Daily Mail publisher DMG Media has appointed Jamie East as head of podcasts.
The company described East as “a podcast veteran” and “a successful television presenter, journalist, and broadcaster across all mediums”.
East begins in his new role on Tuesday 8 August and will be “commissioning new shows and delivering compelling content”, the publisher said..
He will report to Mail Newspapers editor Ted Verity and Vere Harmsworth, Lord Rothermere’s heir who was recently made DMG’s director of publishing strategy.
East has previously made podcasts for Bauer, Samsung, Netflix and Sky, and launched daily news podcast The Smart 7 during lockdown.
He was for a time a presenter on Talkradio but resigned in September 2020 after fellow presenter Mark Dolan cut up a face mask on air, saying: “It’s clear that Talkradio has a clearly defined area of where it’s heading, sadly not many of those ideals were a great fit.”
He also founded celebrity gossip site Holy Moly, which he ultimately sold to television company Endemol.
East said: “This is truly one of the greatest opportunities in podcasting today – and I’m delighted the Mail have entrusted me with such a huge brand and audience. I cannot wait to get started.”
And Verity said: “Podcasts are a natural extension of what the Mail does best – fabulous storytelling. I’m hugely looking forward to Jamie helping us exploit the massive potential I’m convinced we have in this area.”
Even before East’s arrival, Mail+ has been shortlisted in the podcast category of Press Gazette’s upcoming Future of Media Awards for its weekly podcast The Trial of Lucy Letby. See the full shortlist here.
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