JOE Media is today announcing the signing of Tony Barrett as Chief Football Writer.
Barrett joins JOE.co.uk’s SportsJOE team from The Times, where he was North-West Football Correspondent, winning North-West Football Writer of the Year in 2015.
A familiar voice to football fans both here in Ireland and all around the world, his tireless work for over a decade on the Merseyside and north-west patch has earned him a reputation as the authority on football in the region, a reputation that’s earned him over 300,000 followers on Twitter.
Speaking to The Guardian, JOE.co.uk Editor Richard Beech said: “There’s not an editor in Ireland or the UK who wouldn’t be delighted to have Tony on board, so the fact he’s joined JOE is a huge testament to what we’re building. His name is synonymous with football in the north-west, he’s broken the biggest stories, worked tirelessly on his patch, and subsequently he’s seen as the authority on football in England’s proudest football region.”
The announcement comes just weeks after the hire of Rob Burnett as SportsJOE.co.uk Editor.
“Tony is one of the biggest names in football writing in this country and in an exclusive-laden career, first with the Liverpool Echo and then with the Times, he has become the authority on football on Merseyside,” said Burnett, previously Digital Sports Editor at the Mirror.
“His work is always must-read for fans of Liverpool and Everton and his Twitter feed is now one of the first places supporters check for breaking news on their clubs.
“His wealth of experience, bulging contacts book, great writing and fantastic social media presence will help us take JOE to the next level in terms of our football coverage.
“I can’t wait to be reading his work on our Irish and UK sites very soon.”
Barrett and Burnett are the latest in a wave of new hires at JOE, including Alex Finnis – previously Senior Writer at BuzzFeed – as Deputy Editor, Mike Wright – previously Deputy Head of Social Media at the Mirror – as Head of Social Media, Louise Emmerson – previously of BuzzFeed – as VP of Brand Partnerships, and a promotion for Nooruddean Choudry – Twitter’s @BeardedGenius – to Managing Editor of JOE.co.uk.
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