Crikey has appointed a new editor and a new publisher as the 12-year-old publication cements its position as Australia’s leading independent news and current affairs website.
After more than two-and-a-half years at the helm, Sophie Black is stepping back from editing the Private Media publication to take maternity leave. After an extensive search for a replacement, Jason Whittaker, the current deputy editor, will assume the role from May 14.
Marina Go, a respected and experienced editor and product manager, has joined the Private Media fold and will take up the role of Crikey publisher.
Private Media chairman Eric Beecher says that the company is “delighted to be able to engineer a smooth succession from Sophie Black, our accomplished editor of almost three years, to Jason Whittaker, her adept deputy.
“Sophie has put an edgy, thoughtful mark on Crikey during her editorship. She is a fine leader and a seriously good editorial practitioner. We look forward to welcoming her back after she starts her new career in motherhood.
“Jason Whittaker takes the baton at a time of growth for Crikey, amid turmoil in mainstream media. Jason is the right person to uphold the publication’s fierce independence and to continue to sharpen its focus on breaking news and expert commentary with a beefed-up editorial team.”
Marina Go, who has previously worked at ACP, Fairfax, Pacific Publications, Emap and Text Media, has joined the Private Media fold and will take up the role of Crikey publisher. Go will work across the editorial and sales teams to drive new commercial opportunities for the business.
Amanda Gome, CEO of Private Media, says Crikey is ideally positioned to aggressively grow its subscription base and website advertising.
“Crikey subscriptions revenue grew by 11% last year and is set to grow by 14% this year in difficult economic conditions,” she says. “Next year we expect much higher growth as we go into a federal election year and everyone wants to read Crikey‘s unique independent perspective.”
Gome says that Crikey is a very attractive advertising proposition for advertisers.
“Crikey readers are a who’s who of Australia’s leaders, politicians and opinion-makers who love new technology, are optimistic about the future and are big spenders. They love culture, entertainment, wine, travel and food. And these intelligent, curious people are into self-improvement, taking lots of education courses.”
Is this the right time and place to make wishlists and/or complain about the editorial direction of Crikey?
Good choice Crikey.
Congrats to Jason, all the best to Sophie and welcome to the madhouse Marina.
Interesting times ahead.
Good luck Jason. Your career in the industry has paid off.
“After an extensive search for a replacement”…we settled on our current deputy editor. Huh. Go figure.
But seriously, good luck Jason.
This strange document sums up the odd mixture of hubris and junior corporatism which defines Crikey.
The claim is that Crikey is “Australia’s leading independent news and current affairs website”.
But there’s minimal journalism.
Crikey is a comment site. Essentially a group blog with an editor.
And “independent” of what? Beecher is a mini-mogul, so Crikey is not part of the big media empires. Fine. But there are still corporate interests involved, albeit modest, and ideological biases. Crikey is no more up-front about its ideological preferences than the MSM…
Also, its interests are restricted- Canberra politics, media, climate change (Believers only). Everything else is peripheral and occasional.
Crikey is purely reactive- reacting to daily events culled from the MSM.
It could hardly be otherwise- the staff is tiny. One or two writers carry the burden- Keane sometimes bangs out three pieces a day. Quality inevitably suffers. Keane is a better than average commentator, but restricted in range (a Beltway Boy). Repetition is one result.
Crikey is in effect part-time. Mon-Friday 10-5pm, if everyone is on deck. They often aren’t. Many big issues never make it. Comment moderation is (like other sites) a shambles. Puts many people off.
Australia certainly needs critical, fearless media. But too much of the time Crikey is merely an echo-chamber for inner-urban partisanship. Propinquity masquerading as ideology. There’s no awareness on Crikey of its own class and regional biases. It’s a small site with a handful of regulars- hard to avoid both cliqueyness and ideological convergence.
Real independence, real criticism, means ripping your friend’s face off. (Well, when necessary….)
Independence/criticism is not constant needle matches with shock jocks and other media cane toads. That’s just indulgent- and encourages fungal growth. Crikey should be setting agendas, not rising to baits.
Fact is Crikey is nowhere near the critical mass required to live up to its claims. It needs to be far bigger, pay real money to contributors, employ journalists, dedicate itself to whistleblowers, systematically expose the personal/political/economic relationships of the powerful, revive awareness of class and comprehend the rise of corporatism…
My breath I am not holding…
But offer a job to Assange…