Irish Times owned Irish Examiner and The Echo newsrooms to merge
The newspapers are owned and operated by the Irish Times, which bought them in 2018. At the time it said that the deal provided opportunities for consolidation, but that the core identity and independence of the news titles would be retained.
Tom Fitzpatrick has been editor of the Irish Examiner since 2019. It is understood that he has decided not to apply for the new combined role.
In an email to staff today Karen O'Donoghue, managing director of the Irish Examiner and The Echo, said that as part of a three-year change programme, the new position would be publicly advertised on Friday.
'The leadership role is a key pillar of the plan to combine the editorial operations,' she said. 'In creating a single editorial department, we will improve teamwork and our ability to target key audiences, streamline decision making, and grow both digital subscriptions and digital advertising revenues, enable by a cohesive editorial vision across our titles.'
Sources familiar with the change programme pointed out that other areas of the two newspapers, apart from editorial, are already merged.
The change marks a further consolidation within the Irish newspaper industry, which is dealing with the twin threats of declining print circulation and reduced advertised spend.
In 2019, the Evening Echo became a morning newspaper and was rebranded The Echo. Produced for almost 130 years, and synonymous with Cork, it is now printed at the same time as the Irish Examiner. Its website was redesigned at EchoLive.ie
The newspaper was founded as a broadsheet in 1892, and went tabloid in 1991. Two years ago the newspaper got its first female editor, with Grainne McGuinness taking over from Maurice Gubbins.
In her role as managing director of the Irish Examiner and The Echo, Ms O'Donoghue reports to the Irish Times group managing director, Deirdre Veldon. Since her appointment in November 2022, Ms Veldon has put a new leadership team and strategy in place in order to return the company to profitability.
As well as the two Cork newspapers, the Irish Times group owns a number of regional titles, such as the Waterford News and Star. It has a majority share in the Waterford-based radio station WLR, and last year bought the death notices site rip.ie, causing a controversy last December when it introduced a €100 charge for listings.
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