Jess Brammar has been appointed editor-in-chief at Huffpost UK.
The former BBC Newsnight acting editor takes over from Jimmy Leach who has left the company after less than a year in the role, with Brammar having served as his executive editor since April last year.
A former digital communications consultant, Leach had a more strategic focus on audience and diversifying revenue, while Brammar was responsible for the news website’s editorial output.
She joined Huffpost UK two years ago as head of news under former editor Polly Curtis, who left suddenly in 2018. Brammar’s new role begins immediately, reporting to international executive editor Louise Roug.
Roug said: “Jess is an extremely talented editor who understands the importance of impactful, agenda-setting journalism and I’m thrilled that she’ll be leading the charge in her new role as editor-in-chief.
“In the UK and elsewhere, we want to do the kind of journalism that changes laws and lives and I look forward to seeing what Jess and the team will do.”
Huffpost UK were finalists for News Provider of the Year at the Press Gazette British Journalism Awards in December.
Also last year the news website partnered with Birmingham City University to set up a centre for journalism, offering students a “first-hand experience” of the news industry.
Said Brammar: “I’m so excited to lead the Huffpost UK newsroom, a team that has proven itself to be one of the most dynamic in our industry, doing journalism that is required reading if you want to understand Britain today.
“Now more than ever, newsrooms need to produce stories that speak directly to our readers’ lives and hold power to account. I look forward to supporting our team to produce even more great work.”
HuffPost UK is part of Verizon Media (formerly Oath) and launched in 2011 with a team of six.
Brammar told Press Gazette in an interview in October that Huffpost UK had “old-fashioned tabloid values” at its heart.
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