Two daily editors roles have been scrapped at Archant in a reshuffle which will see Eastern Daily Press editor Peter Waters leave the company.
Nigel Pickover, left, is to become editor-in-chief of both the Norwich Evening News and sister title the Eastern Daily Press after 16 years in charge at the Ipswich Star.
His role goes to Terry Hunt who will combine it with his existing post as editor of the East Anglian Daily Times while also overseeing weekly titles in the county.
The company said Peter had decided to leave the business after three years as EDP editor, while Evening News boss Tim Williams is taking up a new post as development editor – leading new product development and providing support across Anglia.
Peter was deputy editor of the EDP from September 2006 before being promoted to editor on the retirement of Peter Franzen in July 2009, having previously worked on the title from 1994 to 2001.
He was responsible for the editorial implementation of its change from broadsheet, the launch of the first Saturday magazine in the regional press and the launch of the EDP Norfolk glossy magazine.
His replacement by Nigel comes days after it emerged that the last set of ABC circulation figures for the EDP and other Archant Norfolk titles had been falsified, although the company insists the two events are not connected.
Archant Anglia’s circulation director Don Williamson, who had been due to retire this week, was subsequently dismissed over the affair and the latest figures covering the first six months of 2012 are due to be published at noon today.
Announcing Nigel’s appointment, Archant Anglia managing director Johnny Hustler said: “Nigel has been a legend in Ipswich, and will be greatly missed by the whole community – but it is a fantastic opportunity for him to take on a new role and repeat the success that he has had in Suffolk.”
“During his tenure on The Star the title has won consistent acclaim from the media world picking up 20 coveted Newspaper of the Year awards in 16 years for its strong campaigning stance, editorial quality and support of its local communities.
Said Nigel: “The Eastern Daily Press is one of the UK’s most prestigious and respected newspapers and I am delighted to take the helm and ensure that it continues to play an important role in the lives of its readers and advertisers.
“News is consumed in many different ways today and the EDP has been at the forefront of changes to capitalise on this and will continue to be so.
“My job is to ensure the EDP and Evening News are able to change to meet the demands of 2012 and beyond, but always to remember and serve the great communities which link Norfolk together so wonderfully.
“The Evening News does a fantastic job for the city of Norwich and its fine campaigning tradition is respected across the regional press.”
Terry, who is currently the UK’s longest-serving daily editor on a single title, previously edited the Star befoer moving to the EADT in 1995.
Said Johnny: “Terry is no stranger to The Star. He has edited it in the past, and already manages much of the team that contribute to its content. I am confident it will remain in safe hands and continue its work as a fearless campaigner on behalf of the town.”
He added: “Our world is evolving rapidly. Side by side with our newspapers, new digital platforms and the social media give both us and our customers myriad new opportunities to interact together – and communities increasingly want their own voices heard.
“It is sad that Peter Waters is leaving us and we are thankful for the important work that he has done. I am pleased that Tim Williams will be leading new product development and providing senior editorial management support across Anglia.
“He has played an important role in making sure the Evening News is a strong, campaigning local newspaper and will continue to represent Archant on a number of Norwich initiatives, including the board of the Norwich Business Improvement District.”
Nigel, Terry and Tim will report to Bob Crawley, who was recently appointed publishing director at Archant Anglia.
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16 years at the Star is a long time for anyone.
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having local papers without local editors on the spot is not a good thing. Many have found this out to their cost
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Well, in this case at least there’s no implication they won’t be “on the spot”.
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Waters has presided over a period when the EDP has become a hollow shell of it’s former self.
The marginalising and then departure of Paul Durrant, a newsman, hastened the decline.
The whole paper needs to get back to basics and hopefully the appointment of Pickover is a step in the right direction.
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It is a tragedy that the EDP has lost one of the most capable and innovative editors in the UK, and a tremendous ambassador for Norfolk. This sends a very poor message about the aspirations of Archant.
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When an editor leaves five minutes after the circulation director is sacked amid a scandal over sales figures, a right-minded journalist would have to consider whether there is a connection.
Well spotted Machiavelli! I too take this view..
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I follow Mr Pickover’s tweets and the first hint of this came earlier this week when he made a reference to going “up north”.
What will be very interesting is if the Norwich City FC stalwarts get hold of some of Mr P’s on-line bletherings about the Canaries, Delia Smith and Norwich in general. He’s a, ahem, adopted Ipswich Town fan and for some reason fans of the two clubs hate each other.
Reckon Mr P will have got one of his team to delete his more tribal remarks from the website but resourceful people might find them on google cache or something. He might have some good-natured explaining to do when he goes to his first match in his new green-and-yellow Canaries scarf and strolls into the board room to meet Delia and Co.
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@Machiavelli, if what you are saying is that, in view of the timing, we were entitled to ask the question whether there was a connection, then I agree with you. I think Archant’s response on the matter is pretty clear however.
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Good news about Pickover. EDP needs a proper newsman at the helm. EDP has become a boring irrelevance. Badly exposed during the Olympics when nationals, like The Times, have been inspirational.
Good luck Nigel.
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The EDP will benefit from a newsman in charge – but how much attention can one man give it when he also has to run another paper?
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Bring back Paul Durrant. Best News Editor the EDP ever had.
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Few will know the enormous financial pressures facing the EDP, and Peter Waters’ desire to maintain standards. In the end it was a battle of wills against the dark forces of the bean counters, and PW lost.
So how do you rid yourself of an editor of a newspaper that has recently won Newspaper of the Year? Easy, make both daily title editors redundant and find a sideways move for the Evening News editor, who was collateral damage.
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The EDP failed to move forward under Pete Waters. Some good campaigns just about covered the cracks in the EDP’s strategy of being a ‘single buy newspaper’. It’s not. The national and international news was poor, the front pages dull and, despite having a small army of photographers, it was incapable of using intersting pictures that actually had some people in them – stock pictures and scene-setters filled the pages. Lots of resources simply wasted.
And don’t get me started on the columnists. Yawn.
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1. The EDP is a better paper than any that ever came out of Ipswich by a country mile.
2. Paul Durrant has always been a great supporter and champion of Pete Waters
3. Pete’s message to the beancounters has always been: You don’t own the EDP, the readers do. You are just custodians for the time being.
4. Pickover is the man who launched the countdown clock to NCFC’s relegation.
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I gave up buying the EDP several years ago after being increasingly irritated by the obvious decline of news gathering, campaigns that filled pages and pages and, while worthy, had no relevance to Norfolk, and the columnists who, with a few exceptions, seemed to get away with peddling the same old dross every week. I have great sympathy for the outgoing editor if he has fought a losing battle against the paper’s diminished resources being further undermined. The EDP is now a shadow of its former self and is on a downward spiral unless the management recognise that its biggest asset is a motivated, skilled and well staffed editorial department.
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Norwich’s loss, Ipswich’s gain is how it is seen in Suffolk. Pickover has overseen a spiralling downwards of the Star, which many feel will soon become a weekly. Norwich City CEO McNally will soon put Pickover in his place.
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