Mike Dodd, deputy editor of bi-monthly legal journal Media Lawyer, has been promoted to editor following the departure of its founder Tom Welsh.Mr Welsh steps down as editor as agreed when he sold the title to the Press Association Group three years ago.
The biggest challenge facing Mr Dodd is to match the high standards of his predecessor, Mr Welsh. "He will be a hard act to follow," he told journalism.co.uk, "but I am determined to ensure that the standard stays high while I shall also try to broaden the width of coverage of media law matters.
"My journalistic experience - more than 30 years - and legal training help me to produce what I think is a good quality product, particularly when it comes to picking the important principles and threads from complex judgments."
Mr Dodd has just celebrated 25 years as a news sub-editor at the Press Association (PA). Despite doing little sub-editing since his promotion, he still tries to maintain legal support for the editorial staff: "I deal with the legal queries which arise day by day on any newsdesk. I also spend some time challenging incorrect or unnecessary reporting restriction orders, or helping our reporters to challenge them."
His interest in journalism began after a short spell making bait-holders for rat traps before being told by his friend 'what fun journalism was'. He trained at the Surrey Herald in Chertsey before joining the PA where he worked on the news service for 18 months. He later worked on the newspaper The World (now called The Sowetan) in South Africa where he covered the riots of 1976 before returning to the PA.
"I think I learned more about newspapers in my two-and-a-half years there than in any comparable period of my career."
His advice to fellow journalists is to aim high and always believe that you can achieve your goals. "Do not be afraid to take chances... Remember that journalism is only a career."
More news from journalism.co.uk:
Press Association fills key multimedia post
PA creates key position
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