Ben Taylor has been named as the new editor of The Sunday Times, stepping up to replace Wall Street Journal-bound Emma Tucker.
Taylor joined The Sunday Times in 2020 as deputy editor. He was previously executive editor of the Daily Mail, a newspaper he’d worked at for 22 years.
Krissi Murison, currently editor of The Sunday Times Magazine, has been named as the new deputy editor of the newspaper.
Taylor’s promotion, which insiders have been anticipating for several months, comes after Tony Gallagher was named editor of The Times in September, replacing John Witherow. Like Taylor, Gallagher made his name at the Daily Mail before going on to edit The Daily Telegraph and The Sun.
Insiders said Taylor has effectively been acting editor of the newspaper since it was announced last month that Tucker would be leaving to join The Wall Street Journal as editor-in-chief.
News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson said: “Ben Taylor is a principled journalist who will certainly hold contemporary elites to account. Individual freedoms are being challenged by intransigent institutions and there is an epidemic of wokery and quackery, so reporters and editors with the objective of being objective will necessarily play an increasingly important role in Britain and beyond.”
News UK chief executive Rebekah Brooks said: “Ben has shown astute leadership and a clear understanding of what drives the existing audience of The Sunday Times, as well as what lures new readers, both digitally and in print. Krissi has been an inspirational editor of the award-winning Sunday Times Magazine. After a year of the fastest subscriber growth in the history of The Sunday Times, I know Ben and Krissi will build on these strong foundations and deliver stories that matter for the in-depth reader on a Sunday.”
Taylor said: “I am enormously proud to take on the editorship of The Sunday Times, a newspaper I started reading as a young boy. I am honoured to lead a wonderfully talented team delivering unmissable journalism in digital and print. Having celebrated our 200th anniversary last year, I want to build on our unique heritage to create an exciting future for The Sunday Times and continue to increase its ever-growing audience.”
Murison said: “Editing The Sunday Times Magazine is one of the best jobs in journalism and it has been an honour to work with such a talented team of journalists and creatives. There are few roles that would tempt me away; deputy editor of The Sunday Times is one of them.”
Chris Longcroft, EVP publisher of Times Media, said: “The Sunday Times is a thriving modern media brand, as strong as it ever was and on a clear path to long term sustainable growth. Ben Taylor and Krissi Murison are two of the pre-eminent journalists of their generation. They have brilliantly complementary skills and will lead one of the best newsrooms in the business, setting the news agenda and bringing in new audiences each weekend.”
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