Observer media columnist Peter Preston believes that one unexpected consquence of the MPs’ expenses row could be the return of Telegraph editor-in-chief Will Lewis to Wapping as editorial director in charge of all News International’s national titles.
This would fill the gap left by Les Hinton after he ascended further up the News Corp ladder in December 2007 to become chief executive of Dow Jones, Preston believes.
Preston says that if Hinton had still been in charge at News International – The Sun and The Times would not have missed the opportunity to buy the stolen data about MPs expenses which formed the basis for the Telegraphs’ stellar series of scoops.
Both titles were apparently approached by the go-between who was touting the story around Fleet Street.
Earlier this year when I interviewed Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff he appeared pretty convinced that Lewis would soon be returning to News Corp (he was previously City editor of the Sunday Times).
Wolff spent many hours interviewing Murdoch for his book The Man Who Owns the News and seemed to know what he was talking about when he said: “I thought he [Murdoch] really liked Lewis, that there was something really there. If you had to single one person out, or one of a handful of people, who Murdoch would really like as part of News Corp, I think Will Lewis is one.”
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