Paisley editor sets up media company

The editor of the UK’s fastest-growing regional morning – the Paisley Daily Express – is leaving the newspaper to set up his own media company.

Norman Macdonald, 46, has been editor of the title since 1995, and in the past five years the circulation has increased from 8,200 to more than 11,000.

His new Paisley-based company – Macdonald Media – has already picked up PR accounts and external and in-house publication contracts.

Macdonald trained on the Bedfordshire Times and Bedfordshire Record before joining the Ayrshire Post as a reporter in 1977. He moved to the Paisley Daily Express as a reporter in 1982 and became news editor before joining the Scottish Daily Record as a reporter in 1988 and was latterly assistant news editor before returning to the Paisley Daily Express as editor.

As editor, Macdonald has stressed that the ability of a regional newspaper to become “embedded” into a community is fundamental to its circulation success.

“There’s no real secret to it – good stories sell papers. I am a great believer that content is the most important part of the product. If we have murder and mayhem on the front-page, then we are careful to have a mix inside with some softer stuff.”