Liam Roche of West Australian Newspapers has taken over as acting president of Newspaper Publishers’ Association/PANPA in what may be the group’s last weeks as an independent organisation.

He succeeds Joe Talcott, who resigned as president after leaving News Limited, where he headed the group’s creative group. He had been president for two years.

Association chief executive Mark Hollands described Talcott as a man of great integrity: “It was a pleasure to work with him. His credentials as a marketer across several industries are outstanding and I’m sure he’ll relish the change.”

NPA/PANPA is currently seeking member votes to support the board’s decision to amalgamate with The Newspaper Works, with a special general meeting to be held in Sydney on February 28.