Mark Wray joins the Press Association as Head of PA Training
8 June 2016: Mark Wray has been named Head of PA Training, the arm of the Press Association (PA) which focusses on developing journalists and media professionals. He joins PA from the BBC Academy and will take up his new position from 25 July 2016, reporting to Andrew Dowsett, Chief Operating Officer of PA Group.
He will replace Tony Johnston who will step down from the role at the end of June to take a career break.
Currently Head of Training at the BBC Academy, Mark leads around 80 training personnel, delivering face-to-face and e-learning programmes to approximately 20,000 BBC staff, freelancers and external clients around the world. He is also part of the BBC’s Executive Coaching Network, and a coaching supervisor.
Mark has spent the past 10 years in training roles at the BBC including Head of the College of Journalism. Prior to that, he was a senior news editor at BBC 5 Live and had also worked in regional television and local radio. His career in journalism began in 1980 as a trainee reporter on a local newspaper in east London.
In addition to his responsibilities at the BBC Academy, Mark is Chairman of the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) Eurovision Academy, working to build the broadcast media skills of EBU members across the continent. He is a member of the Qualifications Board of the National Council for the Training of Journalists, as well as the Education Committee of the Royal Television Society, and a founder member of the Radio and Audio Skills Council. He recently became a Fellow of the Learning and Performance Institute.
In his new role as Head of PA Training, Mark’s remit will include expanding the reach of PA’s training courses with new online and blended-learning options. He will seek to ensure the portfolio of courses on offer from PA Training remains ambitious and innovative to address the growing demand for digital, video and broadcasting skills across the media sector.
Mark Wray said: “I am excited by the opportunity to enhance the reach and reputation of PA Training with new courses and delivery methods to bring in more learners from a range of media professions.”
Andrew Dowsett said: “Mark’s excellent credentials in journalism and journalist training speak for themselves, and I am delighted to welcome him to PA Training. He joins the business at an exciting time as we explore new modes of delivering high quality journalism training. Mark’s insight into learner behaviour and accreditation in the evolving e-learning space will be of particular value to PA Training.”
Andrew Dowsett said: “I would like to thank Tony Johnston for his service to PA over the last 10 years. He has been unwavering in his commitment to high quality journalism, both here in the PA’s news team and across the industry as a whole.”
Tony Johnston said: I would like to thank the excellent team at PA Training for their part in building the business to the position it’s in today. I am delighted that Mark is taking over the leadership of PA Training – the business is being passed on to a great pair of hands as it enters its new phase of growth.”