Newsquest Media Group

Yesterday afternoon, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking at Bournemouth University on The New Age of Newsrooms — with a spotlight on how Newsquest Media Group is pioneering AI-assisted approaches to producing trusted local journalism. The event, expertly hosted by Leila Willingham Chart.PR MCIPR and the brilliant Liz Lean PR team supported by the university's Matt Desmier, was made even more better by me being joined by two of our super-talented Bournemouth Daily Echo journalists: Chief reporter (and BU journalism alum) Hannah Knight and AI-assisted reporter Debolina Gayen. Their insights brought the session to life as they shared how AI is shaping their roles in the newsroom. The 90-minute talk and panel session was streamed live on YouTube from BU’s studio — and what a professional production it was! Huge credit to Adrian Butterworth’s team of on-screen and behind-the-scenes students including Tiana Hynes, Abby West, Lewis Eyre, Grace Kehoe and many more. It was also a pleasure to reconnect with members of the local business community, including Paul Kinvig FRSA COO at Bournemouth Town Business BID. The key takeaway? Local news can thrive in an AI-driven world — as long as it’s rooted in trust and guided by human judgement. AI should be used to create time and space for reporters to focus on original, high-impact journalism that builds loyalty and drives engagement. At Newsquest Media Group, this approach has helped us reach over 60 million monthly online users, generate 200 million article page views, and grow to 120,000 paying digital subscribers. Combined with our 7 million weekly print readers, that’s 75% of the UK population engaging with our trusted local content — and growing. At a time when 94% of UK adults encounter misinformation online, and platforms like Facebook now reach just 50% of the population and are on the decline, the role of trusted local news has never been more vital. Seeing the passion and talent in yesterday’s students gave me real confidence that the future of the fourth estate is in excellent hands. #AIinJournalism #TrustedNews #LocalMedia #Newsquest #BournemouthUniversity #FutureOfNews #JournalismMatters

Thrilled to have appointed Milly Vincent as the new editor of our Somerset titles. Milly's been acting editor for three months at our excellent titles such as Somerset County Gazette, Weston Mercury and Bridgwater Mercury and done a brilliant job. I know she's going to be an absolute star in the now permanent role and look forward to seeing her take them all from strength to strength! As a sidenote, Milly's appointment also means that for the first time in Newsquest's history we have an equal number of male and female editors - a fact I'm particularly proud of. Congrats Milly! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://lnkd.in/eqzEn72w

Very pleased that we received a big win, a high commendation, and several other commendations at The Newspaper Awards in London last night. We had four titles out of the six shortlisted in the Local Weekly Newspaper of the Year category – and I’m delighted for our team in Enniskillen that The Impartial Reporter claimed top prize. Judges said: “For the second year running, The Impartial Reporter takes the top spot. Judges were full of praise for its brilliant investigations, in-depth reporting and unique front-page designs that made it stand out.” Our runners-up were all commended: Isle of Wight County Press for “offering great value with its rich mix of stories and news coverage”, Salisbury Journal “for a clean, consistent layout that doesn’t compromise editorial for advertising” and The Oxford Times for being “a much-loved weekly that offers strong value, sharp printing, and a well-balanced mix of news and features that lead the local agenda.” In the Regional Supplement/Magazine of the Year category The Northern Echo’s Business IQ was highly commended for “exuding quality, beautifully printed with luxurious cover stack and brilliantly showcases business in the North-East”, while Cheshire Life was commended for “continuing to impress with a well-thought-out layout packed with content and striking imagery that really lifts the pages” and Voice was also commended for “nailing its editorial structure with strong headlines and a clear sense of place.” Oxford Mail was commended in the Daily Newspaper of the Year category for being “a cleanly printed daily with striking front pages and great local news”. Finally, Nancy Fallows was commended in the Newspaper Employee/Team of the Year category for “significantly improving Newsquest’s newspaper sales by enhancing front-page designs.” Well done all! Rodney Edwards Gavin Foster Gavin Thompson Andrew Colley Nancy Fallows Kimberley Barber Lori Little Joanne Goodwin Cheshire Life Ben Fishwick