by Mick Ryan UKClimbing.com is experiencing growing pains. The workload increases; we have more content, more readers, more advertisers and we needed some help to cope with these challenges so that UKClimbing.com can deliver the kind of climbing media that you want. We needed to find someone with lots of energy and talent, someone with their finger on the UK´s climbing pulse but who also appreciates the rough ride that the climbing media is experiencing across the board; editors being let go, advertising revenue being shared by more media, people´s attention diverted in many directions in today´s fractured media environment. To be an editor these days you have to be multi-skilled; be able to write, research, edit, communicate effectively, take photographs, be fair and balanced, process images, network, format in html, understand and accept the interplay between news and comment on the news, react quickly to events, be mobile, be accessible and accountable to readers, and embrace a mix of reader and professional content. Take a breathe! Importantly you have to be able to manage the balance between editorial and advertising, and understand that if it swings too far down the advertorial route it can turn readers off – who wants a climbing media masquerading as a gear catalogue? As you can imagine it was a tall order to find someone with such a large skill set and understanding. In addition an editor also have to have thick skin, as you are in the public view and can be asked questions about content and editorial decisions instantly. You´ve got be prepared to take the praise along with a daily punch on the nose. A healthy dose of humility goes a long way as does self confidence. After a gruelling search we found the person who fullfilled all of the above, Jack Geldard, or did he find us? Jack joins the UKClimbing.com team as an editor and will be writing news reports, editing your articles, writing his own articles, reviewing gear, helping advertisers manage their accounts, you will see him down the forums (be nice) and generally flying the UKC flag. Jack understands that UKClimbing.com is everyone´s climbing media and that anyone can have a say, write an article, break climbing news, comment on news, upload a photo, correct misconceptions, provide information and inspiration – but also that there is an important role for editors in sorting and filtering this avalanche of information.So who is Jack Geldard? You can find out HERE