Journalism graduate David Powles reflects on his time at the University

BA (Hons) Journalism, 1998

UCLan Journalism graduate, David Powles, has fulfilled his dream of becoming Editor of his home town publication, the Norwich Evening News and Eastern Daily Press.

At the age of 16, David was inspired by a careers talk at his school where a journalist was featured. Journalism was a profession he’d never considered up until that point, but he thought it sounded “really enjoyable and such an adventure”. When it came to choosing his undergraduate course of study, David was attracted to the journalism degree at UCLan due to the fact it had the best reputation at the time for journalism courses.

After graduating from BA (Hons) Journalism in 1998, David remained in Preston and worked at the Lancashire Post for two years. David then went travelling for a year and upon his return, took up a job with the Burton Mail. Following this, he moved back to his home town where he gained employment at the Norwich Evening News as a Reporter. David spent 13 years working in the Norfolk newsroom in different jobs as a News Editor, Digital Editor and Chief Content Editor. He also spent a year on secondment to set up a company investigations unit.

In 2016, David became Editor of the Norwich Evening News and Eastern Daily Press, where he oversees the newspaper and websites of two daily newspapers and several weekly publications. He cites this role as his greatest achievement to date. 

David is particularly proud of the company’s long-running Mental Health Watch campaign, which has received awards and recognition locally and nationally. He also founded ‘Norfolk Day’, a celebration of what makes Norfolk so special.

Reflecting on his time at UCLan, David said: “UCLan is a brilliant University in what was then a brilliant town (now a brilliant city I’m sure). I loved the fact everything was so central, it made it really intimate and meant that you saw people wherever you went.”

David felt that his Journalism degree was instrumental in his career achievements. He added: ”I honestly believe I owe so much to the UCLan course. It was so hands on that when I entered the industry, I felt it gave me a really good head start on other people.”

When asked what advice he would give to graduates and prospective students wanting to work in journalism, David said: “It's a great industry to work in and a heck of a lot of fun.”