Former newspaper editor takes on communications manager role at the NCTJ

New NCTJ communications manager Franki Berry

Former local newspaper editor Franki Berry has been appointed as the NCTJ’s communications manager for the next year.

She will cover Emma Robinson’s maternity leave, which is set to start in August.

In her new role, Franki will work with Joanne Butcher, the NCTJ’s chief executive, and the senior team, to implement the NCTJ’s marketing and communications strategy, as well as co-ordinating campaigns, managing events and championing the charity’s projects.

This includes promoting and increasing awareness of the Community News Project and the Journalism Diversity Fund.

Franki previously edited Archant’s titles in east London – the Barking and Dagenham Post, East London Advertiser and Recorder series – before she took a six-month career break last November and moved to the Alps.

Franki, who came back to the UK in April, said: “I’m really excited to get started and stuck back in.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to work with a vibrant team and with such a crucial player in the journalism industry.”

Having completed her NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Lambeth College, Franki landed her first journalism job in 2016 as a trainee reporter on the Saffron Walden Reporter, gaining her National Qualification in Journalism in 2018.

She went on to become a digital reporter at the Travel Trade Gazette and chief reporter at Archant’s north London titles, before taking on her first editorship in east London in March 2021. Newsquest acquired Archant in March 2022.

Emma Robinson, marketing and communications manager at the NCTJ, said: “We are delighted to welcome Franki to the NCTJ as our new communications manager.

“Franki brings with her a wealth of experience and expertise in the field of journalism, and I’m confident that the NCTJ’s communications activities and campaigns will be in a safe pair of hands while I am on maternity leave.

“It is great to see Franki’s passion and dedication to promoting the values of quality journalism and training.”