Knight: "more people are getting into fishing"
Angler’s Mail has appointed Tim Knight to be its new editor and is hoping to steal market leadership away from Emap rival Angling Times.
Knight, who joined the title 11 years ago as a trainee reporter, will replace former editor Roy Westwood, who is taking retirement from IPC after 33 years.
Angler’s Mail reported 10 per cent growth in the last ABCs and Knight said his main priority is to build on the success and beat Angling Times on the news-stands. The last results showed Angler’s Mail achieve an ABC of 46,466 – behind Angling Times,
which fell 0.5 per cent to 60,168.
"We are already very close to overtaking our Emap rival," Knight said. "We have had encouraging signs and we think the gap has narrowed even further in recent times. I’ve got quite a few ideas up my sleeve which I will be launching onto the market when the time is right. We’ll be hot on news and hot on tackle." Knight said he intended to look at all areas of the magazine. "It has been a tough time for most people in the sector but more people are getting into fishing," he added.
Recent cuts in rod licenses for juniors and a major campaign by the Environment Agency to attract lapsed anglers back to the sport should also help lure back more readers, he said.
"It is very timely with the World Cup being on – there are a lot of people slumped in their arm chairs getting largered up when they should be out there on the banks enjoying a healthy angling lifestyle."
"While we all get excited about football, there are more people casting a line than playing competitive football." Knight, who has been an angler since he was six, will head a 10-strong team at IPC.
Since joining the magazine in 1991, he has moved up the ranks from reporter to senior reporter, news editor and production editor.
"I know the sport inside out and the great thing about angling is that there is always something new to learn. It’s never a sport where you can say you have reached the pinnacle of your knowledge," he added.
Westwood is expected to freelance for Angler’s Mail as a photojournalist. IPC is in the process of recruiting a production editor to replace Knight and a magazines assistant to take over from Amy Smith, who is leaving to work on Chat.
Ruth Addicott
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