Irish News editor Noel Doran is preparing to step down after 25 years in post.
Doran is believed to be the current longest-serving daily newspaper editor in the UK and Ireland. Before him, that title would have gone to ex-Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre who served for 26 years.
Doran has overseen the production of more than 7,000 editions of the Belfast-based paper and will continue to have a “close association” with it, according to a statement.
He said: “It has been a great honour to edit The Irish News for the last quarter of a century and help to chronicle the changes which have swept across our society since the Good Friday Agreement.
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“I have been very fortunate to work with many outstanding journalists who have rightly earned the trust of our loyal readers, and I am particularly grateful for the unstinting support of our CEO Dominic Fitzpatrick, and his late father, our chairman Jim Fitzpatrick, throughout my time with the paper.”
Doran, who was voted the best regional editor of the 21st century in 2020, will stand down in early 2024 after a new editor has been appointed.
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In the second half of 2022, the Irish News had an average ABC circulation of 25,398, down 8% year-on-year, making it the second highest-circulated regional newspaper in the UK after the Aberdeen Press & Journal on 26,746. The Irish News claims to have 151,000 average daily readers in total.
Dominic Fitzpatrick, chief executive of the newspaper’s owner Into Media Group, said: “The Irish News expresses deep gratitude to Noel for his exceptional dedication and service to our organisation. His remarkable contributions have left an indelible mark on the paper’s legacy. It has been a privilege to work alongside him and I am certain he will look back on his extensive track record here with a sense of enormous pride.”
The publisher also praised Doran for steering the newspaper through a “significant transformation” over the past two years.
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