An editorial boss responsible for newsletters across 13 titles has moved to a year-long secondment with the same publisher.

Byron Melton has announced he has moved to become audience and engagement editor at Reach plc websites Cambridgeshire Live and Essex Live.

Byron’s move comes after Emily Hunsley-Gill, who works across the two titles, went on maternity leave.

Byron, pictured, has spent the past 16 months as newsletter lead for Reach in the South-East of England.

There, he oversaw newsletters for its ‘Live’ sites in Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Surrey and Sussex.

Byron previously spent five years with the Portsmouth News, where he launched the regional daily’s Retro nostalgia supplement and served as Havant and Waterlooville district reporter.

Speaking to HTFP, he said: “During a period of much change across our business Emily has done excellent work to grow our audiences in the South-East, keeping them engaged with the tailored stories, newsletters and social posts we know make them tick.

“I’m excited to step up into her role for a year and build on this strategy, with a particular focus on growing and serving our newsletter subscriber base in a meaningful way that puts us in greater control of how people read our news.

“I speak for the whole of Reach’s South-East audience and engagement team in wishing Emily the best of luck and countless happy memories during her maternity leave.”