New editors like to appoint their own senior staff so it's probably no surprise that James Harding has made changes at the top of The Times hierarchy. But it's a sad day for Ben Preston, the loyal and willing deputy to two previous editors and, according to my friends at the paper, one of the smartest news editors in the business.
He has been compensated with one of those jobs that, even on paper, sounds pretty hollow: editor, international editions. I understand that he was offered Washington but, for family reasons, turned it down. I'm sure he would have made a good fist of that posting, as he will the new one. He has proved himself as a pro.
Journalism is often unfair. When a previous editor, Peter Stothard, fell ill, Preston stepped into the breach at short notice with little experience and performed very well. Like so many deputies, he has been overlooked too often.
What then of the man who replaces him, Keith Blackmore? Currently the paper's executive editor, he was previously an effective head of The Times's online team and before that, the sports editor. He has risen fast in the last five years (as befits a member of Brighton's luminary media mafia).
He is quiet and efficient and well respected. But his greatest plus is the fact of his having being selected for his job by the new editor. Editors like to have deputies they can trust.
I'm delighted to see also that Richard Beeston has been made up to foreign editor. He has a great track record. And what a pedigree. His father was a superb foreign correspondent, for the News Chronicle and the Daily Telegraph. Read his book Looking For Trouble. It's excellent.
