Rankin Armstrong takes over the reins as editor of the News Letter
The News Letter has appointed Rankin Armstrong as its new editor. Darwin Templeton left the role (for UTV) nearly 12 months ago and since then Johnston Press has conducted an exhaustive [Ed - you mean exhausting?] search, including at least two rounds of interviews which included candidates from the newspaper group’s English operation.
Most recently the paper’s deputy editor, Rankin has spent around 40 years in journalism, spending time in the Irish News and Belfast Telegraph as well as local weeklies and the University of Ulster.
Over the next months he’ll have continue to address the 275 year old paper’s readership figures (running around half that of the Belfast Telegraph and Irish News), the impact of the withdrawal of NI Executive advertising, and Johnston Press’ “social, local, mobile” plan to bring online editions to a tablet device near you.
With JP’s financial position the ‘exhaustive search’ was possibly for someone who did not need a salary for the job.
My nephew Aubrey, bright as a button, only 13 and terminally ill asks if it is a tradition for the Newsletter to be edited by someone with a ‘weird name’. The poor wee mite has spent his entire life, such as it is, here in Irish Occupied Ireland and so is entirely ignorant of Northern affairs. Having said that, it does seem a bit odd that a previous editor was called Darwin given the statistical likelihood that a higher proportion of Creationists would read the Newsletter rather than say, the Irish News. Unless they were Papist Creationists of course.
good luck,and keep her lit.
Beware of anyone carrying two surnames…and in particular, the emphasis they place on the letter “R”
Couldn’t they just have got Nelson McCausland?
qwerty12345: Couldn’t they just have got Nelson McCausland?
Nelson wouldn’t follow Darwin – no way.