Mike Hughes

I am a widely-experienced media professional, having worked for more than 35 years in every stage of the business, from junior reporter to senior newspaper executive

to PR consultant.

I have built a reputation for hard work, loyalty and management skills respected by staff at all levels, and have successfully led a number

of major projects alongside a proven track record as a designer and manager.

My ability to develop my own skills to keep ahead of rapid changes has enabled me to

continually be a major asset to my employers at any level and in any media

from digital to print.

Skills

PROJECTS: At Birmingham, two major transition projects to bring in DPS Typecraft and then Contentwatch editorial systems involved full staff liaison programmes, daily meetings with developers and boardroom presentations – always against the tightest of timetables and budgets.

I was also one of three lead executives rolling out a full-scale move to new offices on the other side of the city at the same time as Trinity Mirror went through a radical cost-cutting programme involving the loss of around a third of the staff.

I was responsible for restructuring the Birmingham Post twice. The first took it from a broadsheet to a compact and the second from a daily to a weekly. I ran both projects, reporting only to my editor. Each was a complete root and branch transformation involving editorial advertising, marketing, newspaper sales, production, print slots and distribution.

As the lead superuser for Middlesbrough, I played a key role in the Contentwatch development strategy for staff, rolling out processes and organising training timetables across all departments and compiling training policies as well as supervising the live delivery of the new systems.

I was one of a team of superusers for the North-east, which redesigned all the region’s newspapers and brought in InDesign templates to rationalise the production process, all as part of a successful nationwide rollout schedule covering all of Trinity Mirror’s regional centres.

PEOPLE: As a very hands-on manager, I have been responsible for a large part of my office workload each day. I have designed and edited pages every day as well as managing reporters and production staff.

I have also been responsible for longer-term strategies such as Performance Development Reviews to develop essential skills and identify potential among newsroom staff.

In my PR work, I liaise closely at boardroom level with my clients and have been able to quickly build up excellent relationships with senior staff across the North East.

COMMERCIAL: At Middlesbrough, I led the business team, developing relationships and products to maintain strong links with companies across Teesside and protecting revenue streams by making sure the Gazette was always a first choice for business advertising and sponsorship options.

At Recognition PR, my targets were directly linked to the success of the company and I further developed an already strong instinct for commercial values, quickly understanding the individual needs of businesses and helping them grow with a continuous flow of revenue-driven opportunities to increase their profile, and an overriding focus on social media.

Dates2015 to present: Freelance media servicesSet up my own business providing editorial, design, mentoring, training, PR and communications services across various sectors.

2014 to 2015: Recognition PR, DarlingtonI was a consultant for this high-profile PR business which has more than 80 clients across the country. I personally led a variety of accounts in sectors such as cloud computing, logistics, recycling, subsea engineering and utilities.

2010-2014: Gazette Media, MiddlesbroughJoined as Business Editor of the Evening Gazette. Promoted to Senior Editorial Executive responsible for Sport, Business and Features and then became a Print Production Editor as part of Trinity Mirror’s Newsroom 2.0 initiative.

2010: Mike Hughes Media Advisers, DarlingtonSet up my own company producing news stories for local companies and preparing media training for personnel at EDF Energy.

1989-2009: Birmingham Post, Fort DunlopJoined as deputy chief sub, with particular responsibility for the business pages. Promoted to chief sub, assistant editor and then executive editor, running a full room of reporters, desk heads and designers.

1988-1989: Lancashire Evening Post, PrestonSub editor and page designer.

1978-1988: Ormskirk Advertiser Group, LancashireJoined my local newspaper group from the NCTJ course at Preston as a reporter. Promoted to run the Skelmersdale office and was then trained to become one of three sub-editors/page designers producing three weekly newspapers.

Outside workI was selected for the year-long Common Purpose course for sector leaders in Birmingham and have also volunteered as an adviser with the Media Trust and as an ambassador with the Durham Education Business Partnership.I am married to Hilary and we spend a lot of our free time renovating our home. I also enjoy gardening and relax by walking our dog. I’m a daily user of LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

MIKE HUGHESBriarwood, 14 Blackwell,

Darlington, Co Durham, DL3 8QY

Phone: 01325 380857

Mobile: 07808 718437

michaelahughes1960@gmail.com

@mikehughes

Contact me