Reach plc, the leading national and local publisher of household name titles including the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, Daily Express and Daily Mirror has revealed more details of the promised “radically reorganised” editorial structure chief content officer David Higgerson and regionals editorial director Paul Rowland touted to staff last month.
In a statement to Prolific North following a town hall with journalists which promised new jobs, but an overall smaller editorial team, Higgerson promised more video, a new Live News Network dispersed across the UK, Ireland and beyond, leadership changes and greater brand focus following the latest changes.
Now Reach has announced the creation of eight key editorial strands following the restructuring, made up of:
- Live News Network – led by Paul Rowland, editorial director, news
The much-hyped Live News Network team “will be the bedrock of our journalism” said Reach. Its journalists will work in each region of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and create general stories – including breaking, events and diary news. The team will have wide reach “so we’re on the ground and closest to the local, regional and national news agenda.” Many will be based in brand newsrooms, working together with their journalists – with dedicated teams for the Mirror, Express and Star.
Regional audience & content directors in England, Ireland and Wales will become editors-in-chief for their regions. They’ll report to Higgerson, alongside Neil McIntosh, editor-in-chief for Scotland. The editors-in-chief will be responsible for both their own brands and for delivering regional live news into the network.
The network will also work closely with national editors and US teams to curate the right general news stories for their audiences.
Regional print production for England, Scotland and Wales, the data unit, What’s On and immersive storytelling teams – plus a new digital graphic art team and a Forward Planning lead – will all be part of the new Live News Network.
- Brands – led by Tom Hunt, editorial director, brands
This team will help Reach’s national brands develop distinctive content, grow more loyal relationships with existing audiences and attract new ones. It will also work closely with regional editors-in-chief to develop their distinctive brands.
National editors, editorial director for under 35s and online safety editor will all be part of this team’s leadership – reporting to Hunt, who will be stepping down from his role as Express editor-in-chief.
- Audience – led by Ellen Stewart, director of audience
The Audience team will “become a one-stop-shop for audience development, working as a network of specialists who are also embedded into newsrooms to strengthen partnerships.”
It will bring together the existing Insights and Distribution functions, and also be the home of the new video function, under the leadership of Anna Jeys (who becomes director of audience & engagement under the reshuffle).
The video team will work closely with Studio, who will be leading on direct revenue-driving video formats under Harrie Dumenil’s leadership, while the wider Audience team will provide more insight and guidance to newsrooms to help them make the best possible content choices for their audiences.
- Growth – led by David Bartlett, director of editorial growth
This department will build on the work of affiliates. It will have a bigger remit for finding new ways and places for editorial to make money – including leading a new digital subscriptions strategy, marketing, and the evolution of Business Live and maximising In Your Area.
- Content Hub – led by Jon Livesey, director of Content Hub
The Content Hub will remain focused on starting, leading and joining topical conversations across lifestyle, money, social media, leisure and entertainment. Travel and gaming are also joining the Content Hub’s list of story topics.
The team will play a big part in maintaining and growing audience, particularly through a fresh approach to targeting Google Discover and a focus on meeting people where they are through brilliant video content.
- Sport – led by Jake Murtagh, director of sport
A new, smaller sports team was among the first of the changes to be announced at Reach, with a “streamlining” and around 50 redundancies announced in July, and the new single sport team is already in place. Like News, it’s emphasising the people closest to their subjects getting their work amplified across our titles.
The Sport team will continue to create sports content, freeing up brand journalists to focus on stories unique to their titles, and Reach aims to reach more people across more platforms – in particular through video content.
- Transformation – led by Gary Rogers, director of newsroom transformation
This team will guide the evolution of Editorial, in a world that is being rapidly changed by AI. It will have a focus on how to harness the power of AI without losing sight of the need for creating high-quality stories.
The team will work across the whole of Editorial to make sure technology supports work effectively and provides new ways of working that cut low value work and free up more time to create high quality journalism.
- Operations – led by Stacy Denton, director of newsroom operations
This team will make sure Editorial runs efficiently and effectively, and “work hard to make our journalists’ lives easier.”
Print production for English, Scottish and Irish nationals will move into Newsroom Operations and be led by David Dick in his new role as head of print, nationals. His team will produce work closely with title editors on presenting journalism in print.
The central photographic team will continue to look after image management for nationals, working within this team.
