Tribune man is new head of newspaper body

Mr McGuire, who succeeds David Ryan of the Nenagh Guardian as President of Local Ireland, had served as Vice-President of the Association for the past two years. He was elected at the association’s Annual General Meeting last week.

Mr McGuire said he was honoured to be appointed as President of Local Ireland at what he described as a crucial time for news publishers.

“Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the Irish media landscape and the crisis caused by the fall-out from the pandemic has exposed the fragility of the industry,” he said.

“I believe there is a continued strong demand for the printed product in rural Ireland as our readers overwhelmingly view the printed copy as an essential service for their community.

“Regional audiences are loyal and develop life-long patterns of engaging with local newspapers in the areas where they live and work or have a sense of connection,” he added.

But he warned that local news publishers needed support from Government to develop strategies to aid that transition to digital formats and act to ensure the survival of the printed product.

“This is vital for our communities and our democracy,” he said.

“I will be working closely with all stakeholders to advance the positioning of news publishers in their public service role. Our members bring a professionalism to regional journalism that informs, educates and entertains the public throughout every county of Ireland,” he added.

Mr McGuire is Operations Manager of the Connacht Tribune Group, which publishes this newspaper and also owns Galway Bay FM. He has served on the Local Ireland Executive for a number of years and is a former board member of the Advertising Authority of Ireland.

A native of Ballina, Co Mayo, he has worked in a variety of roles with numerous newspaper titles around the country.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now – or you can download our digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie