A former regional editor who left his job earlier this year has bounced back with a top role at a national daily. Gary Pearson was editor of Newsquest’s North Essex titles including Colchester’s Daily Gazette before being succeeeded by former NCTJ skills boss Laura Adams. After a spell out of work, he began a new role this month as an associate editor at the Daily Mail. His was the second major editorial departure in Newsquest’s Essex titles in the space of a few months following that of regional editor-in-chief Chris Hatton, Gary’s former boss. Typically an associate editor role at the Mail would involve managing and producing content for a specific section of the paper and ensuring it is optimized for print and online platforms.