The Main Ingredient
Gillian Cowburn has been a journalist for more than 30 years.
She started her career on her home town newspaper, The Leyland Guardian, where she went on to become chief reporter as well as compile her own weekly diary column, The Leyland Lady, named after the famous British Leyland calendar series.
In 1986 she joined the newsroom of The Westmorland Gazette in Kendal as deputy news editor. Less than 12 months later she became news editor, a role she held for several years before being appointed features editor.
Future roles at the Gazette included assistant editor with responsibility for the letters pages and proofing, sub-editor, and newspapers in education co-ordinator.
In 2000 she was given the job of editing the new Limited Edition series of quarterly glossy magazines. Four years later, as well as writing for the magazine, she was also tasked with designing it.
Gillian went on to launch the hugely popular Good Dining Guide in 2007, and completed the ‘Good Guide’ series with a Good Wedding Guide and Good Place Guide.
For the past 15 years, Gillian has also written a weekly food column for The Westmorland Gazette, giving many local food producers that all important first step on the publicity ladder. She has also been instrumental in helping encourage a huge sea change in the local food movement. Her weekly Gazette ‘Checkout’ column – a guide to local, seasonal and speciality food and drink - is widely read both in print and on-line.
When she left Balshaws Grammar School armed with her three A levels, Gillian had intended to work in PR and marketing. However, she was advised by Tom Richardson, the then head of PR at Lancashire County Council, to get two or three years experience on a good weekly newspaper.
Thirty-three years later, Gillian is more than qualified, therefore, for her new role as in-house PR/Marketing Manager for Country Harvest, the burgeoning food, craft and gift emporium on the A65 at Ingleton.
In her spare time, Gillian plans to continue to pen her Checkout column for The Westmorland Gazette, as well as write about all matters culinary for her new website –Scrummy PR – the online home of ideas designed to make your mouth water.
