Owen Jones, Head of Content at the North Devon Journal explained why determination and perseverance makes a good reporter.
“A good reporter needs to be able to talk to people and empathise with them, to be able to see both sides of an argument and report them fairly and accurately” he continues.
Owen, 44, has been working as a journalist for 26 years, since he finished his A-Levels.
His first job was on his local paper, the Exmouth Journal, and he has since worked on the Plymouth Herald, the Gloucestershire Echo, and the Essex Chronicle.
Although he has had a successful career so far, he admits that shorthand held him back at the beginning.
“I had enormous trouble learning shorthand and difficulty reaching the 100 words per minute, so I’d advise to keep on practising those outlines!”
Owen admits that working on bigger publications were fun, but he currently enjoys his role as Head of Content.
“I’ve worked on bigger titles and they are great fun too – but a good story is a good story wherever you are working.”
Starting as an assistant editor at the North Devon Journal, Owen worked his way up through the paper to the position of production editor, and then to his current position.
Owen is currently living in Chapelton in North Devon, where he continues to work on Journal.
