Press Gazette’s summary of the latest moves and personnel changes in senior UK media jobs. Refresh page for latest updates.
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Financial Times | Special investigations editor
Madison Marriage. Picture: Tolga Akmen
26/9/22: The Financial Times has promoted investigations correspondent Madison Marriage to special investigations editor, where she will oversee a new three reporter investigations team.
Marriage, the reporter behind the FT’s famous undercover Presidents Club exposé, will herself report to the paper’s investigations editor Paul Murphy.
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The FT says the new unit “signals the FT’s intent to sharpen its focus on abuse of power across industries and sectors, including healthcare and education” and that Marriage will “examine executive misbehaviour in business and hold the rich and powerful to account, as well as conducting responsive investigations to major breaking news stories”.
Bauer Media Group | Head of publishing
Jan Watchel, who is joining Bauer Media Group as president of publishing. Picture: Bauer
22/9/22: Bauer Media Group has appointed Jan Wachtel as president of its publishing business, starting 1 January 2023.
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Wachtel will join from Firstlead GmbH – Adcell where he is co-chief executive, and has experience working with publishing businesses including Axel Springer, BILD, and RTL Group.
Bauer chief executive Yvonne Bauer said: “Publishing as a sector is undergoing a period of unpredicted change. Jan’s print and digital publishing experience means he is ideally placed to drive the transformation of our publishing business. This will enable us to maximize our print publishing while at the same time accelerating digital growth.”
GB News | Head of television
22/9/22: GB News has appointed Helen Warner, a former head of daytime at both ITV and Channel 4, as its head of television.
Warner’s experience includes commissioning and producing popular shows such as Come Dine With Me, Loose Women, and Good Morning Britain.
She was most recently chief content officer at live sports and non-scripted production company Whisper as it pushed into more factual and entertainment content.
GB News chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos said Warner’s “tremendous industry expertise and deep understanding of audiences will be invaluable as we turbocharge our schedule, our new shows and our talent over the coming months”. She said she planned to help take GB News’ “programming to the next level and really cement its place in the broadcasting landscape”.
DMGT | Chief executive
22/9/22: Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) chief executive Paul Zwillenberg is to step down on 30 September.
Lord Rothermere, DMGT’s proprietor, will become chief executive of the company and will also remain chairman. Zwillenberg will vacate the board of DMGT but remain a senior adviser to Rothermere.
Minneapolis Star Tribune | Chief executive
Mike Klingensmith, Star Tribune. Credit: Glen Stubbe
16/9/22: Mike Klingensmith, the publisher and chief executive of Minnesota’s Star Tribune Media, is to retire in January 2023.
A former general manager of Time magazine and the founding publisher of Entertainment Weekly, Klingensmith joined the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2010.
Under his leadership, the Star Tribune has built up a digital subscriptions base of more than 100,000, making it one of the stand-out regional performers in Press Gazette’s 100k Club ranking. The Star Tribune also remains a top-ten newspaper measured by print circulation.
“The opportunity to serve as the publisher of the Star Tribune was a chance to come home to Minnesota,” said Klingensmith, “and I’ve relished the opportunities this challenge has brought—most especially the chance to work alongside so many talented and dedicated people.
“They have my heartfelt thanks because they are the ones who have made our success possible over the past 13 years. I also want to thank our board members over the years and, especially, Glen Taylor, for their unflinching support of our mission and our company.
“But most of all, I want to thank our many loyal readers and advertisers who inspire and challenge us all to strive for excellence in every respect.”
The Star Tribune has commenced a nationwide search, led by recruiter Spencer Stuart, to find a replacement for Klingensmith.
BBC | Director of diversity and inclusion
Chinny Okolidoh, new BBC director of diversity and inclusion. Picture: BBC
7/9/22: The BBC has named Chinny Okolidoh as its new director of diversity and inclusion. She joins from the same role at beauty company L’Oréal (UK & Ireland).
The BBC said her role would involve making sure diversity and inclusion is “at the heart of everything the BBC does” including in the news division, and that the broadcaster represents its audience well both on and off air.
She will also oversee the development of initiatives related to on-air and production talent representation.
The BBC had appointed June Sarpong in the part-time role of director of creative diversity in 2019 but she left earlier this year when her contract expired.
The Guardian | Deputy investigations editor
Rachel Oldroyd, managing editor of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism
30/8/22: Rachel Oldroyd has been named deputy investigations editor of The Guardian under Paul Lewis.
Oldroyd left The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) where she was most recently managing editor since 2014, having joined in 2010 as deputy editor.
Before joining TBIJ she spent 13 years at the Mail on Sunday where she headed up the reportage section in Live magazine.
Oldroyd’s appointment is part of a bolstering of the Guardian investigations team, which has also hired ex-Insider political reporter Henry Dyer to focus on politics investigations, and ex-FT investigations correspondent Tom Burgis who will join in the spring after writing a book.
Update 2/9/22: TBIJ investigative journalist Maeve McClenaghan is also leaving for The Guardian’s investigations team, describing it as a “real dream-come-true role”.
In other investigative journalist moves, Geraldine McKelvie is leaving the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People after seven years to join the new investigative unit at Channel 4’s Dispatches.
The Guardian | Chief executive
25/8/22: Guardian Media Group has appointed Anna Bateson as chief executive.
Bateson previously worked for GMG in a number of senior executive roles from 2016-2020. She joined the Guardian as VP for platforms and partnerships, and was then chief customer officer from 2017 to 2020.
Before joining the Guardian in 2016, she held senior roles at ITV and YouTube, in London and California. Since leaving GMG in 2020 she has been chief executive of e-commerce beauty brand Josh Wood Colour.
Interim chief executive Keith Underwood moves back to his role as COO and CFO.
Previous chief executive Annette Thomas resigned abruptly in June 2001 after reports of a power struggle with editor in chief Katharine Viner.
In December 2021 The Scott Trust, which owns The Guardian, published the conclusions of a governance review which underlines the power of the editor in chief.
It said: “The editor-in-chief, solely responsible for all journalistic and editorial activity, will sit on the Scott Trust and GMG boards. They will be jointly responsible with the chief executive to the GMG board for the delivery of the organisation’s strategic plan.”
The Herald | Editor
Catherine Salmond, Image: The Herald / Newsquest
18/8/22: Scotland on Sunday editor Catherine Salmond has been announced as the new editor of The Herald.
Newsquest announced Salmond would be joining the Glasgow-based broadsheet from its National World-owned rival, making her the first female editor in The Herald’s 239-year history.
She takes over from Donald Martin, who is standing down as editor-in-chief on 31 August. He has edited the paper and its sister title The Herald on Sunday since 2017.
Salmond said: “I will lead with passion and firmness, championing the title and its staff, while ensuring we offer the robust, incisive, and energetic journalism expected online and in print from what is one of Scotland’s great news brands.
“We are all aware of the pressures facing our industry, but The Herald is well placed to meet them head on, with a talented, determined, and forward-thinking team.”
The Guardian | City editor
Anna Isaac. Picture: The Guardian
18/8/22: Anna Isaac has been appointed city editor at The Guardian, a newly created role as part of a revamp of the title’s business coverage under head of business John Collingridge.
Isaac, currently economics editor at The Independent, will have a remit covering “the changing face of Britain’s financial centre, corporate investigations and the flow of money and power between business and politics”.
The business desk will begin to focus more on investigations, long reads, exclusives and analysis and the revamp has also led to the promotion of assistant business editor Angela Monaghan to live business news editor.
Isaac, who has also worked at Politico, the Wall Street Journal and the Daily Telegraph, said: “The UK is a financial and professional services superpower, and this is a critical time to document how financial levers dictate events, from Westminster politics to international sanctions. The Guardian’s unique ownership structure and gifted colleagues will offer a chance to follow the money without fear or favour.”
The Telegraph | Features and lifestyle
Charlotte Ross. Picture: Evening Standard/Matt Writtle
18/8/22: Charlotte Ross has been appointed as deputy editor for features and lifestyle at The Telegraph after leaving the Evening Standard where she was acting editor.
Ross will have responsibility for all of The Telegraph’s features and lifestyle journalism including the magazine, travel, fashion, culture and the daily features section.
BBC | Media editor
Amol Rajan. Picture: BBC
18/8/22: Amol Rajan is stepping down as media editor at BBC News later this year to host University Challenge.
However Rajan will continue as a presenter on BBC Radio 4 Today and will keep creating his Amol Rajan Interviews series.
Rajan is taking over at University Challenge from Jeremy Paxman, who stepped down after 28 years. He will begin filming in early 2023 and first appear on TV next autumn.
Kate Phillips, the BBC’s director of unscripted, said: “Jeremy leaves a very big chair to fill but Amol’s experience, expertise and sense of humour makes him the perfect fit for one of Britain’s longest running and toughest quiz shows. If future student contestants think they’ll get an easier ride with Amol taking over, they can think again.”
MailOnline/DailyMail.com | Editors
9/8/22: Danny Groom, who became acting global editor of MailOnline overseeing its UK, US and Australian editorial operations following Martin Clarke’s departure in February, has now been named publisher and editor of MailOnline in the UK. He was previously UK editor of the site, with a three-year stint in the US from 2010 setting up the brand across the Atlantic.
In addition, former deputy editor of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday Gerard Greaves has been appointed editor-in-chief of DailyMail.com, the US arm of the site.
Both will report to Ted Verity, editor of Mail Newspapers, and the announcement came from editor-in-chief Paul Dacre.
Daily Express | Political editor
9/8/22: Sam Lister has been promoted to Daily Express political editor from deputy, replacing Macer Hall who has stepped down after 18 years at the newspaper.
Lister kicked off her time as political editor on Tuesday with a front page interview with Conservative leadership contender Liz Truss.
Lister, also named head of politics for the Express brand, said she had “big shoes to fill taking over from Macer Hall, who was a fantastic boss and is a true gent”.
Footballco | Executive head of video
Picture: Footballco
9/8/22: Footballco has brought on Xavi Sanchez to lead editorial video content across the company’s portfolio. Sanchez joins from sports marketing agency Engage Digital Partners, having previously been a creative producer at Disney.
Footballco said Sanchez “will lead the development of the company’s own new video formats, including ‘My City’, ‘Shirt Collector’ and ‘Box to Box’”.
Sanchez said: “I’ve come to Footballco at an exciting time with the company moving towards a video-first approach with investment in the development of new formats and premium player-led video.”
LBC | Drivetime presenter
New LBC drivetime presenter Tom Swarbrick. Picture: LBC
4/8/22: LBC has announced that Tom Swarbrick will take on its drivetime slot, succeeding Eddie Mair who is retiring after 40 years in broadcasting.
Swarbrick first joined LBC in 2012 and was chief correspondent. He moved to be head of broadcast at Downing Street but after nearly four years returned to the radio station in 2018.
Most recently he has been presenting LBC’s late-night weekday programme between 10pm and 1am and Swarbrick on Sunday at 10am. He will take on the 4pm drivetime slot from September.
Swarbrick said: “From cub reporter to presenter of the flagship Drive show, I’ve been able to call LBC my home for the best part of a decade and I want to make the show an exciting, memorable programme that puts LBC’s audience at its heart.
“To be asked to follow on from Eddie Mair, a titan of this industry, is a huge honour particularly at a time of such national and international turbulence.”
Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday | Senior editorial roles
2/8/22: The Mail newspaper titles have appointed a number of new senior editorial executives.
Daily Mail executive editor Maggie O’Riordan has been appointed deputy editor of the Mail on Sunday under David Dillon, effective from 5 September. Also at the Sunday title John Mullin has been appointed executive editor (news), effective 16 August.
The Daily Mail no longer has a deputy editor following the departure of Tobyn Andreae to be communications secretary for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
Instead the daily paper has appointed several associate editors under editor Ted Verity to effectively fill that role, effective from 5 September. They are: Andrew Morrod as senior associate editor with Liz Hunt and Neville Dean as associate editors.
Also at the daily, Dan Hyde has been appointed executive editor, Fiona Hardcastle as assistant editor for Femail, and Oliver Thring as assistant editor (features).
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