The owners: the Barclay twins
** For 06/05 Rumour Mill Update — see below **
Election day is a funny day for an editor-in-chief to be out of the door ** with four months gardening leave apparently **, but then that’s what happened to Will Lewis over at the Telegraph. While editors only infrequently change elsewhere on Fleet Street (even Simon Kelner is back in the hotseat), the whirligig is the norm over at Telegraph Media, where Martin Newland, John Bryant, Sarah Sands and Patience Wheatcroft have already come and gone since the Barclay family bought the Telegraph titles in 2004. And Lewis is only 41.
A year or so ago, rumours swirled that Lewis might be in trouble. But latterly the newspaper has been on something of a roll, what with its ballsy decision to pay for and publish the MPs expenses files. At the same time the Telegraph’s finances have gone back into the black. And it’s curious because Lewis, an energetic editor who believed powerfully in the future of new media, was thought to be close to the all important Aidan Barclay — the member of the owning family that had most day to day contact with the title.
Latterly, Lewis had been off at the other end of town in Euston from the Telegraph titles at Victoria. Lewis had cash from the Barclay family to spend on unspecified new media activities while Tony Gallagher got on and edited the papers. Whether the Lewis empire going to add up to anything was anybody’s guess (a feeble attempt by this writer to find out more for a magazine article failed to get anywhere), but a bit of technology and consultancy was being sold to newspaper groups elsewhere around the world if nothing else.
The emerging story from all sides is that there was “a dispute over the financial independence of Will’s unit” — which is generally interpreted as code for a bust up with chief executive Murdoch MacLennan. That’s interesting because somehow every falling out at the Telegraph gets attributed to a bust-up between an editor and Murdoch MacLennan. Which seems odd, because there is another very important set of players at the Telegraph Group, namely the Barclay family that owns the newspapers. It’d be, well, surprising, if they didn’t have a view at all.
As for Lewis, he’ll be back soon enough — hacks were last night already putting him down as a possible future editor of The Sunday Times**, given friendly relations with the likes of Rebekah Brooks over at News International. Lewis, himself, though, may hanker after a commercial job (and did he really enjoying the actual day to day business of editing anyway?). Either way, it’d be interesting to find out which election parties he turns up to tonight.
** Rumour Mill Update (May 6) **
Hacks convinced that Lewis will end up with a big editing job over at News Corp. If only they could agree on where.
Theory #1: Sunday Times — alluded to above, but talk from the Sun Times is that this is *bollocks*. Inclined to agree; John Witherow is immortal anyway.
Theory #2: WSJ — Robert Thomson wants to go back to Oz, so Will goes straight into being ed of the Wall Street Journal. Not sure I see Will enjoying the Journal culture, but well its New York, New York. Liking the Thomson rumour a lot though.
Theory #3: The Times. Bollocks.
Yeah, maybe the Tories will win the election and there’ll be some kind of gig in government…
And while you wait for that, here’s a vid of a trip Will made to the University of Lincoln, which included press and radio interviews, and ended in a few drinks at the Glasshouse bar.
Yep, we gonna hire Thomson, offer him Oz job, now you suggested it. It’s one of those rumours that’s, well, too good to check. — Dan
cracking Thomson rumour, but couldn’t you find a commercial role for him at BeehiveCity, digital experience and all that?
By God who shot that video?! I really hope it was not UoL journalism students. If so, quality has certainly depleted
[...] Meanwhile over at Beehive City, Dan Sabbagh speculates it won’t be the last we’ve seen o…: As for Lewis, he’ll be back soon enough – hacks were last night already putting him down as a possible future editor of The Sunday Times, given friendly relations with the likes of Rebekah Brooks over at News International. Lewis, himself, though, may hanker after a commercial job. Either way, it’d be interesting to find out which election parties he turns up to tonight. [...]