Reach plc – Head of Content (Video, Audio and Social Strategy) – 2023 to 2025
UK’s largest commercial news publisher (120+ UK and US titles: Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star, OK! Magazine, Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo)
Directly led a 53-person team covering branded content, podcasts, video, Mirror Gaming and two new Gen Z brands. Held revenue targets in the £5–10m range across on-platform video, off-platform video, podcast earnings and branded content deals.
Accomplishments:
- Scaled video to 3.6 billion views in 2024 (Conviva) with +200% revenue growth.
- Built, activated or scaled 15 brand YouTube channels across Reach plc’s national, regional and Studio titles, hiring and personally training a dedicated 10-person YouTube channel layer in 2024. YouTube became Reach Studio’s largest on-platform video revenue line during my tenure; YouTube revenue +14% YoY and overall video views +20% YoY. YouTube Lives became Reach’s top YouTube revenue stream through a data-driven strategy.
- Won and delivered multiple £1m+ commercial campaigns including Tesco and Allwyn/National Lottery; secured Crown Paints as exclusive sponsor of football vodcast Euro Thrash (1M+ YouTube views).
- Ran the Originals slate end-to-end and managed the development pipeline. Ideated, launched, produced and delivered multiple new shows and podcasts, including Euro Thrash, Won in a Million, Poll Position, Party Games, On The Edge, The Division Bell and Back from the Brink, alongside continuing long-running franchises like News Agenda, Northern Agenda and Pride of Britain coverage.
- Pivoted Curiously and Hear Me Out, Reach’s two Gen Z brands, into a focused entertainment offer and a presenter-led news/politics offer.
- Grew Mirror TikTok from 66,600 to over 1 million followers and Newcastle Chronicle TikTok +464% by hiring a new Head of Social Creative and setting a strong-video, breaking-news distribution approach.
- Restructured OK! Magazine’s celebrity interview workflow to include video forethought.
- Launched the Mirror Politics TikTok account, which subsequently became the #1 most-watched UK news publisher TikTok of the 2024 General Election.
- Maintained direct platform-partner relationships across YouTube, Meta, TikTok, X, Pinterest, LinkedIn. These were key contacts for performance, growth and product opportunities across the business.
- Org design at scale: repositioned dozens of roles across the editorial sub-team, changed contracts and titles, made multiple new senior hires, and standardised salaries and working hours.
- Championed AI in the newsroom and helped govern its adoption. Founding advisor to Reach’s AI Steering Committee. Built multiple company-wide training programmes, including community standards, online safety, and self-shoot video for journalists.
Recognition (Head of Content era): WINNER, Online Video Journalism, British Journalism Awards 2024 (with team); WINNER, Audience Development Team of the Year, AOP Awards 2024 (WhatsApp Publishing); SHORTLISTED, Best Use of Data, AOP Awards 2025 (Reddit strategy); SHORTLISTED, Best Media Idea AND Innovation & Creative Excellence, Media Week Awards 2025 (Tesco/Lotto/Reddit); SHORTLISTED, Publisher Podcast Awards 2025 (News Agenda, Northern Agenda, Euro Thrash, Won in a Million); SHORTLISTED, AOP Awards 2024 (Best Use of Audio, Best Content Marketing Campaign); SHORTLISTED, Best Online Video, Future of Media Awards 2024.
Reach plc – Group Head of Social Media – 2019 to 2023
Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star, OK! Magazine
Built and ran social media and video for Reach’s national titles, growing the department from 5 people to 45. My remit included social, video, audio, direct messaging (WhatsApp), newsletters, moderation, social marketing. 7am–11pm seven-day operation across four titles.
Accomplishments:
- Reach Nationals’ Facebook pages became the most engaged news pages in the world in 2021 (NewsWhip, November 2022) under my direction.
- Daily Star’s Liz Truss lettuce livestream (October 2022) – I was the critical decision maker and strategic lead behind the global phenomenon. 1.7 million concurrent viewers by Truss’s resignation; 1.8 billion total impressions; now in the BFI national archive.
- Introduced WhatsApp Channels and Communities to Reach. Onboarded the company ahead of competitors via Meta partner relationships. Ran rollout across the four national titles (breaking news, entertainment, royal, plus topic-specific communities like Love Island) and the US titles. Reach-wide programme won Best Innovation, Future of Media Awards 2023.
- Introduced TikTok Shop to Reach during the publisher early-access window – through TikTok partner relationship, Reach became one of the first UK publishers eligible.
- Built Reach’s YouTube channel portfolio across nationals and regionals – activated dormant channels (Express, Daily Star, Liverpool Echo), continued growth on running channels (Mirror, OK!, Manchester Evening News) and laid groundwork on the regional cohort (Wales Online, Daily Record, Bristol Live, Birmingham Live, Newcastle Chronicle, MyLondon) and the Mirror Gaming and Mirror Football brand channels.
Recognition (Group Head era): WINNER, Bronze Award, Cannes Lions 2023 (Daily Star’s Lettuce); WINNER, Social Media Team of the Year, The Drum Awards 2023 (Lettuce); WINNER, Best Innovation, Future of Media Awards 2023 (WhatsApp Channels and Communities); SHORTLISTED, Future of Media Awards 2023 (Audience Growth, Best Video); SHORTLISTED, AOP Awards 2023 (Best Use of Video, Best Audience Growth); News Awards 2020: Commended, Outstanding Use of Social Media.
Daily Mirror – Head of Social Media – 2017 to 2019
Led social and newsletters for the Mirror titles. Built the team into newsroom experts in distribution and headline optimisation, delivering record traffic and engagement. One notable moment included moderating a live audience Q&A with Jeremy Corbyn, Reach Fest 2018. 30 Under 30: Young Journalists to Watch 2018 – highly commended.
MailOnline – Social Media Editor – 2016 to 2017
Social media and direct messaging for the world’s most-visited English-language news website. Social-first content creation, audience analytics, global stakeholder liaison.
HELLO! Magazine – Head of Social Media – 2015 to 2016
Social media, content distribution, SEO, audience insights and newsletter operations for HELLO! and HELLO! Fashion Monthly. Live-streamed outside the Lindo Wing for Princess Charlotte’s birth.