Jonathan Turner: My day as Business Editor of The Yorkshire Post

As someone who has spent their career either avoiding or courting the Press I had no choice today as I was thrust into the spotlight and turfed Bernard Ginns, the previous Business Editor, out of his chair.

Very kindly our Bayford Group Chairman (my Uncle John) had been successful in The Yorkshire Post Christmas Charity Auction for a ‘Day as Business Editor’ had asked me if i would like to take his place. Readers raised £17,000 for Scarborough RNLI.

Redundant for the day Bernard gave me a whirlwind tour of The Yorshire Post fiefdom before throwing me in at the deep end and asking me to present the potential business news stories at the 11am team conference. I tried to throw one of the stories out as “boring” but was rightly told that financial services was not boring to all their readers. There is a wonderful sense of teamwork as the journalists juggle various opportunites as Nicola Furbisher the managing editor holds court.

I was lucky enough to be able to grab some time with Nicola and learn a bit more about how Johnston Press is structured and what they are trying to achieve for their customers.

Dating back to 1754 The Yorkshire Post has a wonderful archive of every printed word since that date. It is the custodian of so much if not most of our history and as a result is no doubt a valuable source of reserach material for many.

Bernard and his colleagues talk with real passion about the businesses in the region and their role in collating the news across so many diverse industries. I was struck by how small the team is across both newspapers and their ability to produce so much within so little time.

I was made to feel very welcome by all and genuinely felt to be part of the editorial effort. I will hand Bernard his job back soon Jonatand I will really miss it.