THE executive editor of The Scotsman – Bill Jamieson – is to step down. But he does intend to continue writing for the paper and his economics column for sister title, Scotland on Sunday.
Named Journalist of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards two years ago, Jamieson also intends to continue filing op ed pieces and the occasional book review. He also expects to write two leader columns for The Scotsman per week.
The 66 year-old has been executive editor for 11 years, joining from The Sunday Telegraph, where he was economics editor. He began with responsibility for the paper’s business, finance and economics coverage.
No date has been set for his stepping down from the post.
While citing workload and his age as the reasons for his decision, he is planning to set up his own journalism venture: what he describes as an “one-stop business news website, comprising a daily summary and flash comment on Scottish economic and business data, a ‘traffic lights’ summary of how Scotland’s economy overall is faring, and a fulminating blog which my wife insists will be kept brief”.
He told allmediascotland.com: “I recently had earnest tutorials from a young newsdesk trainee, on temporary secondment, on ‘data blogging’ – the art of turning stacks of otherwise dull figures into fresh and eye-catching graphics. I love it. It’s the new journalism – and certainly will be so for anyone on the business/finance beat.
“I remain fanatically loyal to The Scotsman, do not at all agree with the ‘Death of Journalism’ thesis, and believe this to be a crisis of transition, not termination. You only have to see the figures for sales of iPhone and tablets, Facebook usage and Twitter accounts to see there is more communication than ever. And with this there will be plenty of demand for news that is accurate, news you can trust.”
