Reach plc appoints new editors in the South West
Three new editors have been appointed to head up Reach’s digital publishing operation in Devon and Cornwall.
Rich Booth takes over as the editor of DevonLive, Philippa Jenkins is the new editor of Cornwall Live and Edd Moore is the first ever editor of the new Plymouth Live website.
The appointments follow Jacqui Merrington’s promotion to regional digital editor and the creation of a new regional content hub which is based at Reach’s Plymouth offices.
Jacqui, who grew up in Devon, started her career as a trainee at the Press Association in London in 2000. After a brief spell in television, she joined the newsdesk at the Nottingham Post in 2006. She moved to Cornwall three years later to become editor of The Cornishman in Penzance and later its sister title, the West Briton.
In 2015, after training through the Google Squared digital marketing leadership programme, she was appointed digital editor for Cornwall and launched Cornwall Live in November 2016.
Jacqui said: “In the past 18 months, we’ve launched three new websites that have captured a huge and growing audience across Devon and Cornwall. Building a regional newsdesk in Plymouth enables us to bring the best bits of these sites together, while the appointment of three new editors will ensure we maintain and further develop their unique brands.
“I’m really excited to be working with Edd, Rich and Philippa and the rest of the team in Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall, to take the sites to the next level.”
Edd, 33, joined The Herald as a trainee reporter in 2008 and has previously worked in roles including chief reporter, deputy news editor and head of content.
Edd said: “When we spoke about what Plymouth Live should be, it was clear we should be guided by our audience and redefine our traditional boundaries.
“It’s really exciting to be launching a new digital brand rooted in what people in our city are really talking about — be that news, sport, what’s on or anything in between.
“We are lucky to have a team of such highly talented journalists and I’m honoured to be playing a leading role in growing Plymouth Live alongside them.”
Rich, 29, was head of content for Devon Live and before that the news editor of The Express and Echo. He started as a part-time digital reporter for ThisIsExeter and since then worked on building a digital brand for the Express and Echo. He then went on to help launch DevonLive under the previous editor Patrick Phelvin.
Rich said: “DevonLive was a huge job when we first launched it in February 2017 and, with a great team of reporters, we quickly established our self as the go to place for all things Devon.
“ Our breaking news coverage has always been something we are incredibly proud of be it the Royal Clarence fire or the deluge of stories we have when it snows.
“The reporters have shown the courage needed to challenge authorities across Devon and I look forward to this continuing.
“In recent months we have already started to develop new ways of storytelling, our Exeter bombing anniversary podcast being a stand out, and I look forward to continuing to explore the huge potential we have as digital journalists.
“We broke the 10 million page view mark within one year of launching DevonLive. With the skilled team we have I am confident this rapid growth will continue.”
Philippa, 30, started her career at the North Devon Journal in 2011 as a trainee reporter before moving to the Midlands to work for national news agency South West News Service.
She then went onto work at the Western Daily Press in Bristol, where she was digital editor, followed by the Bristol Post where she took on the role of head of sport.
Last year Philippa, who grew up in Devon, moved to Cornwall to work at Cornwall Live as head of audience engagement.
She said: “I am delighted to take on the editorship of Cornwall Live, particularly at such an exciting in online journalism. The team in Cornwall is brimming with ideas and enthusiasm to further harness our growing audience and I am looking forward to seeing the website go from strength to strength.”
Editor-in-chief Bill Martin said: “Our new senior digital editorial team is made up of four real talents and I am thrilled to see them already working together so effectively.
“I am delighted they have all taken on these new roles and look forward to working with them of developing our audience and digital brands through great content creation and journalism.”
