Glasgow Evening Times editor Donald Martin has been promoted to editor-in-chief of Newsquest‘s Glasgow titles, taking responsibility for the Herald and Sunday Herald.
In his new role, Martin effectively replaces Charles McGhee, who resigned as Herald editor in July after two-and-a-half years at the title and 10 years with the company.
Parent company Newsquest said in a statement this afternoon that Martin’s promotion to editor-in-chief would take effect from tomorrow.
It said the cross-title job reflected ‘the changing nature of the media industry where complementary digital and print output and economic pressures require the competitive strength that comes from teamwork across titles”.
Martin joined the Evening Times as editor in 2006, replacing McGhee when he moved over to edit The Herald.
He is a former editor of the Aberdeen Evening Express and the North West Evening Mail and has also worked at the Cambridge Evening News as deputy editor and the Reading Evening Post as chief sub and production editor.
Martin’s first editorship, at 24, was at the free weekly Edinburgh and Lothians Post.
Newsquest Herald and Times Group managing director Tim Blott said the publisher had received a broad range of ‘high calibre’external applications for the job.
‘The choice of candidate was an extremely difficult decision,’he said in a memo to staff. ‘I am sure you will all join with me in wishing him every success.”
Martin said: ‘I am fully committed to ensuring that The Herald, Evening Times and the Sunday Herald along with our digital products are strong, vibrant Scottish brands which reflect and appeal to the communities that we serve.”
In the regional newspaper ABC figures for the first half of 2008, the Glasgow Evening Times saw its headline circulation fall 8.4 per cent year on year to an average of 72,535 a day.
The Herald, which is audited under ABC’s monthly national newspaper report, fell 8.87 per cent year on year to an average daily circulation of 61,948 in October.
Its Sunday sister title posted a 15.61 per cent year on year decline in circulation to 43,392 in the same period.
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