The Jewish Chronicle has announced the appointment of a new editor and unveiled a revamped website and reader membership scheme.
The new look replaces existing masthead, “The JC” on a blue square, with one that spells out “The Jewish Chronicle” in a traditional-looking newspaper font.
The London-based title, which includes a weekly newspaper with a circulation of 12,000 and a website attracting around 860,000 visits per month (according to Similarweb), has appointed Daniel Schwammenthal as editor.
He replaces Jake Wallis Simons who has been in the role since 2021 and is leaving to write a book, but will continue as a Jewish Chronicle columnist.
Schwammenthal is a former EU correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires and was an editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal from 2004 to 2011.
For the last 13 years he has been director of the American Jewish Committee Transatlantic Institute in Brussels, a body whose mission is to “enhance the wellbeing of the Jewish people and Israel”.
The Jewish Chronicle now invites readers to make one-off and regular donations “to help support independent Jewish news”.
Separately it has added access to exclusive events to its memberships, which provide subscriptions starting from £4.99 per month for access to the e-paper and mobile app or £7.99 for added unlimited access to the title’s 182-year archive and other perks.
Josh Kaplan has been promoted to head of digital to oversee the website and membership scheme while Karen David has been promoted to managing editor for standards.
Former editor Stephen Pollard is no longer editor at large but will continue as a columnist.
In September, the Jewish Chronicle deleted a number of questionable articles written by a freelance journalist who formerly served in the Israel Defense Forces.
Four high-profile columnist quit the title at around the same time. One of them, Hadley Freeman, expressed concern that the title had become too “right wing”.
The Jewish Chronicle was taken over by a consortium in April 2020 led by Sir Robbie Gibb, who is a non-executive director of the BBC, after it was placed into liquidation by the Kessler Foundation. Last year the title began converting into a charitable trust structure and Gibb departed as a director.
Another former columnist, Jonathan Freedland, said secrecy around the title’s financial backers had contributed to his decision to resign.
In 2023, press regulator IPSO rejected a call from 15 people, who have all won libel payouts or IPSO complaints against the JC, to launch a standards investigation into the title.
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