As the Irish Mirror’s editor-in-chief John ‘Jumbo’ Kierans has stepped down as the paper’s owner Reach sets about a major restructuring of its business in Ireland and the UK.
The news comes after Reach, which owns seven print titles and five websites all-Ireland including the daily and Sunday editions of the Irish Mirror newspaper, Daily Mirror in the North and the NI and ROI editions of the Sunday People, announced the major transformation would result in 550 redundancies group wide.
Reach’s Irish business is not exempt from the restructure which, according to CEO Jim Mullen, it is undertaking to “protect our businesses and newsbrands for the long term” following the impact the Covid-19 crisis has had on the business and the media sector as a whole.
“To meet these challenges and to accelerate our customer value strategy, we have completed plans to transform the business and are ready to begin the process of implementation,” he said.
“Regrettably, these plans involve a reduction in our workforce and we will ensure all impacted colleagues are treated with fairness and respect throughout the forthcoming consultation process.”
As part of the restructuring, Chris Sherrard, former editor of Belfast Live step into a new role as Audience and Content Director for Ireland, leading the group’s editorial operation across digital and print. The commercial side of the business in Ireland will still be led by Joanne McGreevy who has been appointed Marketplace Publisher.
According to Sherrard: “I am following in the footsteps of a legend of Irish journalism who has done so much to build our news brands in Ireland. These are unquestionably difficult and challenging times for our industry but I’m confident that the future is bright. I am really excited by the challenge and looking forward to leading a team of extremely talented journalists across print and digital, North and South.”
Joanne McGreevy added: “I have had the pleasure of working with Jumbo since the very first day the Irish Mirror was printed in Ireland. His contribution and loyalty to the Irish Mirror and the Irish business as a whole has been incredible and it has been a privilege to work alongside a great friend and colleague.
“We must now refocus and reshape our structure and the way we operate around our customer value strategy and in the context of the new market conditions in which we are operating. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Jumbo and wish him the very best of luck for the future – a future which will include a column in his beloved Mirror!”
