By Mary Stevens
Hurst: retiring chief reporter
Central News (South) is restructuring its team at the main office in Abingdon, Oxfordshire and its sub-office in Gloucester.
Tim Hurst, 61, is retiring from his position as chief reporter in Gloucester. He joined Central in 1988, having previously worked for the BBC in Southampton.
Richard Franklin is moving from Abingdon, where he is currently deputy news editor, to Gloucester to beef up planning and input and work on longer-term projects. He will also report occasionally.
Jim Stephens has been poached from Meridian Newbury, where he is currently news editor, to work on the Abingdon newsdesk alongside Geoff Barratt.
Onoszko: promoted to features
Jan Onoszko has been promoted to the new position of features reporter at Abingdon. Onoszko has been with Central News since obtaining a broadcast journalism diploma from Cardiff University in 1996.
Onoszko’s brief will be to work on original, self-generated pieces of journalism.
Editor Ian Rumsey said: “We’ve changed the agenda in the past 12 months to create a more news-based programme, and we’re now running more stories than ever before. I think that we now provide a high quality news programme.
“What I want to do, to take that on a stage further, is to run more part-one features that make people sit up and take notice and offer something slightly different.
“Over the next few weeks, we’re running investigations into student debt and the availability of credit, the advice given by health shops and the easy availability of prescription drugs.”
Last year, the programme had a complete relaunch with new studio, set and titles.
It broadcasts to six counties including Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Hereford-shire and Northampton.
Mary Stevens
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