Express insiders are said to be deeply upset at the departure of editor-in-chief Gary Jones after six years in the job.
Reach confirmed the departure of Jones on Friday morning, saying he has stepped down. He had not been seen in the office for about two weeks before that, sending the rumour mill into overdrive.
Jones said in a statement: “It’s been a privilege to have served the readers for so many years. Long may they continue to value and cherish the journalism we publish.
“I have tried my level best to continue in the great campaigning traditions of the Mirror and Express and would like to offer my appreciation to the colleagues, politicians, organisations and individuals who have shared my passion for bringing positive change.
“I’ve had the greatest of times, and felt fortunate to have met and collaborated with some of the most fascinating, inspirational and creative people, who have hugely enriched my career and life.”
How Gary Jones rehabilitated the Express
Jones was appointed editor of the Daily Express in March 2018 following the title’s purchase by Reach and is credited with detoxifying the brand whilst remaining true to its Eurosceptic right-leaning readership.
Within months of his arrival campaign group Stop Funding Hate changed its stance on the Express after years of focusing its efforts on stopping advertisers from spending money with it, as well as the Daily Mail and The Sun. Stop Funding Hate supporters said it “should give credit where it’s due”.
Under the ownership of Richard Desmond, Express journalists had complained to the Press Complaints Commission and said they felt under pressure to write anti-gypsy articles. The paper was associated with Islamophobia and climate change denial and became notorious for front pages which rarely deviated from a menu of the Royals, diabetes breakthroughs, Brexit and the weather.
In 2020 the Express won the British Journalism Awards for campaigning journalism for its Time To End Cystic Fibrosis Drug Scandal campaign, which successfully fought for a life-saving deal between US pharmaceuticals firm Vertex and the NHS.
One Express insider said: “There are people alive today who would not be as a direct result of that campaign.”
In 2021 the paper launched a campaign to persuade the government to “lead the world revolution on green issues”.
When he took over as Express editor, after having previously worked for the Sunday Mirror and People, Jones compared it to switching football teams: “One minute you’re a Liverpool fan and the next you’re an Everton fan, so it’s a change of sides, but as far as I’m concerned I play for the team.”
Jones said he didn’t have a personal agenda as editor and believed it was more important to “give the readers what they want”.
Speaking to Press Gazette in 2021, he said: “I think we’ve come a long way. I grew up reading the Express as a child and it was really important to my parents: it was aspirational and a positive force in their lives.
“In the past the Express has had quite limited subject matter, it didn’t really broaden its appeal and I hope we’ve achieved that.”
The title’s current campaign, run with dame Esther Rantzen, for a new law to allow medically assisted dying for the terminally ill, has received widespread support in both houses of parliament.
And the title has also led the way on campaigning to protect winter fuel payments for pensioners.
Tom Hunt to succeed Gary Jones as Express editor-in-chief
Reach chief digital publisher David Higgerson said: “Gary has been a respected colleague over many years and has played a pivotal role in the legacy of this title, spearheading a period of crucial change when he took the helm. We all wish him well as he takes his next steps.”
Jones will be succeeded by former Express online editorial director Tom Hunt as editor-in-chief, effective immediately.
Hunt has been with the Express for more than eight years, with his other roles including video news editor, leading its first team dedicated to video, and head of news.
Hunt said: “I’m honoured to be taking on this role and to build on what the team has already achieved. In the last year, the Express has infiltrated Just Stop Oil, shown how TikTok and Instagram are aiding Albanian people smugglers, captured the effects of a new drug destroying lives on Britain’s streets, and exposed an ISIS terror plot to target Olympics and Wembley.
“The Express has an unparalleled understanding of its audience – our readers are amongst the most engaged across any news brand as we saw just last week with the incredible response to our Winter Fuel campaign.
“There is a huge opportunity here which I’m excited to take further, both digitally and in print, particularly as we cover Labour’s first months in office and see out a Conservative leadership contest.”
The Express website has seen a period of double-digit year-on-year growth in Press Gazette’s monthly analysis of the biggest UK news websites and currently sits at twelfth in the ranking.
Higgerson said: “During Tom’s time leading the Express’s online operation, he has overseen a period of impressive growth for the title, refreshing its editorial approach and cementing its loyal online audience.
“With his strong understanding of the digital landscape and passion for the brand, we know he’s the right person to take the Express into the next phase of its evolution.”
Hunt has announced Daily Express deputy editor Geoff Maynard as his deputy editor-in-chief, telling staff in an email that he will “expand his current role to work closely with me in creating one team to feed all the Express’s needs across print and digital”.
Fears of further cuts
Insiders fear further cuts to the editorial budget following the departure of Jones which comes just a few months after Mirror editor in chief Alison Phillips parted company with Reach (again after six years in charge).
Like Jones, who first joined the Mirror Group in 1996 and also edited The People and the Sunday Mirror, Phillips was hugely respected and liked within the newsroom.
Circulation of the Daily Express has fallen to around 140,000 copies per day, down from over 340,000 copies daily six years ago.
The title however remains profitable and sells for 40p more per day than its better-resourced rival the Daily Mail (which costs £1.10).
The Express titles share resources with other Reach nationals and also take content from the network of Reach regional titles. One well-placed source estimated the dedicated Daily Express and Sunday Express newspaper teams to be around 40 staff.
In July City AM announced a content sharing deal with Reach that means it is providing the business and financial news for many of Reach’s biggest news titles in print and online, including the Daily Express where the City & Business page now says “powered by City AM”. Former Daily and Sunday Express business editor Geoff Ho left that month.
Reach has slashed hundreds of staff over the past year, with 450 going in one restructure announced in November.
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