The co-founder of digital media outlet The London Economic has stepped down after 12 years editing the title, citing “punishing algorithms and scarce resources”.
Jack Peat announced on Friday he would hand over the reins of the site to Joe.co.uk writer Charlie Herbert.
The London Economic is part of Joe Media, which was bought out of administration last year by Irish entrepreneur Michael O’Rourke.
The site styles itself as a “digital newspaper with a metropolitan mindset, supporting liberal, progressive, pro-European and pro-business viewpoints”, and was one of several digital-native publications to achieve prominence amid the political turbulence and social media traffic boom of the late 2010s.
The publication is un-paywalled, instead running display adverts and soliciting donations. It says it is “run largely by a volunteer team”.
Peat wrote on the site this week that The London Economic “grew to become one of the biggest political news publications in the country based on the simple belief that not everyone believes the diatribe contained in the pages of the Daily Mail…
“In recent months, TLE has reached up to 80 million people across platforms with a threadbare team, which includes millions of people engaging with our content.
“But cash is most certainly not king when it comes to running a progressive media outlet and punishing algorithms, scant resources and around-the-clock working patterns require huge personal sacrifices that, with the imminent arrival of my first child, I am no longer willing to shoulder.”
He added on X/Twitter: “Engagement is the preserve of accounts that cosplay epidemiologists during pandemics, war experts in times of conflict and economic heavyweights during financial downturns, while authoritative voices are suppressed in a truly Orwellian style.”
Despite these challenges, Peat said The London Economic “has never been in better shape”.
“The very fact that we still exist in spite of all the challenges we have faced is a testament to the people who have shunned divisive and populist channels and found a home in the pages of our website, our social media feeds or in our newsletter, where we champion progressive voices, out the populists and put the spotlight on good people doing good things.”
Peat is a former head of digital at news agency SWNS, which for a time owned 25% of The London Economic. The brand came under the same ownership as Joe Media in 2020.
Thelondoneconomic.com saw 720,000 visits in January, according to web traffic measurement service Similarweb.
Peat told Press Gazette in 2017 that the site was getting around 1.6 million unique visitors a month, which he predicted would grow to three million by the end of the year.
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