Attard moved out of role as Global Mail editor
Global Mail founding editor Monica Attard is to step down from the role after disagreements with co-founder and philanthropist Graeme Wood, Crikey is reporting.
A statement is expected to be released tomorrow.
According to Crikey, the move came after “festering tensions came to a head last week in an office showdown.”
The Global Mail launched as an online only title in February of this year, with a five year funding commitment from Wood, who has donated $15m to the project.
Cue hasty removal of the Global Mail story that appeared in the Opinion/Features column
Sadly this is less conspiracy and more a glitch – the story (which first ran in Encore magazine last month) is here: https://mumbrella.com.au/journalisms-new-model-90390.
cheers, Cathie
Graeme: A word of advice… It would be a good idea to appoint an editor with some management experience. Editing is 75 per cent people management and 25 per cent editorial. Best of luck. Journalism needs you.
I checked out the Global Mail when it first launched and I reckon it is just a giant irrelevant digital hole to pour $15 mill into. It has no hook at all. There is no big idea behind it. There are dozens of other online products doing a far better job. There’s no attitude and it’s not even particularly insightful. Where is the SEO? Where is the social media component? I put this down to poor editorial direction and a 20th century old media approach to new media. It’s a shame because it’s not everyday someone throws $15 mill at an online publishing project.
After spending the back end of 2011 telling us that they’d be arriving like journalism’s white knight in 2012, The Global Mail launched with a whimper. They had, what, a year to come up with a big story or two and launch with a bang? I was honestly expecting a “stop cattle exports to Indonesia”-type cannonball on the first day but instead I got …. erm … I ah, I … I can’t even remember the stories they were that dull/irrelevant. My advice; break some big stories, make a bit of noise and – provided you’ve fixed all the other problems (like the idiotic horizontal scroll) – people might be curious about what you’re doing and, you know, wanna visit your site.