News director put to the test
‘‘I’m really excited about this opportunity as it’ll give me a chance to focus on the community I live in.’’
Moving to Cambridge from Hawke’s Bay was initially a temporary fix for my family until we found a home in Hamilton closer to work.
Almost three years later we’ve given up on the idea of moving to the city and decided to stay put in the Waipa town we’ve come to call our new home.
The decision has certainly paid off in more ways than one. After more than two years commuting to Hamilton where I was working on the news desk at the Waikato Times, I’ve been appointed to the newly created role of news director at the Cambridge Edition.
I’m really excited about this opportunity as it’ll give me a chance to focus on the community I live in and it will be a chance to meet the people who keep the town ticking along.
And of course it means I can work near home and be closer to my family.
I would like to pay tribute to now former editor of the Edition, Viv Posselt, who has shown wonderful leadership guiding the paper over the past four and a half years.
A few locals took the chance to put me to the test when I attended Viv’s farewell function a few weeks ago to give me a taste of what I could be in for over the coming months.
And certainly they were keen to hear from me about the changes happening at their local paper.
We’re becoming more digitally focused now which means our reporters will be using their stories to generate feedback and comments via online social platforms, in particular, Neighbourly.
We’ll also be engaging people online to hear about what’s happening in their neighbourhood and encouraging people to share their stories.
This certainly does not mean there is a reduced focus on our newspaper.
In fact the two will complement each other and the Edition remains the cornerstone of the Cambridge community, as it has for many years.
Over the next few weeks we will announce a new reporter to join journalist Emma James and I, on the reporting team at the Edition. Lawrence Gullery