A new role, and new opportunities…
cause people often talk about being scared of change
but for me I’m more afraid of things staying the same
cause the game is never won
by standing in any one place for too long
(Jesus of the Moon, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
Journalism witnessed an incredible amount of change during my time at Storyful. In the last three years, we had front row seats to some of the most important evolutions in media.
From the ubiquity of mobile devices and data in reporting, to drastic changes in advertising revenue, to the rise of video and live streams — each advance has presented as many opportunities as it has challenges.
Today, I’m delighted to announce I’m taking up a new role, as Director of the European Journalism Centre.
Technology is transforming media consumption, delivery, partnerships, ethics and experimentation. The news industry must change, or face being changed. I believe the EJC is perfectly positioned to ensure the independence and importance of journalism with a new era of invention and profitability. Through projects like News Impact Summits, the Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme, Data Driven Journalism, and the Verification Handbook, the EJC has changed the way journalists work, worldwide. With a talented and passionate team, we’re going to continue to educate and innovate at the intersection of journalism, ethics, and technology.
I owe a great deal of thanks to all my former colleagues at Storyful. Together, we built over 20 news products that helped our team and partners navigate a brave new world for journalism. I was fortunate enough to work amongst some of the smartest minds in news, across the board, from technology to editorial. I’m indebted to Storyful’s founder Mark Little for showing faith in me, before the News Corp acquisition, when we were only 27 people. And I’m hugely thankful to current CEO Rahul Chopra who trusted me to help scale the company to the 120+ people across five offices that Storyful is today.
Along the way, these people and many others have taught me a lot about editorial integrity, business innovation, product development, company culture, and the Oxford comma. I can’t wait to start applying this knowledge in my new position.
If you have any ideas on what the EJC is doing, or should be doing, I’d love to hear from you. Similarly, if you know a person, project or idea that’s going to change the news industry, you know where to find me.
I start in November; before then I’m going to be travelling in East Africa (which you’ll be able to follow on Instagram and Twitter of course). See you on the other side.
