Brand Republic, news site for the advertising and marketing industries, has recently appointed two new journalists to join its growing team.

Sarah Woods, former reporter for the Richmond and Twickenham Times newspaper, has been appointed senior reporter and Alex Donohue, former freelancer working across the Big Issue Cymru and various regional newspapers, has joined as a reporter.

Ms Woods' new role, which commenced on 7 March, will see her covering advertising and marketing industries. The biggest challenge facing her is the adjustment from weekly deadlines to hourly ones.

Mr Donohue will cover national and regional press and PR news stories for the website.

Prior to joining Brand Republic, he worked for titles such as Gigwise and Northampton Chronicle & Echo.

Their advice to fellow journalists is to gain work experience and prepare to work hard once you have completed your training.

Mr Donohue advises: "Pester your local newspaper for work experience and shifts on the news desk.

"If you really want to stand out, stick to the daily newspapers in your region - local knowledge is always appreciated by editors."

Ms Woods added: "Be prepared to endure a low wage for a little while and to work your way up. So many people think they're going to come straight out of training and on to work on one of the broadsheets and it rarely turns out that way."

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