David Jennings has been appointed as Head of Regional and Local Programmes for BBC West Midlands, overseeing local radio in the area.
He replaces Catherine Hearne who announced last month that she would be leaving the BBC in the autumn to take up a new career.
David is currently Head of Region in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and has previously worked in newspapers, in commercial radio as a reporter and a presenter, and ran two different ITV news operations in Norwich and Newcastle, before joining the BBC in 2009.
David says: “I’m delighted to be joining this region which is so pivotal to both BBC English Regions and the BBC as a whole. I’m looking forward to working closely with the teams here in order to develop the site, our partnerships and our reputation as an editorial powerhouse. I can’t wait to get started.”
As a result of David’s appointment, the role of Head of Region for East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire will close and management of the region will be undertaken by Helen Thomas who will also continue in her current role as Head of Region, BBC Yorkshire.
David Holdsworth, Controller, English Regions, said “We are not combining BBC Yorkshire region with East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire – far from it. Each region will retain their distinctive identities and our commitment to audiences remains unaffected. There will be no impact on either news delivery or staffing levels in either region. This move is part of our on-going commitment to a reduction in management costs as part of our Delivering Quality First targets.”
The changes will take place from October.
Posted on Monday, July 22nd, 2013 at 2:07 pm by RadioToday UK