A culture clash in Wolverhampton?

One of the great things about having a story comments facility on your website is that it enables users to amplify what you have already written, and perhaps introduce fresh angles and context to a story.

So it was with our report on HoldtheFrontPage about the shock departure of Steve Brown from his new-ish job as chief executive of the Claverley Group, publishers of Wolverhampton's Express and Star.

Details were very sketchy. The company restricted itself to a one-line comment, while Steve himself is, quite understandably, keeping his own counsel about the reasons behind his departure.

It has been left to our story commenters to shed light on what appears to have been something of a clash of cultures between the very traditional, family-run Claverley Group and the much more corporate background from which former Trinity Mirror regional MD Steve had hailed.

One commenter using the pseudonym Molly New (think Wolves football ground) called Steve's departure "a victory for common sense," adding: "Although on-the-face-of-it not a 'bad-bloke', Mr Brown was a very 'bad-fit' with the E and S."

Others, though, clearly feel that was no bad thing, and that a degree of modernisation was required at a paper that lost 7.6pc of its circulation last year according to the most recent ABC figures.

Whatever the truth of the situation, it is clear that staff at the Claverley titles appear much more divided about Steve than his former employees at Trinity, as evidenced by this remarkable thread of comments last April.

On that occasion as well as this, HTFP provided those employees with a voice they would not otherwise have had. I know I'm biased, but in my view it's one of the very best things about the site.

Express & Star group gets 'fantastic manager'

When former North-East and Midlands MD Steve Brown left Trinity Mirror in a company restructure earlier this year, the response from his former employees in Newcastle and Birmingham was startling.

The NUJ chapel in Newcastle passed a vote of no confidence in the company's management over Steve's departure - despite the fact that he had previously overseen a round of job cuts at the North-East centre - while HoldtheFrontPage was deluged with comments in support of the former boss.

One Newcastle insider who called himself 'Angry Journo' wrote: "Steve Brown is without argument head and shoulders above all of them in terms of his passion, respect, strategic vision, performance delivery and intellect. Someone is going to get a fantastic manager soon. Good luck Steve."

He was right. Today it was announced that Steve is to take over as chief executive of the Claverley Group, parent company of the Wolverhampton Express & Star.