An editor will take oversee the running of daily newspapers 250 miles apart as a regional publisher’s management shake-up continues.
National World has announced Edinburgh Evening News editor Euan McGrory has been promoted to editor-in-chief of ‘City World Newspapers’, which will see him take overall responsibility for the print operations of both the Yorkshire Evening Post and Sheffield daily The Star as well as his current title.
The EEN’s present news editor Rhoda Morrison has been promoted to editor of the Edinburgh daily, but she will report to Nancy Fielder, the newly-installed editor-in-chief of the group’s city-based ‘World’ brands, and focus on its digital growth.
City ‘World’ titles have previously been launched by National World in Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newcastle, putting the group in direct competition editorially with ‘Live’-branded titles owned by rival publisher Reach.
Edinburgh, Leeds and Sheffield will now be added to the same project, although the titles there will retain their current identities online.
Euan, who will report directly to National World executive chairman David Montgomery, said: “Edinburgh is one of the world’s great cities, so to be entrusted to edit its great daily title the Evening News not once, but twice, has been an enormous privilege. I am delighted to be leaving it in such safe hands with Rhoda.
“This is an exciting opportunity for me to help shape the future of some of the best known and most trusted brands in UK regional journalism.
“The world and the way people want to consume their news has changed dramatically in just a small number of years, but newspapers in the UK have remained relatively unchanged during that time. The time is ripe to reimagine what a great city newspaper can and should be.
“Can our papers be even more relevant to our readers’ daily lives and more useful to them? Can they still entertain while continuing to do all those things that readers rightly expect of us, informing them about what is happening in their communities, celebrating their successes and fighting their corner?
“I think the answer is yes and I am looking forward enormously to working with our highly talented teams across the country to find out.”
Euan and Rhoda’s appointments follow the promotion of both Nancy, who edited Sheffield daily The Star, and YEP editor Laura Collins, who is now charged with “overseeing the strategic direction of some of [the group’s] biggest city websites” in a publisher role.
Joseph Keith and Claire Lewis have been unveiled as the new editors of the YEP and The Star respectively.
They will also report to Nancy, with Euan taking charge of the three titles’ print operations.
Rhoda previously worked for the Bury Free Press and won Trainee of the Year at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence in 2019.
She then served as digital news editor at Iliffe Media’s county-wide title Suffolk News before returning to her native Scotland last year to take up her most recent role in Edinburgh.
Rhoda said: “I’m really excited to be taking on this role in what will be a new and exciting era for the Edinburgh Evening News.
“Alongside our great team, I hope to show our readers all that the capital has to offer and tell the stories that matter to everyone in the city.
“We will continue to champion the local voices and communities that make Edinburgh the best city in the world and a great place to live, work and visit.
“I cannot wait to get started and see what great things we can do.”