A new editor has been appointed to an award-winning online newspaper after its founder left the role.

David Calder, left, has stepped up to the helm at the Caledonian Mercury after Stewart Kirkpatrick, who set up the online newspaper in 2010, moved to help run the Yes campaign for Scottish independence.

David has been responsible for the Mercury’s video coverage and business reporting for the last two years and has over 30 years’ experience in journalism, mainly at the BBC, where he worked for The Money Programme, Radios 4 and 5, BBC Radio Scotland and the BBC World Service.

He also edited the technology pages of The Scotsman for over five years and has written for the Scottish Business Insider.

Said David: “As the new editor of the Caledonian Mercury, I am taking over a newspaper that tied with The Guardian Online in the Newspaper of the Year awards and I need to build on this strong foundation.

“I have several challenges. The first is to make this a ‘must see’ publication, whether you’re reading the articles or watching the videos. That means we have to follow the BBC founder, Lord Reith’s maxim of entertaining as well as informing and educating.

“The second, will be to make this whole project not just viable, but profitable and that requires building the readership base and engaging more with them.

“I am determined that we become more interactive and offer more services to build an active relationship with our audience. To help us do this, we are looking at partnering with other organisations, both on and offline.

“We also need to reach out to the wider Scottish community, outside the central belt and on into the Scottish Diaspora, to connect with people who claim an association with Scotland by descent or affinity.

“The next two years will be really exciting – and not just because of the referendum. We have the Commonwealth Games coming to Glasgow and we want to let you know about the Scottish stars who’ll be performing on that stage. Plus next year, local TV will come to Edinburgh and Glasgow and the Caledonian Mercury is already part of one of those bids.”

Last month, Stewart was announced as the head of digital for the Yes campaign, where he will be responsible for all aspects of its digital network ahead of a referendum in 2014.

Stewart previously spent seven years as editor of The Scotsman’s website, Scotsman.com.