Executive Editor of The Independent
Jacqui was recently appointed Executive Editor at The Independent. She is an experienced newsroom leader with a particular passion for building communities, developing direct relationships with readers and telling stories that matter.
Previously Director of AI at Mail Metro Media, she was responsible for leading AI strategy, adoption and transformation in the commercial team. She was also responsible for commercial and editorial integration at the Daily Mail, Metro, The i Paper and New Scientist, giving her valuable insights into the newsroooms, revenue generation and media partnerships.
Prior to this, Jacqui held numerous roles at Reach Plc, including Editor in Chief of the Live network (South) and Audience and Content Director for the South West. She was the launch editor of CornwallLive and introduced the first happiness correspondent to a UK newsroom. She was later appointed Discovery Director at Reach plc, responsible for developing new audiences and leading SEO strategy across their network of more than 50 regional news brands.
She started her career with a brief spell at the Coleraine Chronicle in Northern Ireland, before moving on to the Press Association. After a short period at ITV News, she joined the Nottingham Post as deputy news editor and was appointed editor of The Cornishman newspaper in Penzance in 2009.
She holds a Masters in Journalism Innovation Leadership with distinction from the University of Lancashire, where she delved deep into journalism sustainability and the tensions between audience perceptions and newsroom adoption of artificial intelligence. Her final thesis was entitled ‘Who cares if AI writes the news?’