A regional publisher has announced a series of senior job moves which will see a long-standing newspaper editor switch to a magazine role.
Donald Martin, pictured left, who is editor-in-chief of DC Thomson’s newspapers, will begin a role as head of publishing for consumer entertainment at the publisher in October.
Donald has worked for DC Thomson since 2010 and is also editor of the Sunday Post and The Weekly News.
Replacing him as editor of the two weekly titles will be Richard Prest, who has been editor of the the Dundee Evening Telegraph since 2010.
Evening Telegraph deputy editor Steven Bell will step up to become the title’s editor after working for DC Thomson for nearly 20 years.
Donald was editor-in-chief of The Herald and Sunday Herald before joining DC Thomson and previously edited the Glasgow Evening Times, the Aberdeen Evening Express and the North West Evening Mail, as well as a number of free weeklies.
He is also a board member for the Society of Editors and the National Council for the Training of Journalists.
In his new role as head of publishing, Donald will operate across the company’s magazine division, working with the editorial teams to manage and develop its publications.
He replaces Neil O’Brien, who has held the position since 2012, who is leaving the company to take up a new post as publisher for a London-based specialist firm, leaving DC Thomson after 12 years.
Ellis Watson, CEO of publishing at DC Thomson, said: “I’d like to welcome my new magazine and newspaper teams.
“Running a great business like ours allows me to pick talent from any of our competitors which is why it’s all the more exciting for me that we’ve found the very best talent for these openings in our own company.
“I look forward with eager anticipation to the next chapter as we work together to future-proof our publishing division.”
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Future-proof? Whatever next?
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My God, a thin editor…. Rarely see that….
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Pedant, ‘future proof’ is the new ‘drilling down’ in Marketing B*ll*cks Buzzword Bingo. (See also: ‘always-on activity’). Sitting in meetings with these twonks is hilarious: Senior Marketing Twonk spouts latest buzzword / everyone else nods earnestly / in next meeting Subordinate Marketing Twonks all parrot buzzword / repeat ad infinitum.
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Donald Martin has been an excellent editor of The Sunday Post.
He’s taken the paper by the scruff of the neck and totally transformed it, boosting the pagination, increasing supplements and weeding out all the crap letters that Viz so mercilessly spoofs.
He will be missed.
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I think Mr Watson means: “It’s good that we’ve saved cash by recruiting internally for these new teams and I’m looking forward to the venture increasing our profits” – which is all fair enough. Quite apart from Pedant’s “future-proof” criticism, we must also note the tautological tendency of these people – “I look forward with eager anticipation” and “we work together” – and their tendency to perceive business processes as a fictional narrative, ie. “the next chapter”. Implicit in narratives is an end, happy or otherwise. I’ll go along with ex-hack’s Twonks on this one.
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