News.com.au editor Luke McIlveen to defect to the Mail Online
Editor of Australia’s most read news website news.com.au Luke McIlveen has left News Corp Australia, Mumbrella can reveal.
Mumbrella understands McIlveen will take up the role of editor of the Mail Online, which last week announced it would launch in Australia in 2014.
McIlveen has been editor of the website since 2012, during that time he moved it from the third most read website to the first. Mi9 and News Corp Australia both declined to comment on the move, however the defection comes as a surprise with many News Corp insiders having tipped McIlveen for a senior newspaper editorship in the coming years.
He is a former chief of staff of the Daily Telegraph and editor of News’s daily suburban newspaper the Manly Daily.
It is unclear when he would be free to take up the role, with the potential for a legal battle between News and the Mail Online over his start date. However, upon taking the role his first task will be recruit and bed-in an editorial staff of 50 journalists.
In a Google hangout with Mumbrella last week Mail Online publisher and editor-in-chief Martin Clarke said of his search for an editor: “I will not be appointing someone based on their political views. The political agenda isn’t the most important thing. We’re not about setting political agendas and ramming them down people’s throats.”
He added: “I will expect the Australian editor to lead that team and be able to grow and mould and train a team.
“This isn’t going to be some sort of semi-detached operation, it’s going to be fully integrated within the global Mail Online operation.
“I like to move people around and I’m hoping we might find someone who may be able to help grow us in Britain, America and everywhere else in the world.”
He also flagged an intention to have “some” editorial in place by the New Year, but indicted it might be a “soft” rollout as it starts to build out its editorial team and “gradually turn the tap on” and have the entire team in place “by the middle of next year”.
Nic Christensen
Good choice. Congrats Luke.
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A natural choice. Congrats to Luke and the daily mail
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I wonder, will the Australian version of the Daily Mail retain the same journalistic standards as it’s UK counterpart?
Will they report on the many and varied things that will give you cancer? And can we expect a column of smut on the right hand side? What will happen for instance if we type the words “all grown up” into the Australian version of the Daily Mail’s website?
One can only wonder.
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The fact that it would be a promotion to go from the editor of their online news site to their paper product is probably a sign of why these businesses are struggling.
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er…yeah sure craig lol
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An excellent hire for MailOnline – Luke is an excellent editor and leader.
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One of the good guys and a great talent.
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That’ll be “its”, Andrew R.
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A good fit for Mail Online. The direction he’s taken news.com.au in the last couple of years (in terms of content tone/mix/quality) is straight out of the Daily Mail playbook. Also suggests that the Mail Online’s arrival in .au poses biggest threat to news.com.au. THey’re very much cut from the same cloth.
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He can obviously read the writing on the wall regarding the future of Murdoch’s press outlets in this country. Get off the sinking ship whilst you can.
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@Andrew Rollason – spot on, you get this:
“Elle Fanning looks all grown up at 13 as she shares a red carpet hug with Tom Cruise at Super 8 premiere”
“All grown up! Chloe Moretz looks very ladylike and older than her 14 year as she attends Hugo screening”
Etc
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/hom.....l+grown+up
But how does this effect house prices?
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A great choice to bring in someone with so much experience and talent. A proven track record at News.com.au Clearly the only person for the job. Well done Luke.
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Well done Luke. Big loss for News but as someone once told me “you gotta do what you gotta do”.
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