Reach says during Darren’s tenure at the Manchester Evening News, he has been at the forefront of some of the biggest changes in the transformation from print to digital publishing.
Darren had most recently been working on UK-wide strategic projects as Marketplace Publisher, reporting to Chief Operating Officer Alan Edmunds.
He was editor-in-chief of the Manchester Evening News from 2018-2022, during which time its digital audience accelerated rapidly, reaching 1 in 3 Brits a month and generating well over 1bn page views a year, says the publisher.
Before Manchester, he spent six years as editor-in-chief in Newcastle and the North East. It was here in 2014 that he led the introduction of a pioneering digital-first newsroom model that was later adopted across the UK.
Darren was editor of the Teesside Gazette between 2005 and 2011. He was launch editor of GazetteLive in 2006, the first website brand of its kind that has since become standard in most UK regions. Under his leadership, the Gazette was twice named the best website in Britain and launched an innovative series of postcode-driven hyperlocal sites. He joined Reach (then Trinity Mirror) in 2003 in a group-wide role as editorial development manager.
Darren is a former president of the Northern branch of the Society of Editors and has served as a trustee of several charities, including the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, which distributed more than £20m to survivors and bereaved families of the Arena bomb in 2017.
Darren said: “Over the years, I’ve had the great privilege of working with brilliant editorial and commercial teams across several regions in an industry packed with pace, energy and creativity.
“I’ve learned from the best in the business in gaining the leadership experience needed to become editor-in-chief of Britain’s biggest regional news brand.
“Those experiences have given me a few ideas about what I’d like to do next and I’m very excited about taking on some new opportunities and achieving new goals.
“I’m thankful to Reach and all my colleagues for the success we’ve shared together.”
Chief digital publisher at Reach, David Higgerson, said: "Darren has been a leading figure not just within Reach, but within regional journalism, as it has reinvented itself for online platforms over the last decade.
"His passion for making sure newsrooms in Newcastle, Teesside and latterly Manchester embraced new digital storytelling tools to make sure great journalism was read by as many people as possible helped shape the way many newsrooms beyond his own now connect with readers online. On a personal level, it's been a privilege to work with someone as committed, curious and determined as Darren for over a decade."
Reach Chief Operating Officer Alan Edmunds added: "Darren has been a superb leader and a wonderful colleague. He leaves with our tremendous thanks and very best wishes."
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