Ballyconnell woman appointed editor of the Irish Sun

Ballyconnell native Fiona Wynne has been appointed editor of the Irish Sun. She has worked at the newspaper for the last 18 years serving as features editor, writer, assistant editor and deputy editor.

The daughter of Brian and Ann Wynne, Slievebricken, Fiona attended primary school in Ballyconnell and Ballinamore Post Primary before embarking on a Journalism degree at DCU in 1998. After securing a work placement at the Irish Mirror in 2001, she continued in her role there for another five years. In 2006 she joined the Irish Sun.

“My role has changed a few times since I started working 18 years ago in the Irish Sun,” she told the Celt. “I started as features editor and writer and then became the assistant editor before being appointed deputy editor, a position I held for eight years.”

The newspaper industry has evolved over the past couple of decades and Ms Wynne has been at the heart of that change. But despite the transition to digital and the emergence of other platforms like social media and podcasts, the new editor of the Irish Sun believes “we have come full circle”.

“As editor my focus is on our content and the platforms on which it is presented,” Ms Wynne continued. “It’s about giving the readers the content and letting them make up their own minds; that is why I believe we have come full circle because giving the readers the information, the facts, the truth has always been what the industry is about.

“We have come to grasps with it all and what matters is the content; delivering it in a way that the reader can digest, understand and enjoy.”

Regardless, there are challenges ahead and Ms Wynne is under no illusions about that. She says recessions, the global pandemic and the changing face of Ireland are all contributory factors. “People aren’t consuming the media in the way they were,” she continued.

“So we have to adapt to that... We are providing the reader with informative, digestible and useful content - we are telling the stories that matter to them.”

Ms Wynne says the Sun is a “huge brand” and the Irish Sun has a local element to it. “If we can inform, educate and provide a bit of relaxation along the way, then we are doing what we should be doing. That is what we will continue to do.”