December 3, 2012

Rupert Murdoch axes The Daily amid News Corp restructure

Exit for Tom Mockridge
BSkyB chief operating officer Mike Darcey is new chief exec at News International
Ex-Times editor Robert Thomson named new boss of News Corp newspaper division

Rupert Murdoch today called time on News Corporation's digital newspaper The Daily as he unveiled a revamped team at the top of the media giant's new publishing arm.

Murdoch said the group "could not find a large enough audience quickly enough" for The Daily, which was launched in early 2011 exclusively on Apple's iPad.

The move came as the media tycoon unveiled former Times editor Robert Thomson as boss of News Corp's forthcoming newspaper division and BSkyB chief operating officer Mike Darcey as chief executive of The Sun owner News International (NI).

The announcement comes after it was announced current NI chief executive Tom Mockridge will step down at the end of the year.

News Corp said in July it would split into a publishing company, consisting of its newspaper businesses and book arm HarperCollins, and a media and entertainment company, consisting of its cable and television assets and filmed entertainment businesses.

Murdoch claimed "new times demand new journalism" when The Daily was launched in the US in February last year. It was released in the UK in September last year.

The app featured news articles, interactive graphics, HD videos and 360-degree photos designed to work with the iPad's touchscreen.

Jesse Angelo, founding editor-in-chief of The Daily, will assume the role of publisher of the New York Post with technology and other assets from The Daily, including some staff, folded into The Post.

Murdoch said: "From its launch, The Daily was a bold experiment in digital publishing and an amazing vehicle for innovation.

"Unfortunately, our experience was that we could not find a large enough audience quickly enough to convince us the business model was sustainable in the long term.

"Therefore, we will take the very best of what we have learned at The Daily and apply it to all our properties."

Thomson, current editor-in-chief of Dow Jones, will take up his new role on January 1.

The 51-year-old, who was born in southern Australia, has been a journalist since early 1979, when he joined The Herald in Melbourne.

He was editor of The Times between 2002 and 2007, during which time he oversaw significant expansion of readership both of the paper and online.

Thomson said Murdoch has been "the driving force behind the renaissance of the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones".

He said: "We have a collection of extremely successful companies, and our goal is to make the new News Corp far more than the sum of its distinguished parts."

New News International chief executive Mike Darcey was appointed chief operating officer of BSkyB in November 2006 and has overseen product development across all platforms.

He is also a non-executive director of Argos owner Home Retail Group and was previously an economic adviser for 11 years, working across a range of industries.