Finer introduced a more lifestyle approach to British Airways’ High Life
Alex Finer, editor of British Airways’ High Life magazine, has resigned following professional differences over the future direction of the title.
Finer was asked to take over the editorship and relaunch High Life in September after editing BA sister title, Business Life, for three years.
He made a large number of changes, from the way in which the in-flight entertainment was presented at the back of High Life to introducing more lifestyle-based content throughout.
Finer has worked for customer publisher Cedar Communications for the past four years, and picked up a number of editorial awards.
However, tension is believed to have mounted over the past few months, with insiders claiming Finer was worried about his personal reputation as an editor while having to meet increasing demands of BA and bosses at Cedar.
“It is no secret that editors sometimes want to do things they can’t do and it’s more complicated when there is a client involved,” a source said.
“On a customer magazine you have a client as well as a publisher and problems can arise from that triangle.
He found himself in a situation where his own reputation was at risk of being affected by what he was doing.
It’s a great loss to Cedar.”
Sources said Finer was gagged from speaking to the press by an agreement he signed with BA and Cedar. They said the parting was “amicable”, however, and Finer is believed to be planning a short break before considering his options.
He has a solid background in journalism, having launched Esquire and edited Virgin’s in-flight magazine, Hot Air. He was one of the early employees at John Brown Publishing and later rose to become editorial director. He has also worked for The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph.
Finer declined to comment this week, but issued a statement saying: “In the past four years, I’ve been privileged to relaunch both Business Life and, more recently, High Life for British Airways. It’s been challenging and rewarding and I want to thank the editorial teams who helped to win the many awards we received. I wish them every success in the future.”
By Ruth Addicott
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