Fairfax Media has appointed new editors for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age after Darren Goodsir resigned as editor-in-chief of the Sydney masthead and the Age’s editor, Mark Forbes, left the company after a sexual harassment complaint.
The Australian Financial Review’s European correspondent, James Chessell, has been appointed Fairfax media’s national editor.
Lisa Davies has been appointed editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and acting Age editor Alex Lavelle has been confirmed in the position of editor of the Melbourne paper.
The company has abolished the position of editor-in-chief and downgraded the role of the editor to local news only.
“As editors, Ms Davies and Mr Lavelle will be responsible for the mastheads’ NSW and Victorian and local coverage, including state parliament, transport, health, education, crime and courts, as well as sport, breaking news and investigations,” editorial director Sean Aylmer said.
Chessell will run federal politics, business and international news across both mastheads.
Aylmer said Davies was an outstanding journalist with excellent news judgment.
“She brings a depth of experience to running the newsroom and has demonstrated impressive leadership skills over the past 12 months,” Aylmer said. “Their appointments underline our commitment to producing quality journalism to inform and enrich the communities we serve.
“They are all outstanding journalists, skilled editors and passionate about journalism that packs a punch. Quality, agenda-setting journalism is what the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age are all about and will continue to deliver.
“Together, these editors ensure continued strength of the unique editorial voices of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age. They will deliver on the needs of their Sydney and Melbourne local audiences, and work collaboratively to deliver outstanding and unrivalled national coverage.”
After 20 years with Fairfax, Goodsir told the newsroom on Monday he was stepping down as editor-in-chief.
A popular editor, Goodsir faced some challenges including the loss of senior columnists Mike Carlton and Richard Ackland after disputes and the embarrassment of publishing a column by Paul Sheehan that was based on false information.
“Darren’s an incredibly talented journalist,” Aylmer said. “He’s more than made his mark during his outstanding 32 years in journalism.
“Darren has guided our Sydney newsroom through significant change in recent years and been instrumental in driving digital growth. As EIC of the SMH, he has overseen some of the most powerful journalism in the masthead’s long history.
“That the SMH reigns supreme as the nation’s No 1 masthead across all platforms is a credit to Darren’s outstanding editorial leadership of an incredibly talented team.
“We wish Darren all the very best as he takes some time to enjoy life beyond the media industry.”
