Former Newark Advertiser reporter Caroline Moulds dies following lengthy fight with illness

Former Advertiser reporter Caroline Moulds has died after a lengthy fight with illness that she took in her stride daily.

Caroline, 46, died at King’s Mill Hospital, Sutton-in-Ashfield, just before Christmas with her family at her bedside.

Caroline, of Coddington, worked for the Advertiser for 11 years, joining straight from Leicester University, where she gained a degree in English.

Her dad, Michael, said: “The Advertiser was her first job after graduating. English was her love.

“She had done work experience at the Advertiser and Mr Parlby (then owner and editor-in-chief Roger Parlby) said that if she wanted to consider a career in journalism ‘then come see us’.

“She always had an ability to relate to people, to get them to drop their guard. She cared about the people who she wrote about.”

Caroline moved from the newsroom to edit the Advertiser’s glossy magazine Nottinghamshire Life where she forged strong relationships with agents and interviewed countless UK and US celebrities and musicians as a result.

Her father said they were experiences she cherished, realising that her position was privileged.

“She would come home and talk about everything that she’d done at the newspaper that day,” he said.

“She got a real buzz from talking to people and putting it into writing.”

Caroline’s interests were athletics, ballet, theatre and the arts and music, in particular Boyzone and Westlife when she was younger, and she had the opportunity to meet one of her heroes, Ronan Keating.

Her father said: “She showed such fortitude and strength. She took everything in her stride on a daily basis.

“Prior to being ill, she enjoyed life. If anything needed doing, she was up for it and that’s why she got on so well with journalism. It is tragic that she suffered.”

Caroline’s mum, Glenda, said: “To me she was my loving, caring daughter and shone like a star. She was my shining star.”

Caroline’s mum and dad and her sister Lisa, who has a daughter, Charlotte, were at her hospital bedside when Caroline died on December 22. Funeral arrangements have yet to be made.

Caroline joined the newsroom at the same time as news editor Dan Churcher.

Dan said: “Caroline brought real enthusiasm to the newsroom and had a positive energy for everything she did.

“To be a good journalist at a newspaper at the heart of a community you need an affinity with the area you serve and the people you encounter along the way, sharing in their joy as well as their heartbreak. Caroline had that affinity and a very real empathy for others.

“Whenever someone needed her professionally, and for whatever reason, she was there.

“I’m so proud to say we were good friends in our formative years as journalists.”

Advertiser editor Sharon Hodkin said: “Her caring and friendly nature meant Caroline was much-loved in the newsroom, of which she was a huge part for many years.

“Despite her illness, her enthusiasm for the job constantly shone through.

“She genuinely cared for the people and community she wrote about, and that was reflected in the stories she produced, the many contacts she developed, and respect shown for her.”