An audience development consultancy - we understand audiences. Offering editorial services, digital experience and much more to help you grow and engage digital audiences. I'm one of three directors of Alma.

This position sees me provide support, guidance and mentoring to the next generation of journalists and editors. I also attend the annual CJAM event where journalism students pitch for placement and mentoring opportunities. I will also provide feedback and input on the journalism training programmes to the leadership team of the UCLan journalism department.I am also an associate lecturer for UCLan's journalism leadership and innovation programme, working with a range of industry experts… Show more This position sees me provide support, guidance and mentoring to the next generation of journalists and editors. I also attend the annual CJAM event where journalism students pitch for placement and mentoring opportunities. I will also provide feedback and input on the journalism training programmes to the leadership team of the UCLan journalism department.I am also an associate lecturer for UCLan's journalism leadership and innovation programme, working with a range of industry experts to help advise the cohort of postgraduate students on their journalism innovation projects. Show less

I founded Blog Preston in 2009, which became a Community Interest Company, bringing news and information to Preston. It has become one of the leading sources of news and information in Preston and the surrounding area.From 2009 to 2019 I worked as editor of the site and social media channels for a decade, building a highly connected and engaged audience in the city of Preston, Lancashire. I would regularly set the agenda in the city with my reporting - on both political and social… Show more I founded Blog Preston in 2009, which became a Community Interest Company, bringing news and information to Preston. It has become one of the leading sources of news and information in Preston and the surrounding area.From 2009 to 2019 I worked as editor of the site and social media channels for a decade, building a highly connected and engaged audience in the city of Preston, Lancashire. I would regularly set the agenda in the city with my reporting - on both political and social issues - as well as also being first to breaking news across Preston.My connections in the city meant I was able to build a network of highly informed contacts and create exclusive stories and content for Blog Preston to mean it became the go-to place for news in the city.I also experimented with new platforms and social media channels throughout my tenure as editor - as I established a highly engaged email newsletter audience, live video streaming through Facebook Live and YouTube plus built a large and engaged Instagram following too.I also regularly hosted both online and offline events to build Blog Preston's brand in the city - from photo exhibitions to Instameets to charity events to political hustings. My network and connections with external stakeholders in Preston meant I could regularly bring together different groups for events or other initiatives.Blog Preston has become a sustainable community journalism model, with a number of contributors and co-editors working on the title during my tenure as editor. The advertising revenue made, from creating strong, engaging, community-led advertising campaigns, is reinvested in community reporting on the city.After 10 years I have moved into a non-executive role with Blog Preston where I provide strategic support to the editors of the site.But in 2024, as Blog Preston turned 15 I have returned as editor of the title. Show less

I led Reach's Network Newsroom, a spine of central editorial teams providing content, insight and more for the largest commercial news publisher in the UK supporting the growth of the Live network of regional titles, working closely with our colleagues in the Nationals, Scottish and Irish divisions of Reach too.I was part of the senior editorial leadership team within Reach. My key role was to oversee and implement audience growth initiatives along with engagement initiatives to sustain… Show more I led Reach's Network Newsroom, a spine of central editorial teams providing content, insight and more for the largest commercial news publisher in the UK supporting the growth of the Live network of regional titles, working closely with our colleagues in the Nationals, Scottish and Irish divisions of Reach too.I was part of the senior editorial leadership team within Reach. My key role was to oversee and implement audience growth initiatives along with engagement initiatives to sustain our Customer Value Strategy and champion innovations to test and learn with new digital engagement tools and products in our newsrooms.I worked closely with SEO and social media specialists, our product and content distribution teams, to ensure we are working to grow audiences across platforms and formats for Reach's portfolio of titles.I would regularly lead complex strategic initiatives working cross-function across the business, managing reporting into executive-level management and delivering these projects with the input and collaborative involvement of multiple departments within Reach. Show less

Led Reach's central editorial teams through the pandemic, introducing new ways of editorial working often within the space of hours. Worked as part of group of senior editors - Audience and Content Directors - to support the rapid growth of Reach's Live network of regional titles across all parts of the UK and Ireland.Expanded Reach's central trending team which provides UK news and scales some of the best journalism to titles up and down the country - with more than 30million… Show more Led Reach's central editorial teams through the pandemic, introducing new ways of editorial working often within the space of hours. Worked as part of group of senior editors - Audience and Content Directors - to support the rapid growth of Reach's Live network of regional titles across all parts of the UK and Ireland.Expanded Reach's central trending team which provides UK news and scales some of the best journalism to titles up and down the country - with more than 30million views per month. The teams also provided 24-7 live news coverage, through evening newsdesk and overnight operations (in collaboration with the Press Association) to ensure the Live network of titles are always first to the news in their patches.I also led a company-wide growth project to oversee the recruitment of hundreds of new editorial roles and the creation of new teams across our National, Regional, Sport, Scottish and Irish portfolio to super-charge Reach's next stage of digital audience growth. Show less

Leading the Network Newsroom which sits at the heart of our Live network of Regional sites. Senior Editor leading a number of different teams across trending content, video, podcasts, affiliates and our new launch Live titles across the UK..During this period I:- Formalised the creation of the Network trending team to provide UK & World News content to dozens of Reach PLC titles, both established and new-launch titles- Continued to operate the Digital Cities portfolio of titles,… Show more Leading the Network Newsroom which sits at the heart of our Live network of Regional sites. Senior Editor leading a number of different teams across trending content, video, podcasts, affiliates and our new launch Live titles across the UK..During this period I:- Formalised the creation of the Network trending team to provide UK & World News content to dozens of Reach PLC titles, both established and new-launch titles- Continued to operate the Digital Cities portfolio of titles, sharing best practice and audience growth strategies amongst Reach's 'Live' brand of titles- I took on interim responsibility for the regional arm of the affiliates operation, and led it to new records of revenue generation and audience contribution at the time- I also took on responsibility for the audio and video capabilities of Reach's Live network, continuing to establish the central video team and integrate it within the central editorial team and experiment with new audio and video storytelling methods Show less

During this senior editorial role within Reach's central editorial team I worked on key projects including:- The roll-out and training of hundreds of journalists in moving to the Escenic content management system (Cue) across the former Local World portfolio following Reach's acquisition of it. I led the rollout team which covered the whole country working with editors in moving the ex-Local World titles to the new layout and publishing system.- I oversaw the launch of LeedsLive, one of… Show more During this senior editorial role within Reach's central editorial team I worked on key projects including:- The roll-out and training of hundreds of journalists in moving to the Escenic content management system (Cue) across the former Local World portfolio following Reach's acquisition of it. I led the rollout team which covered the whole country working with editors in moving the ex-Local World titles to the new layout and publishing system.- I oversaw the launch of LeedsLive, one of Reach's early Live brand launches into a key competitor city and this laid the groundwork for the expansion of YorkshireLive - now one of the UK's largest regional news brands.- As part of the launch of LeedsLive, I led the Digital Cities portfolio of titles - made up of Reach's growing launch titles mainly in key new cities and territories for the group. I shared best practice between these new launch titles and helped their editors to navigate audience challenges and growth on each of their titles conducting regular audience review meetings with them.- I led the premium content and content charging project on the Huddersfield Examiner/Huddersfield Live introducing a pilot of the Axate micropayments system.- I also began the pilot of the Network content team in 2019 which brought together trending content writers and the Affiliates team in a forerunner of what became Reach's network newsroom and central editorial operation. Show less

Lead the first editorial expansion and strategy for InYourArea - Reach plc's hyperlocal community news and information platform and app. Building and scaling up an editorial team, working closely with product and commercial teams on introducing new features. Also introduced first brand strategy for InYourArea, aligned with editorial vision and new team structures and editorial workflows,In 2020 InYourArea grew to achieve a place in the UK media's top 20 news websites (being used by more… Show more Lead the first editorial expansion and strategy for InYourArea - Reach plc's hyperlocal community news and information platform and app. Building and scaling up an editorial team, working closely with product and commercial teams on introducing new features. Also introduced first brand strategy for InYourArea, aligned with editorial vision and new team structures and editorial workflows,In 2020 InYourArea grew to achieve a place in the UK media's top 20 news websites (being used by more than 15million people per month) and also became the third most downloaded news app of 2020 according to Press Gazette analysis, behind only the BBC and Sky News.I also led InYourArea's engagement strategy as it became a cornerstone of Reach's customer value strategy, delivering around a third of the company's total registrations through its email newsletter and app strategy.In 2021, I led the Cash for Connectivity campaign where InYourArea united Reach's northern titles, along with rival media titles, and worked with external partners to raise £50,000 in the space of two weeks to help connect schoolchildren who were at home due to the third Covid lockdown. The campaign won Best Publisher-led Social Good Initiative or Campaign at the AOP Digital Publishing Awards.Held InYourArea role alongside responsibilities for central editorial functions on Reach's Live network of regional titles (Senior Editor and then Audience and Content Director - Regionals) roles. Show less

Working with some of the UK and world's largest websites and newspapers to grow our digital audience, rapidly. Trinity Mirror rebranded as Reach during this time, so my experience within this role can be found within the Reach PLC section of my portfolio.

Leading the central digital publishing team, with a responsibility for digital publishing excellence and video growth for some of the largest regional media brands in the UK including the Liverpool Echo, Manchester Evening News, Hull Daily Mail among many others.I led the roll-out of digital publishing standards training across the former Local World portfolio following acquisition including introducing live-blogging across the portfolio.I was also a key part of delivering… Show more Leading the central digital publishing team, with a responsibility for digital publishing excellence and video growth for some of the largest regional media brands in the UK including the Liverpool Echo, Manchester Evening News, Hull Daily Mail among many others.I led the roll-out of digital publishing standards training across the former Local World portfolio following acquisition including introducing live-blogging across the portfolio.I was also a key part of delivering digital journalism skills training to journalist and editors through a partnership with the University of Central Lancashire where we ran academy sessions with journalists across the group to introduce new storytelling methods.I also joined the Birmingham Mail for three months in summer 2016 as executive editor, to work alongside newly promoted head of digital Graeme Brown to help accelerate the digital growth of the title ahead of it becoming BirminghamLive the following year. Show less

Secondment to the Liverpool Echo, primarily leading the sports team back into digital audience growth. Covering two of the biggest clubs in football, Liverpool FC and Everton FC.During this period I led the introduction of a premium content offering, Anfield Extra, which brought together exclusive podcasts and in-depth features and digital storytelling about Liverpool FC for a monthly payment via the Echo website and app.

Working as part of the central digital publishing team for Trinity Mirror Regionals to help produce the biggest regional newspaper websites in the UK.Responsible for exploring new ways to expand our digital audience, working with regional teams to ensure we have the best digital products for our audience and overseeing our multimedia and social media growth.

Managing the team responsible for producing the UK's largest regional newspaper websites. Exploring new opportunities to expand our digital audience and ensure Trinity Mirror Regionals remain the UK's best regional news publisher online.Also responsible for multimedia across all of Trinity Mirror's regional titles. Managing the growth of video streams across regional titles, and the innovative use of multimedia to inform and entertain our audience from Liverpool to Hounslow.

Working across all Trinity Mirror Regional sites to support the development of multimedia content. Specific responsibility for the Kit Digital Console which powers all our multimedia content (video, photos and audio).

Three month secondment as Publisher leading the newsroom through the introduction of the Newsroom 3.1 digital-first publishing strategy. Editorial responsibility for all content across digital, print and social media.

Lead Trinity Mirror Regional's Berkshire titles. Publisher of www.getreading.co.uk. Responsible for all editorial output. More than doubled the audience both global and local within six months.

Making web stuff happen at Media Wales. Working across walesonline.co.uk, South Wales Echo and Western Mail. Connecting communities with their community media.

I help decide the strategy for Mencap Liverpool. We're affiliated to Royal Mencap. We represent and work with 500 people with learning disability, their families, carers and friends across Liverpool. We run the Employment Service and Access to Heritage Project. We're just about to start the Circles Project with funding from Liverpool City Council. I take a particular interest in the web, communications and marketing of Mencap Liverpool. We have just produced our Strategic Plan: 2013 - with the… Show more I help decide the strategy for Mencap Liverpool. We're affiliated to Royal Mencap. We represent and work with 500 people with learning disability, their families, carers and friends across Liverpool. We run the Employment Service and Access to Heritage Project. We're just about to start the Circles Project with funding from Liverpool City Council. I take a particular interest in the web, communications and marketing of Mencap Liverpool. We have just produced our Strategic Plan: 2013 - with the aim of being the first port of call for anyone with a learning disability in Liverpool by 2013. Show less

Responsible for all Union web presences, content, design and maintenance. Work with the University of Central Lancashire's web services team to deliver projects for the Union on all areas of the web, this includes business processes.Wrote and currently in the process of implementing the first digital strategy for the Union and have the ultimate aim of making the Union one of the best, if not the best, utiliser of the web in its sector.Exploring new revenue streams via the web… Show more Responsible for all Union web presences, content, design and maintenance. Work with the University of Central Lancashire's web services team to deliver projects for the Union on all areas of the web, this includes business processes.Wrote and currently in the process of implementing the first digital strategy for the Union and have the ultimate aim of making the Union one of the best, if not the best, utiliser of the web in its sector.Exploring new revenue streams via the web and building links with business' and partner organisations.Responsible for all content that goes onto the site, and for developing all areas of the Union to ensure that all good content is pulled out from departments and displayed on the website in the best format. Show less

Responsible for all communications output at the Union. This included being editor of the student newspaper, Pluto, and chief executive of the student radio station, Frequency. This included running high profile investigative journalism operations into a student running an essay writing firm and also into a student society leader who had publicly made highly homophobic comments.Developed and delivered pluto-online.com, which is now in the stages of further development.As a… Show more Responsible for all communications output at the Union. This included being editor of the student newspaper, Pluto, and chief executive of the student radio station, Frequency. This included running high profile investigative journalism operations into a student running an essay writing firm and also into a student society leader who had publicly made highly homophobic comments.Developed and delivered pluto-online.com, which is now in the stages of further development.As a trustee of the organisation and a student representative, responsible for delivering and organising campaigns on student issues. Was also at the forefront of a governance change in the organisation. Show less

Two month placement in Bangalore, India. Responsible for producing, proofing and designing copy and pages for Explocity, a company that produced city guides and lifestyle magazines for India's expanding youth market.

Worked shifts for Lancashire Evening Post as a reporter. This included stories on community events and public affairs. Also worked on the re-launched lep.co.uk producing video and multimedia content for the site.