It's all here from the very beginning in all it's informal and banal glory: not quite a curriculum vitae and not quite an autobiography, but it all belongs to me.
My sixth form years at Sharnbrook Upper School in Bedfordshire finished with me scraping an A-level in English and General Studies. I already had eight O-levels and CSE Grade One in Maths in the bag. University did not beckon. Neither did any of the respectable polytechnics. I got a job at The Bell pub in Odell, Bedfordshire, back when it was run by Derek and Doreen. In my spare time I wrote Odell's village news report in the Bedfordshire Times where I also went for work experience one day a week. Eventually they took pity and gave me a job. I became a trainee reporter and was posted to The Biggleswade Chronicle after completing the Westminster Press pre-entry course in St Leonards on Sea, Sussex.
Journalistic highlight: distinctions in my pre-entry final exams at journalism college, a result which I was informed by a senior college, meant nothing at all now it had been achieved
EARLY 1990s... news editing ... columnism ... switching to a daily
After rotating through the Bedfordshire titles I became news editor of the Bedford Citizen working in a competitive market which included Bedfordshire on Sunday and the Bedford Herald. I passed my NCTJ proficiency test and I wrote a number of columns: the music based Gazza Snoods and the humorous Wits End. I also learned to sub-edit and lay out pages. After spending several happy years in Bedfordshire I followed the editor Mark Edwards when he moved to Northampton and became editor of the Northampton Chronicle and Echo. After a few months as a sub-editor I became news editor of the paper.
Journalistic highlight: visiting the Croatian warzone during the break up of Yugoslavia.
LATE 1990s... news editing a daily ... London Metro ...
A former Bedfordshire Times editor Neil Roy said the only two jobs in a newspaper editorial department that are real work are News Editor and Chief Sub. News editing tests your creativity, organisational abilities, your journalistic sensibilities and your interpersonal skills. It will require you to display grace under fire but also the ability to bring the fire too, should the situation demand it. It was a steep learning curve and I was far from perfect but I got myself to a level where I was invited to apply for a job at the new London Metro free paper being launched by the gang from the Daily Mail. I joined their team as an assistant news editor and slotted in to a role pulling together wire copy as the paper was finished off in the evening.
Journalistic highlight: interviewing Tony Blair in Downing Street and discovering that Jeremy Paxman is a short man with a large head.
EARLY 2000s... Northants Press Agency ... Northants on Sunday ... production editor
After a year at Metro the opportunity arose to take over the day to day management of Northants Press Agency and experience another side of the news industry. It was an in at the deep end introduction to a very competitive business environment and provided me with invaluable commercial experience across 12 months of setbacks and successes. Sadly challenging trading conditions resulted in the business closing and it was chastening to be at the helm when that happened. However I was fortunate to make a quick return to the Chronicle and Echo, stewarding the newly launched free newspaper Northamptonshire on Sunday as its production editor. I later acquired responsibility for the Mercury and Citizen midweek free and a range of newsletter publications which I produced using re-purposed material from the Chron.
Journalistic highlight: interviews with Northampton writer and international comics superstar Alan Moore
LATE 2000s... Night Editor... Product Manager... Editorial Trainer...
When the Northampton Chronicle and Echo switched to a morning print run I successfully applied for the role of Night Editor, liaising with editor David Summers to finish off the paper. Prevailing economic conditions prompted drastic organisational changes across many sectors of the newspaper industry and the Chron switched to a hub based sub-editing system. My role was among many lost throughout the company and I was offered a position as a Product Manager in the Northampton hub, looking after The Rugby Advertiser and The Banbury Guardian liaising with the editors and writers in their offices to organise the production of both titles. During this period the introduction of the Atex Content Management system saw yet another revolution in the way newspapers are produced. I became an editorial trainer for the system, travelling to Johnston Press titles across England, Ireland and Scotland during a roll out that lasted for nearly a year and a half. I am currently part of an editorial training team that trains new Atex and Indesign users as well as supporting existing journalistic skill sets across the company.
Journalistic highlight: still having a job
After a year at Metro the opportunity arose to take over the day to day management of Northants Press Agency and experience another side of the news industry. It was an in at the deep end introduction to a very competitive business environment and provided me with invaluable commercial experience across 12 months of setbacks and successes. Sadly challenging trading conditions resulted in the business closing and it was chastening to be at the helm when that happened. However I was fortunate to make a quick return to the Chronicle and Echo, stewarding the newly launched free newspaper Northamptonshire on Sunday as its production editor. I later acquired responsibility for the Mercury and Citizen midweek free and a range of newsletter publications which I produced using re-purposed material from the Chron.
Journalistic highlight: interviews with Northampton writer and international comics superstar Alan Moore
LATE 2000s... Night Editor... Product Manager... Editorial Trainer...
When the Northampton Chronicle and Echo switched to a morning print run I successfully applied for the role of Night Editor, liaising with editor David Summers to finish off the paper. Prevailing economic conditions prompted drastic organisational changes across many sectors of the newspaper industry and the Chron switched to a hub based sub-editing system. My role was among many lost throughout the company and I was offered a position as a Product Manager in the Northampton hub, looking after The Rugby Advertiser and The Banbury Guardian liaising with the editors and writers in their offices to organise the production of both titles. During this period the introduction of the Atex Content Management system saw yet another revolution in the way newspapers are produced. I became an editorial trainer for the system, travelling to Johnston Press titles across England, Ireland and Scotland during a roll out that lasted for nearly a year and a half. I am currently part of an editorial training team that trains new Atex and Indesign users as well as supporting existing journalistic skill sets across the company.
Journalistic highlight: still having a job
