Another sign that printed publications are treated as thvpoor relation in an increasingly online digital media world

    World gone mad

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  • March 9, 2017 at 10:47 am
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    The best of luck, Craig. Perhaps new blood is just what the Malvern Observer and sundry papers like it needs. After all the old blood has got the regional press into a right mess.

    However, that said, I would have been much more impressed if they had appointed a 20 year old as MD of Bullivant. Give me a knock when that happens.

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  • March 9, 2017 at 11:08 am
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    Antiquarian has called it right. This editor role, although surely creditable for the young journalist concerned, is not the same as the editor of old. It’s like comparing the value of a ten bob note back in the day to 50p now. It’s not worth the trouble. Let’s just wish him well, though.

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  • March 9, 2017 at 11:14 am
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    I wish Craig every success and I’m sure he will excel in his role. I took on a similar editorship at a small title in Northern Ireland in 1992 when I was 22, having been a reporter for four years. Although I had the guidance of a group editor at a neighbouring paper, I was pretty much given freedom to run the ship. An employer showed faith in me and I’ve never been out of work in journalism since.

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  • March 9, 2017 at 11:45 am
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    @Antiquarian – you are Robin Fletcher and I claim my £10…

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  • March 9, 2017 at 11:48 am
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    @Archie. If Craig fails I’m sure you will be first to say “I told you so”.

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  • March 9, 2017 at 12:05 pm
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    hackflack – no £10 for you, I’m afraid. I’m not Robin Fletcher.

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  • March 9, 2017 at 12:12 pm
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    Well done to Craig in this remarkable tale.
    The article fails to mention that Craig was actually made redundant by the newspaper in December. He was then reappointed in the New Year.

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  • March 9, 2017 at 12:46 pm
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    In my opinion to be a newspaper editor of any description you need to a) have lived a little and b) have covered a broad range of stories – murders, fires, hospital closures, council scandals etc and c) have some managerial experience and be prepared for the internal politics.

    A sign of the times – good luck Craig, prove us all wrong!

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  • March 9, 2017 at 12:49 pm
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    Mother of mercy!

    “All hands abandon ship, repeat! All hands abandon ship!!!”

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  • March 9, 2017 at 12:50 pm
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    Incontinenta
    Let’s really hope he doesn’t fail but if he does he needs to look closer to home and to those putting him in this position which could do more harm to his future prospects than good

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  • March 9, 2017 at 8:15 pm
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    I had to read this twice to comprehend the farcical nature of this appointment,I still can’t believe he’s been taken in by it.
    Like others on here this is no reflection on Craig’s ability or talents, certainly not, he’s probably flattered to think he’s progressed so far in so short a time to warrant this position.
    but to give a trainee the title of editor albeit of a small and relatively new paper speaks volumes about the value of the role and the lack of importance the publishers put on this publication and the people it supposedly serves.
    Although the role of editor is ( sorry to say) no longer of any importance or carries any weight or kudos in the regional press and in a modern media environment,to give someone with less than a years experience the title of editor is ridiculous.

    It’s clearly been done on the cheap and because a youngster will not dare challenge his peers, the ones who’ll make the decisions and pull the strings until such time as either he realises he’s in a no win situation in a role going nowhere and jacks it i or they decide to move him aside for one reason or another.
    This really underlines what a dire and irrecoverable position the country’s local publishers are in and how desperate things have become to resort to appointments such as this
    For his sake o sincerely wish Craig all the very best.
    As for the owners you’re fooling no one

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  • March 9, 2017 at 10:20 pm
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    I think all these cynical comments about Craig’s ability are atrocious. So because he is young he isn’t good enough? Because he doesn’t haven 20 years under his belt he isn’t good enough? Surely, the proof will be in the pudding, will it not? We shall also see how Craig performs as an editor. Only then can you make a judgement.
    I was appointed editor of a newspaper when I was 22, I’m now 24, my work for the paper has been recognised at the Press Awards when I was shortlisted for an award and I was 23 then, Craig’s age. Age is simply a number, how well one performs in their role is how they should be judged.
    I would like to see Craig shine, as a fellow young editor.
    Once upon a time it was a ludicrous idea a women could be an editor and look at the world now, so why is it a ludicrous idea that a person who is young, but capable, be an editor.
    I’m sure they’ve not hired him to set him up to fail.
    From one young editor to another, good luck Craig and don’t let anyone tell you you’re not good enough.

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  • March 10, 2017 at 7:52 am
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    Some of the comments on here are so sour and predictable. Look guys, the industry has changed. Free content on the internet means newspapers have to be produced on a pittance. But the job is still the same – just you can’t spend half your days in the pub any more.

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  • March 10, 2017 at 7:58 am
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    Maybe it’s not a bad idea to let someone young with new ideas have a crack.
    After all, newspaper sales have collapsed steadily and alarmingly with the collective wisdom of all you sad types who now have nothing to do but sit at your keyboards whining.

    How much more damage could one young lad do? good luck to him. Go prove all these cynical failures wrong Craig.

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  • March 10, 2017 at 8:23 am
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    Let’s give the poor guy a chance. Of course this isn’t an editor position as we would traditionally recognise it – presumably more of a news editor reporting up the chain. But the state of the industry isn’t his fault and there are far more alarming appointments on far bigger titles. Hopefully he will use this as a platform to learn and go on to bigger things. Good luck to him.

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  • March 10, 2017 at 9:04 am
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    Reading the comments I don’t see anyone critical of Craig or his abilities?
    The issues are around the wisdom and reasons behind this appointment and the fact the outgoing ‘editor’ left to go back to reporting,why?
    these are the points most people are raising.
    I also see @printing press mentions he was made him redundant in December then was taken back on in January? hardly a vote of confidence if he was deemed surplus to requirements one month yet suddenly is deemed worthy of being given an editors role the next.
    As long as he has been given sufficient staff in his team,good on going mentoring and support,a salary package aligned to the importance of an editors position and has experience in managing people and the legal issues involved within the role I am sure he will flourish, I’m sure bullivant media wouldn’t appoint anyone without these basics in place in which case I agree he has every chance of success.

    As for @ Roger Hammertimes comment ” How much more damage could one young lad do? ”

    If damage limitation is the expectation and is as low as the bar has been set then there really is no hope for the regional press in certain parts of the country is there?
    I echo every ‘sad cynics ‘ comments in the above piece in wishing Craig all the best in his new important role

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  • March 10, 2017 at 9:57 am
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    @Rachael – fair enough, but do you think you will be an even better editor at 32, or 42 with a decade or two more experience? Or do you expect to remain as good as you are now?

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  • March 10, 2017 at 10:43 am
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    Och, the wee laddie wasnae a glint in his daddy’s eye when I’d already got my first seven years under me belt. Still, good luck to him. Methinks he will need it

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  • March 10, 2017 at 12:14 pm
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    @Papyrus – of course, I may be the best editor in the UK by time and 32 and the best in the world by time I’m 42 because of experience – but that doesn’t mean I’m not a well-qualified and a capable editor now at 24. Craig might be the best editor that paper has ever had when he’s 32, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t good enough now.

    We may not have lived as long, experienced as many life-events but you must never discredit a different type of wisdom and experience that youth can bring – I don’t wish to take all the credit, but the paper I am editor for, I fear, would not have the same online presence it has now, or even be printing in colour, if it wasn’t for my intervention. And my predecessor had 60 years experience on me.

    You say: “do you think you will be an even better editor at 32, or 42 with a decade or two more experience?”- I do, but it’s not just experience, it’s growth and the chance to grow. People like Craig, and myself, must be given a chance – being editor so young is an experience many aren’t privy to, but one that has changed my life, for the better- in a decade we may be amazing editors, but doesn’t mean we aren’t great editors already.

    I don’t think age, like sex, should have anything to do with a job position.

    I’ve met editors who are in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60+ and I have the utmost respect for all of them, but I have met some that I would say, even with their experience, aren’t as good an editor as some younger editor – for various reasons. Age and experience doesn’t, necessarily, make you better, it just makes you older and more experienced.

    How good you are at the job is what makes you better.

    Also, I’m not claiming to be better than any other editors out there and I respect every editor that gets their paper or magazine to print each day, week or month, because it’s just not an easy job. But, let’s see how Craig does, he could take the world by storm yet, if given the chance.

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  • March 10, 2017 at 12:44 pm
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    Rachael Marie: I’m sure everyone commenting here wishes Craig well. It’s not personal.
    As a young high achiever yourself, perhaps you can tell us if you are a bargain basement ‘editor’ or if you receive what was the going rate for a weekly editor (see above).

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  • March 10, 2017 at 1:35 pm
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    It’s not about age it’s about experience. If he was a 24-year-old editor who’d been a reporter since he was 14 it wouldn’t be so much of an issue. The idea of comments to the contrary being ‘sour’ is just the usual Donald Trump-style ‘everything in the garden is rosy’ style spiel.

    I wouldn’t appoint a police office who’s been in the force for a year as chief constable, nor would I let someone who’d been out of medical school for a year operate on my brain.

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  • March 12, 2017 at 4:14 pm
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    @Rachael

    I somewhat doubt you’ll ever be the ‘best editor in the world’ (who knew there was such a thing?) judging by the construction of this sentence:

    “of course, I may be the best editor in the UK by time and 32 and the best in the world by time I’m 42 because of experience”.

    Interestingly, I’m left with the question, what would the best editor in the world look like? What would be their qualities? How many of those qualities would be things you can be born with, and how many are things which you pick up over time in the role and industry?

    I suspect the qualities anyone could suggest as desirable would largely fall into the latter category.

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  • March 13, 2017 at 10:38 am
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    A different kind of wisdom and experience at 23? What on earth could that be Rachael. He hasn’t lived , either in a personal or professional way.
    One advantage he might have is a good knowledge of IT, social media etc.
    That is much more important now than traditional newspaper editing skills.
    But good to luck to him.

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  • March 14, 2017 at 1:05 pm
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    I was joking about being the ‘best editor in the world’ – I thought this was a clear joke – but that’s an unfortunate consequence of not being in person and not being able to tell haha

    Blutarsky, perhaps one day there’ll be a big competition and you get vote ‘best editor’ in the region, then country, then world? A bit like the beauty pageants? A bit, like the Press Award – but international and just for editors.

    I, of course, joke again.

    Some people have lived very full lives by times they’re 23, in my opinion, and experienced a lot.

    But, what I was trying to reiterate was this: I think everyone should give him a chance and not wait, with bated breath, for him to fail.

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