Doing the business for a day to remember

Barrie Harmer had that power and also gained an insight into the cut-and-thrust lifestyle of the Yorkshire Post's business reporting team when he became Business Editor for a day.

He found out what it was like to sift through hundreds of emails, stock exchange announcements and agency copy in order to produce award-winning journalism.

Mr Harmer attended two editorial conferences with Yorkshire Post editor Peter Charlton and other heads of department to discuss the content of the next day's Yorkshire Post.

Mr Harmer, the operations director with Leeds-based RPS planning and development, won five lots in the Yorkshire Post's Christmas Charity Auction, sponsored by Grant Thornton, which raised 26,000 for the Prince's Trust.

Mr Harmer, from York, donated more than 800 and, apart from becoming Business Editor for a day, he picked up a year's supply of Seabrook crisps, a round of golf, the chance to ride on the footplate at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, and 100 tickets to see a private performance of Shakespeare's As You Like It at Ripley Castle.

Mr Harmer said his day as Business Editor had been "most enjoyable and enlightening".

He added: "It's provided a behind-the-scenes insight

into what makes the news. I've seen at first hand the pressures of newspaper deadlines.

"It's important to maintain a flexible approach to the whole potential news picture."

The cash raised from the charity auction will go towards helping disadvantaged young people across Yorkshire to take part in training programmes or set up their own business.