An editor has left the newspaper she “grew up with” aftet two years in charge after a restructure by its parent company.
Emily Banks had been in charge of both the Hampstead and Highgate Express, universally known as the Ham & High, and the Brent & Kilburn Times since 2016.
However her role has now been combined with that of Ramzy Alwakeel, who edits the papers’ Archant sister titles the Hackney Gazette and Islington Gazette.
Archant has declined to comment on the changes, but HTFP understands Emily’s role has been made redundant, meaning the Ham & High is now without a dedicated editor for the first time.
In a farewell message posted on Twitter, Emily wrote: “Editing the paper I grew up with has been my passion and I feel honoured and privileged to have had this role in our wonderful community and worked with these talented journalists.”
After starting her career as a reporter at the Oxford Mail in 1992, Emily moved to the Ham & High as news editor in 1995 before heading to the nationals in 1999.
But following a stint as a feature writer on The Sun, she returned to the Ham & High in October 2014 in the role of Hampstead reporter and crime reporter.
She became editor of the Ham & High and the Times in October 2016, following the retirement of Geoff Martin, who was editor-in-chief of Archant’s North London weeklies.
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Always sad to see someone shown the door and without an explanation by ‘spokesman said’ but with the role of editor diminished to being a title in name only and lacking the kudos,clout and presence it once had,it has to be one of the most precarious positions within the company and one the cost savers can easily do without,so it shouldn’t come as any surprise to find editor roles being made redundant,in reality anyone with ‘editor’ on their job title knows it’s not a matter of ‘if’just a case of ‘when’?
Good wishes to Emily in her future endeavours
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With respect to Norridge and Ms Banks I will, fictionally, write a few words as if Archant hadn’t declined to comment on the “changes”. Here we go. “Emily’s talent and commitment to journalism was amply demonstrated when she left us after four years in 1999 for the nationals, where she worked at a very high level. Her return to the Ham and High in October 2014 was a coup for the paper, and this company, as her formidable, innate skills had been honed by national experience, much to our benefit. As a sensitive and grateful employer we thank Emily for all her efforts and wish her the very best for the future.” Aw, shucks, readers, I’m going to blub…
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