Alastair Milburn, deputy editor of Wales’s national morning newspaper, The Western Mail, has been appointed editor of sister evening, the South Wales Echo.
His brief will be to look at the circulation of the Cardiff-based Echo, now selling around 68,500 copies a day.
"We are very anxious to maintain its campaigning community feel," Milburn told Press Gazette. "There has been an emphasis on campaigning for Cardiff and South Wales.
"I am obviously delighted to be taking up such a prestigious role. These are exciting times for South Wales, and for Cardiff in particular, and the Echo is at the forefront of so much of that activity."
Born in Bristol, Milburn arrived in the Welsh capital at the age of four months and considers himself "very much a Cardiff boy".
He first joined the Mail in 1991, becoming deputy news editor in 1993.
In 1997, he became news editor of Wales on Sunday. He returned to the Western Mail in 1999 as assistant editor and was promoted to deputy editor in June of this year.
Milburn’s promotion sees Mark Waldron, No2 at the South Wales Echo, move to the Mail as its deputy editor.
Waldron has been editing the Echo since previous editor Robin Fletcher left last August.
Keith Dye, managing director of Western Mail and Echo, said: "Alastair has accumulated a wealth of knowledge about the region and I am confident that the drive and enthusiasm he will bring to the post will ensure that the Echo continues to thrive."
By Jean Morgan
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