David Fordham succeeds Michael Pelosi, managing director of Northcliffe Media, who has held the post for the past year. A new NS president is elected from the membership every year in July.
David Fordham said: “The NS continues to have an important role representing local media and it is a pleasure to have been elected as its president for the coming year.
“Like all media, the industry is experiencing unprecedented challenges as a result of the recession but we have also seen that the need for independent, grass roots news has never been greater.
“Local newspapers must to be allowed to continue to fight for the causes their readers believe in, and to continue to develop into truly multimedia news organisations in the digital age.”
He has been chief executive of Iliffe News and Media since 2003 and is a main board director of the publisher’s owner Yattendon Investment Trust.
He serves on the NS Council and is a member of the Marketing Committee and the Independent Publishers Forum.
David Fordham started his career in 1971 when he joined Cambridge Newspapers as a sales administration assistant before going on to hold various posts at Emap and Archant (formerly Eastern Counties Newspapers).
He was appointed chief executive of The Adscene Group in 1996 before returning to Yattendon Investment Trust as managing director of Cambridge Newspapers three years later.
