New Website Venture for Bourke

Fionnuala Bourke

One of Reach plc’s senior journalists in the Midlands has been appointed editor of a new Birmingham website to be launched by rival publisher JPIMedia.

Birmingham-based Fionnuala Bourke (pictured), commercial audience editor at Reach for the Midlands, Cheshire and Lincolnshire, and a former news editor at the Birmingham Post & Mail, will be heading up one of eight new websites which JPIMedia is setting up in England, Scotland and Wales.

In her role at Reach, Fionnuala, who is an experienced digital and newspaper editor, created engaging content marketing campaigns for businesses and organisations to promote their brands, services and key messages.

All eight locations are currently home to news sites run by Reach.

JPIMedia say the new titles will prompt the creation of an initial 32 content roles, as well as eight commercial roles and a number of marketing support positions. The new sites will be marketed under its ‘World’ brand, following on from the launch of national news site NationalWorld. They will be modelled on Lincolnshire World, a site set up to incorporate content from seven JPIMEdia weekly print titles in the county.

Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Glasgow sites will launch on 12 August, with four other titles – Birmingham, Bristol, London and Wales - to follow later.

The new sites will be video-led in partnership with Local TV Ltd, which is chaired by National World executive chairman David Montgomery and will deploy eight TV video journalists to support the JPIMedia teams in each city.

Mr Montgomery said: “We have the talent and resources to be a truly national network of local news brands. JPIMedia is at last throwing off the shackles of its geographical limitations to enter major UK communities that are underserved in serious local journalism.”