Regional publisher Archant has declined to comment on reports that its chairman could be a contender for the same role at Channel 4.
Media Week has claimed Archant chairman Simon Bax, pictured left, is in the running for the job, set to be vacated by Lord Burns.
Simon, a former chief financial officer with Twentieth Century Fox and Pixar, has been at Archant since April 2014.
Mark Price, the departing managing director of Waitrose and current deputy chairman of Channel 4, is still considered the frontrunner to replace Lord Burns.
The government is considering a £1 billion privatisation of Channel 4 and must approve the new chairman, who is appointed by Ofcom.
Media Week reports the regulator held interviews before Christmas and is keen to make an appointment by the end of the month.
An Archant spokesperson said: “Archant’s policy is never to comment on speculation around members of staff.”
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Looks like he’s seen enough in the short time he’s been here and has decided to throw in the towel and jump ship ahead of the looming ice berg, or “shareholders meeting” as it’s more commonly known.
I know most of us are updating our cvs but its hardly a vote of confidence in the future of the company when the chairmans taken to the the lifeboats too is it.
So much for the ‘all in it together ‘laughable One Archant mantra, it’s every man or woman for themselves these days
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Really?
The embarassing Mustard tv and its staggering £657,000 first year loss,record all time low ABC figures with papers that have lost their audience,websites straight from the 80s,no discernable inward investment,the best staff all long gone and morale at an all time low,why ever would he want to leave?
You`d think he would hang around until the Ceos wild boast of making Archant the leading local media company in the uk came to fruition wouldnt you?
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I’m not sure it would matter if the company was making millions and the staff were dancing around under rainbows of happiness – the guy is probably looking to leave because he wants more money, and the prestige of a job at a national broadcaster.
Would any Archant reporter turn down a job with a national paper out of loyalty and a love of mediocre wages? No, they wouldn’t.
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@ugc I doubt that ‘ mediocre wages’ is something he has to trouble himself with unless us in the context of Archant staff, and no can’t blame him for chasing the £££££ either ,its only the local staff who appear loyal, not the ones making the decisions that affect the majority
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Can he take a few others with him?
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I really don’t think the chairman moving on to richer pastures will make any difference at all unless the new incumbent takes a long hard look at the business and make some really obvious but well needed changes but that’s highly unlikely.
It’s not as if we’ve seen him since he joined or he’s made any positive impact on the business either.
Looking at the company now compared to when he joined in spring 2014 if anything it’s gone backwards!
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You do know Mustard TV is so-called because it is only palatable in very small doses?
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When the captain of the sinking ship’s first in the lifeboats it’s not too encouraging for the poor souls stoking the boilers below decks is it?
Thanks for the vote of confidence in your CEOs ridiculous claim about being the best in the industry and seeing it through to the end but as has been said before some people are only in it for the money.’
Another chairman,no new investment and just more doom and gloom as a legacy
Wonder if they’ll use the salary to offset the huge loss incurred by the god awful Mustard tv
2016 an interesting year at Archant towers me thinks
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If the state of Archant is his legacy best he goes now.
He has made no positive difference whatsoever, has chosen to sit bs k and watch the business stagnate and has made no attempt to tackle or enforce the changes that need to be made that everyone can see apart from him and his board, or maybe they can see them but are happy to turn the other cheek while they wait for a job opportunity such as this one to come along .
Chairman is only a temporary role so when alls said and done who’s really interested
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i will bet most of the staff would struggle to identify him if he ever deemed it neccesary to visit the lower reaches.
i wonder how long the next incumbent will occupy the position before they too look around at what theyve come into and run for the hills ,or as in this case a wealthy new employer comes a knocking. hopefully the incoming chairperson will at least have some knowledge of the print and media business.
For all the tangible impact that this position has on a business i would suggest not replacing and using the money saved in salary,bonuses and perks to prop up the business or giving the staff a long awaited and much needed salary increase
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Take the money and run……
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I wonder if his cv mentions being ultimately responsible for Mustard tv?
Or even mentions Mustard tv?
Or that under his watch it lost £650,000 in just twelve months?
With talk of privatisation for channel four let’s just hope that’s not the kind of television experience they are looking for
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” we are all in this together ”
It would appear not
‘One Archant’ sounding more and more like lip service than ever
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