Sun senior execs at risk from £10m cost cuts as Storyful chief exits
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jun/26/sun-senior-execs-risk-redundancy-storyful-chief-exits Version 0 of 1. News Corp continues to ring the changes with several senior Sun executives, including the editor of the Saturday edition, put at risk of redundancy as the founder of its social news agency Storyful quits. Mark Little, who sold Storyful to News Corp for £15m just 18 months ago, said he was leaving now because it’s best to “quit while you’re ahead”. It has also emerged that Lisa Collins, the editor of the Saturday Sun; Jon Moorhead, the long-time night editor made head of editorial projects last year; and Sun veteran Paul Hudson, head of production for sport; are facing the axe. The trio are understood to be at risk of redundancy, which does not necessarily mean they will leave News UK, as part of a £10m cost-cutting drive expected to see further staff exits. “We don’t comment on the employment situation of individuals,” said a Sun spokeswoman. The three were part of a shake-up of seven senior editors announced last year by Sun editor David Dinsmore to strengthen the newspaper’s digital offering. Storyful’s Little, who announced his departure on the company blog, was careful to explain that he wasn’t forced out of the business by News Corp. “It’s not an easy decision but it’s a good one,” he said. “And most importantly, it’s my decision alone.” He also moved to scotch any speculation that his departure could indicate that the acquisition had proved to be a failure. “Acquisitions are notoriously messy affairs (at least for the startup),” he said. “But that hasn’t been the case with Storyful and News Corp. We’ve enjoyed absolute and unwavering support for our ambitions from the highest level at News Corp, and also the resources to achieve them.” He said Storyful has expanded from 30 team members, when it was acquired by News Corp, to almost 90 people in Dublin, New York, London, Hong Kong, Atlanta and Sydney. Little, who founded the Dublin-based company in 2010, stepped down as chief executive of Storyful last December, on the first anniversary of the company’s acquisition. News Corp’s Rahul Chopra, who joined Storyful as chief revenue officer at the time of the acquisition, became chief executive while Little became director of editorial innovation. |