On the 22nd of June 2009, Geordie Greig the new editor of the London Evening Standard hosted a briefing for journalists at the Foreign Press Association. Over the course of his speech he covered the background to the recent sale of the paper and the strategy that he is following.
At the start of 2009 it was announced 75.1% of the London Evening standard was bought by Alexander Lebedev for a reported figure of £1 with a promise by the new owner to invest a further £25m to return the Evening standard to profitability.
The sale of the paper by the Rothermeres created a degree of consternation and intrigue as the new owner is a Russian oligarch and former KGB lieutenant colonel. Commentators and politicians raised questions as to whether the new proprietor, “a former Spy”, was deemed fit to own a news paper in the UK. Would he be a force for good or for evil? These are questions that the new editor of the Evening Standard Geordie Greig must answer day in and out about his employer.
Regardless of past histories and the career choice of Mr. Lebedev, buying the Evening Standard was an interesting move. The paper, for a long time ,had ceased to be the paper of choice among Londoners.
The editorial had grown tired and the paper was facing competition from free papers. To add to these troubles the rise of digital media and the credit crunch were adding to the falling circulation of the paper. In a sense it had lost touch and was rudderless. The paper had got itself a name for being politically partisan and biased.
So why or what could Lebedev hope to make good from such a deal?
To make it work the new owners chose Geordie Greig as the Editor in Chief of the news paper. In many ways Greig can be seen as an inspired choice with a varied career that ranges from working in local newspapers such as the South East London and Deptford Mercury news papers, moving to the Daily Mail, The Sunday Times and then in 1999 becoming the editor of Tatler for ten years.
In a wide ranging speech he covered many topics and looked confident and competent in fielding questions. The topics included: the first time he met with the Lebedevs, the strategy for the ‘new’ standard, digital v’s print media and his views on free news papers.
Greig believes that we are in a, “dual carriageway”, between digital and print media and does not see an immediate end to what he calls the “rust belt industry” of printed newspapers. One will complement the other and they will mirror and interface across the two platforms.
The re-launch of The Evening Standard he believes has been a good success and greeted by many across the spectrum. The aim was to make it more modern, more vibrant and alive and that would bring with it a new sense of engagement. He wryly notes that the re-launch took six weeks in comparison to the Guardians two years.
The advertising campaign that re-launched the Evening Standard was focused on drawing a line under the old and the new standard. The campaign focused on adverts that said ‘sorry’. ‘Sorry for not listening, sorry for being complacent, sorry for being perceived as negative’. These were all things that Greig says he and the staff at the Evening Standard knew were the problems.
He describes the malaise that the standard had found itself in as being similar to a marriage that had broken down. His key focus for the launch campaign and for the future of the newspaper is to re-engage with Londoners. This is a point that he repeated on several occasions and something as he sees as being key to the future success of the paper.
The fact that the Evening Standard had become politically biased is something that Grieg is very aware of. One of the first things he did when he started in his new position was to have lunch with Ken Livingston. The Evening Standard under his control promises to be politically independent and will watch, listen and report on politics in London in a balanced and unbiased manner.
Grieg believes that free papers have done nothing for news paper readers or media industry in London. He believes that “by giving out free papers in London you make the average reader think or question are they all the same”. The essence of debate, investigation, in depth reporting and campaigns that newspapers, like the Evening Standard, carry out are in his view, “central to the fabric to a great democratic society”.
The new management have employed three hundred new sales agents for tube stations across London. They now sell the paper later in the evening at a reduced price so more people are able to buy the paper on the way home.
His ambition for the Evening Standard is clear. He wants to make the print and the digital versions the place where people who want to find out anything about London from the city, business, news and the arts will look. He openly admits that he thinks London is the best city in the world and is a city that should be celebrated. This is what he will do in the pages of the newspaper.
Given his experience working on a different range of publications he is possibly well placed to make the Evening Standard into a news paper that will have something for all the capitals residents.
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