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Discuss this article (16 Comments)Newland steps down as The National editor
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Monday, 08 June 2009
NATIONAL EDITOR: Martin Newland said on Monday the situation regarding his position would be clear by the end of the day. (ITP Images)
Martin Newland has stepped down from his role as The National editor and has moved "upstairs" in a new role as editorial director, it was confirmed on Monday.
In his new role, Newland will be working to expand the National brand across digital platforms, he told Arabian Business in an interview.
The former Telegraph editor will be replaced by his current deputy, Hassan Fattah.
“We have many things we want to do to expand the product,” Newland said.
Newspapers in the region are better off than in the west, where the migration of readers online has prompted a sharp fall in advertising revenue, but are facing “a storm” in a few years’ time, he said.
“We have to be ready. At the moment we have 270 staff who are currently all feeding into the newspaper and the website, and we need them to feed into a lot more.”
He refuted claims that the move was as a result of disagreements between himself and The National’s owner, the Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC), over the editorial direction of the paper.
“Everyone is going to try and bolt on a ‘western editor bolts’ type of angle, but that just isn’t the case here I’m afraid,” he said, adding that he had “nothing but praise and gratitude to those who conceived of the paper in the first place”.
“I have done this several times, with a lot of proprietors, and there are always disagreements, and the workings out of middle ways. But I have found the leadership of ADMC to be entirely sympathetic to our aims, and very supportive.”
Branching out into the business side of publishing was his own idea, he said.
“I have been editing, in three continents, three big newspapers for the last ten or eleven years and I want to move on.”
Newland took up the post at the English language newspaper in 2008 and has previously been the editor of the Daily Telegraph in the UK, and the deputy editor of Canada’s National Post.
During Newland’s tenure, The National has grown into the UAE’s largest newspaper with 270 journalists, including 40 foreign correspondents.
When speaking to Arabian Business in May, Newland said the newspaper aimed to break even in the next four years and double advertising revenues in 2009.
He also insisted the newspaper never had an “open-ended chequebook”, despite being backed by the Abu Dhabi government.
READERS' COMMENTS
Disclaimer: The views expressed here by our readers are not necessarily shared by ArabianBusiness.com or its employees.
all ado about nothing
Posted by aaaaa on Tuesday 9 June 2009 at 14:04 UAE time
I doubt Newland's departure has anything to do with his remarkably pliant editorial policy (he seems to have, in a short time, internalized the biases and prejudices that come with this region). A number of years ago, KT under its then editor/proprietor was not afraid of tackling certain issues, GN for all its faults took a stand during the Press Law controversy and XPress, far from being a lowly tabloid, actually has far better UAE coverage than the National. The National has clearly not provided a forum for anything resembling contentious debate and dialogue as one would find, albeit flawed, in the Arabic-language media here such as al-Jazeera or the Kuwaiti press. Those of you who are lamenting his departure as some sort of a blow to press freedom or journalistic integrity here are clearly misguided. He was nothing more than journalism's equivalent of a mercenary, a man without any knowledge of the region, its language and culture and with even less of a stake in its future development.
Posted by aaaaa on Tuesday 9 June 2009 at 14:04 UAE time
I doubt Newland's departure has anything to do with his remarkably pliant editorial policy (he seems to have, in a short time, internalized the biases and prejudices that come with this region). A number of years ago, KT under its then editor/proprietor was not afraid of tackling certain issues, GN for all its faults took a stand during the Press Law controversy and XPress, far from being a lowly tabloid, actually has far better UAE coverage than the National. The National has clearly not provided a forum for anything resembling contentious debate and dialogue as one would find, albeit flawed, in the Arabic-language media here such as al-Jazeera or the Kuwaiti press. Those of you who are lamenting his departure as some sort of a blow to press freedom or journalistic integrity here are clearly misguided. He was nothing more than journalism's equivalent of a mercenary, a man without any knowledge of the region, its language and culture and with even less of a stake in its future development.
Make no differences
Posted by Frank Dxb, Dubai, U.A.E. on Tuesday 9 June 2009 at 08:37 UAE time
I am totally agree with Paul. I don't see any differences between The National, GN and KT. It is easier for these newspaper to report outside news rather than true local news as long as you have are bounded by tons of rules and restrictions. This is not newspaper fault. A kudo to online newspapers such as Arabianbusiness.com which are my only good sources to get true local news.
Posted by Frank Dxb, Dubai, U.A.E. on Tuesday 9 June 2009 at 08:37 UAE time
I am totally agree with Paul. I don't see any differences between The National, GN and KT. It is easier for these newspaper to report outside news rather than true local news as long as you have are bounded by tons of rules and restrictions. This is not newspaper fault. A kudo to online newspapers such as Arabianbusiness.com which are my only good sources to get true local news.
Non-league.
Posted by Paul King, Dubai, UAE on Monday 8 June 2009 at 22:07 UAE time
Daily newspapers in the UAE are already so far down the freedom of press table, you can only assume they are non-league. This stepping down only relegates them further.
Posted by Paul King, Dubai, UAE on Monday 8 June 2009 at 22:07 UAE time
Daily newspapers in the UAE are already so far down the freedom of press table, you can only assume they are non-league. This stepping down only relegates them further.
failure
Posted by paul, Dubai, UAE on Monday 8 June 2009 at 20:24 UAE time
The national has failed because it set out from the start claiming to bring a new journalistic independence to the UAE, when it was clear that it would continue to be bound by the same restrictions on the nature and content of stories.
The UAE English press is a useful tool for finding out the less controversial things that are going on, but for major issues that involve high profile figures or companies here, one must rely on the quality UK press such as the Times and the Independent in the UK.
Posted by paul, Dubai, UAE on Monday 8 June 2009 at 20:24 UAE time
The national has failed because it set out from the start claiming to bring a new journalistic independence to the UAE, when it was clear that it would continue to be bound by the same restrictions on the nature and content of stories.
The UAE English press is a useful tool for finding out the less controversial things that are going on, but for major issues that involve high profile figures or companies here, one must rely on the quality UK press such as the Times and the Independent in the UK.
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