Leading a Cork institution... meet the new editor of The Echo and EchoLive.ie

FOR the first time in this newspaper’s 131-year history, there’s a female editor at the helm. Gráinne McGuinness took over the role from Maurice Gubbins, who retired in May after 40 years with the Examiner group - 20 of which were as editor of The Echo.

It’s an exciting time to be leading The Echo and EchoLive.ie - a six-day print operation and a 24/7 online offering of local news, views, sport, features and entertainment. It is a challenge that Gráinne is really looking forward to.

A BIT OF BACKGROUND

Gráinne, who originally hails from Limerick, but is living in Kinsale, is married to Damien. She is a mother-of-one and describes her daughter as her “pride and joy”.

“I am lucky to have an incredibly supportive family. Both Damien and Rebecca encouraged me to go for the editor role and were thrilled when I got it.”

She describes herself as a “blow-in to Cork” who is very grateful to be given the chance to lead a Cork institution as important and iconic as The Echo!

“But I have loved Cork since I first came to UCC as a teenager in the late ’90s, I have been living here for many years now and it is most definitely home!

“My parents were publicans and I grew up living above the village pub in Limerick. I think it was a great upbringing, in the sense that I was used to chatting to different people and dealing with different personalities from an early age.

“My parents, Phil and Aidan, have retired from the pub now. I am very close to them and go to Limerick regularly, sure it is only up the road from our office here in Blackpool.”

LIFE IN THE MEDIA

Gráinne has been working in journalism since 2014, when she joined the Irish Examiner group as a journalist with breakingnews.ie. Before that she worked in banking.

“I had always had an interest in newspapers and reporting, I was a voracious reader from a young age, and after school I did a degree in English and Computer Science at UCC with a view to getting into journalism.

“But I got a job in AIB soon after finishing college and ended up staying there for eight years. I worked in a number of branches around Cork, including Kinsale, Douglas and Blarney. I was working in the bank at a time of huge upheaval in Irish society with the financial crash and recession.”

Redundancy offered her a chance to follow her dream.

“I took redundancy from the bank when it was offered in 2013 and decided this was my chance to go after my dream career in journalism. 

Sometimes I pinch myself when I think of where I am now and the work I get to do.

“If you told 12-year-old me I would become editor of a daily paper, or even told me after I left the bank and tried to figure out a way to break into journalism, I really don’t think I would have believed you!

“I had already started a course in journalism when I saw the opportunity with breakingnews.ie, I applied and was thrilled to get it. When I started, I worked initially in the sports section but I was very keen to break into news and soon got a chance to do so.

“The next big change for me was when a reporting role came up in The Echo in 2017. Since then I have worked as a reporter, a desk editor and now editor with The Echo and EchoLive.ie.”

Over the years, Gráinne has also been books editor for The Echo and for several years had a personal finance column in the Irish Examiner, where her banking background and knowledge came in handy. 

So I have worked in a variety of areas within journalism, which is very useful for my new role as editor.

“It is by far the biggest challenge of my career to date. I am relishing it and I think the fact that I have written and reported for various sections gives me a good understanding of the different challenges each department has.”

MAKING HISTORY

Gráinne is the first female editor of the newspaper.

“I hadn’t thought too much about being the first female editor when I applied for the role,” she said.

“I love working here, I love The Echo and what it means to Cork and to our readers, and I really wanted the chance to lead the team as we face into all the challenges that lie ahead. So that’s what I was thinking about when I applied.

“Maurice Gubbins is a wonderful journalist and had been editor of The Echo for more than 20 years. He was such a fantastic leader and left such big boots to fill, it was going to be a challenge for whoever got the role, regardless of gender.

“But that said, we all know the importance of seeing women in leadership roles, and how that helps younger women and girls see leadership as a viable option for them. So it is great to be in this position.”

CHALLENGES AHEAD

The Echo, as with all media outlets, is facing major challenges and changes in the years ahead.

Gráinne said: “My role is to lead the team as we navigate through the challenges. Online coverage is becoming more and more important when it comes to news coverage, and we have seen huge changes in how we operate in recent years, as we move to maintaining a 24/7 news website, EchoLive.ie, in addition to producing our daily newspaper.

We are lucky in that the people of Cork, who have been loyal readers of The Echo for more than a century, are also taking EchoLive.ie to their hearts.

“We have seen phenomenal growth in readership for the website in recent years and now get well in excess of a million pageviews a week – which is a tremendous achievement for a local news outlet. It just shows the passion that is there from Cork people, for dedicated and well-researched stories about the issues in Cork.

“Our challenge in the years ahead is to continue that growth and to continue to develop different ways of reporting the news and telling Cork stories – to match how people now consume news.”

One of the ways in which The Echo is doing that is through initiatives like podcasting.

“A fantastic example of that is our new Echo Sport Podcast. We launched it in July, with the initial focus on the local GAA club championships. It has had such a successful start and we have received really positive feedback on it. Our audience are embracing it, and it is a new way of us sharing the analysis and sports coverage that The Echo has always been known for. 

It is one of a number of new initiatives we have planned and we are looking forward to bringing our Cork audience with us.

UPCOMING EVENT

One forthcoming event Gráinne is really excited about is The Echo Women’s Mini Marathon, which takes place on Sunday, September 17.

“This is one day when I think being a woman and the editor will feel extra-special,” she said.

“I have been doing the mini marathon (walking it!) for years with my friends. It is such a great event, with millions raised for charity. And it also so closely associated with The Echo and with The Echo’s long commitment to women’s sport. So, to be at the start line as editor will be a genuine thrill, I can’t wait!”

She is encouraging anyone who hasn’t signed up yet, to take part.

For details see https://www.echolive.ie/minimarathon/

HOBBIES

All the above is enough to keep Gráinne extremely busy in her new role, however she does enjoy some hobbies too in her downtime.

“I’m not going to lie, the challenges of this job don’t leave a lot of time for hobbies! I do read a lot and I am part of the organising committee for Words By Water, an annual literary festival in Kinsale, so that takes a fair bit of my spare time.

“I am a terrible cook (as my family will attest) so when everyone got really into baking during lockdown, I had to find a different hobby. I started knitting, which I do like, but I have been working on the same jumper for 18 months now so I think it barely counts as a hobby!

“Other than that, I love meals out, cinema and the occasional play. We are blessed in Cork to have so many brilliant venues, I love a trip to the Everyman or Opera House and was blown away by a one-man play I saw in Cork Arts Theatre in the last few weeks. We are spoilt for choice.”