Raworth: poached from Bizarre
Loaded editor Martin Daubney has poached Ben Raworth, editor of Bizarre, reuniting an editorial line-up that brought rival lads’ mag FHM to the peak of its success.
Daubney, who has been in the job two weeks, said the appointments marked the final changes to a team that he hoped would boost sales within the year. “This is it – it’s time to blow the whistle and put the ladder on the trench,” he said.
Loaded posted its third successive drop in circulation in the latest ABC figures, falling by 15.2 per cent to 261,937. Daubney said that, after stabilising sales, his first target would be to break the 300,000 mark. Market leader FHM sells more than 600,000.
Raworth, who has been at Bizarre since October and was involved in the launch of Jack, has been made deputy editor. Andrew Woods, who has been at Loaded for two-and-a-half years, has been promoted to features editor.
All three worked at FHM in the late Nineties when its circulation peaked at 750,000 and it was twice named magazine of the year. Daubney was features editor, Raworth senior feature writer and Woods was a sub-editor.
People reporter Dean Piper has also been lured to Loaded as celebrity editor with a brief to crank up its share of glamorous cover girls and star coverage.
Daubney sees a return to coverage of celebrity icons as the deciding factor in reviving circulation. “We want celebrity blokes – real Loaded icons need to be back in the mix. They have been away for a while,” he said.
By Sarah Boden
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