The UK’s largest commercial newspaper publisher Reach – home to titles including The Daily Mirror and Daily Express – has announced the appointment of Paul Doyle as the company’s first editorial director of audio and video.
Doyle joins from Immediate Media, where he was director of video strategy and delivery, having previously worked at TikTok, BBC, RTÉ, Sky Sports and ITV.
In his new role, Doyle will lead Reach’s Everyday video journalism teams, responsible for daily output video, as well as developing new show formats building on a slate which includes the Daily Expresso and In The Mixer. He will work with Reach’s Studio team, which is tasked with developing new video formats with advertisers.
Doyle said: “The way people discover, consume and engage with news, sport and lifestyle content is changing rapidly, and that creates a huge opportunity for video and audio. Few media organisations globally can match the combination of trusted journalism, brilliant editorial talent, on the ground reporting, and extraordinary audience scale that exists across our titles. I’m looking forward to working with teams to build on what’s already working, develop distinctive formats and talent, and create journalism that is made for where our audiences are”
Anna Jeys, meanwhile, has been promoted to director of audience at Reach. In her previous head of video role, Jeys oversaw the launch of the Everyday Journalism teams in newsrooms across Reach, which have provided the catalyst for Reach’s growth across social video platforms, including Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.
David Higgerson, chief content officer at Reach, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Paul to Reach. His expertise and experience will be crucial as we respond to audience demands for more audio and video journalism across our business. We have made a lot of progress in the last 12 months, going where our audiences are, and Paul has a slate of ideas ready to implement which will ensure there are more reasons for people to spend longer with our journalists.”
As well as Expresso, Reach newsrooms run a number of other series, including HotLine Live (Daily Record), Shattered Lives (Irish Mirror), the newly-launched Mancunian Way (Manchester Evening News), and a slate of football club-specific covering teams including Aston Villa, Liverpool FC and Everton.
