Post Media Ltd, owner of The Phnom Penh Post, has appointed seasoned Southeast Asian journalist Alan Parkhouse to the position of editor-in-chief of its flagship English newspaper.

Parkhouse, 56, an Australian, was previously the paper’s managing editor. He replaces Bernie Leo, who will return to Australia.

Parkhouse will join Kay Kimsong and Neth Pheaktra, who edit The Post’s Khmer daily, in a trio, setting the tone and editorial focus for the two dailies.

He is no stranger to the region having worked for five years as the senior sports editor at The Nation in Bangkok, before joining The Bangkok Post in 2007, first as a sub-editor on the news section and then as chief sub-editor overseeing two weekly magazines as well as the Sunday edition of the paper.

He started his career in newspapers via an apprenticeship as a hot metal printer, on a small country newspaper in eastern Australia. In 1974, he had his first chance to write when he travelled to Southeast Asia as a 20-year-old.  

Now, with more than three decades of newspaper experience gathered in Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong and London, he said he relished the prospect of stamping his imprint on The Phnom Penh Post.

“The Post is one of the best newspapers in the region and I look forward to being at the helm of it,” he said.

“We have a great team in the newsroom who are very dedicated and some top people in management, and with that combination we will go from strength to strength.”

The Post’s publisher Ross Dunkley said Parkhouse had few peers in the region when it came to hard years on the ground, a cool head and a personality that reporters and editors felt drawn to.

“It is pleasing to see a veteran newspaper man, the quiet achiever, win his seat at the top table. Alan is a true journalists’ editor, the type that will stand shoulder to shoulder in the trenches with them. He will place their welfare before his own. He is that type,” said Dunkley.

“We have grown so rapidly in the past three years. Alan’s cool, steady hand and unflappable temperament will be much welcomed by all.”

This opinion was echoed by Post Chairman David Armstrong who formerly held top editorial and management posts at The Australian, The South China Morning Post and The Bangkok Post.

He said: “Alan Parkhouse is a highly experienced journalist and editor, with deep knowledge of Cambodia and the region.

“The outgoing editor-in-chief Bernie Leo produced a strong, vibrant, relevant newspaper and I thank him for his great work,” he said.