THE Border Watch Newsgroup has a new editor.
He is 29-year-old Brett Kennedy who will replace Jason Wallace after he resigned his position just before Christmas.
Mr Kennedy’s appointment was announced today by the board of directors.
He took up his new position yesterday and becomes just the 15th editor of The Border Watch in 157 years of operation.
The directors were unanimous in their decision to appoint Mr Kennedy.
A statement from directors said “Brett joined the newspaper as a cadet journalist a little more than 10 years ago and has been a dedicated, hard working journalist in that time.
“His career has been watched with great interest by directors and we believe he is the right person for the job.
“Directors believe that he and the new chief of staff, who will be appointed later in the new year, have a great opportunity to take the newspaper into the modern era.
“Brett was born and bred in Mount Gambier, educated locally and is well known in sporting and community circles, playing in a North A grade football premiership three years ago.
“Directors believe that with his enthusiasm and the talent we have in the 46 staff we employ the newspaper will continue to play an important part of the local communication industry.”
The directors also paid tribute to Jason Wallace who joined the newspaper in 2006 and had been editor since 2010.
The newspaper won four successive SA Country Press Newspaper Of The Year Awards under his editorship.
As editor he also oversaw the development of the three mastheads the company owned – The Border Watch, South Eastern Times and The Pennant (Penola).
The directors said they and staff wished Mr Wallace every success in his future endeavours.
Mr Kennedy lives in the Blue Lake city with wife Lynsey and their one-year-old daughter Harriet.
After completing his cadetship he continued in the sports department before moving onto the news desk where he made his mark covering with great distinction, the anti-fracking issue and also the City Council round.
He then moved into sports sub-editing and design before being appointed chief of staff last year.
“It is an honour to be appointed editor of The Border Watch – a newspaper which gives a voice to the region I have always called home,” Mr Kennedy said.
“Over the past decade I have seen first-hand the positive difference a community driven newspaper can make and I hope to build on that legacy.
“I enter the role with confidence thanks to the backing of a diverse and talented newsroom which proudly delivers local news across three mastheads and seven editions each week.”
General manager Dennis Jackson said he was excited that Mr Kennedy had taken up the editor’s position.
“It is well deserved and I look forward to him being a part of the management team as The Border Watch newspaper group progress with plans to roll out some new products in 2019 across our media platforms.”
