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Sport Media Group, the publisher of the Sunday and Daily Sport, has followed up last year’s recruitment of Loaded founding editor James Brown with the appointment of Barry McIlheney from Emap as the group’s new editor-in-chief.
Considering the pedigree of McIlheney, more on that later, the move is likely to be seen as a coup for the Manchester based group, while ostensibly confirming its intention to move further into the ‘lads mag’ market. This was a process seemingly started by the recruitment of the ‘original champion’ of ‘the lad’ Brown and the sweeping changes that his arrival facilitated at SMG. He was also largely responsible for the inception of the search for a suitable editor-in-chief candidate. McIlheney, with his vast experience at Emap, appears to have fitted the bill perfectly. He joins Sport Newspapers after 21 years at Emap PLC; a tenure which saw him edit Smash Hits, launch Empire and Zoo, manage the Emap Metro portfolio (including FHM and Q) and also head the team that broke Heat into the UK magazine marketplace.  'Original lad' Brown 'Attracting someone of the calibre of Barry to The Sport is a great coup and will allow us to continue to build the paper as a vehicle to reach young men on a daily basis,” he commented in a statement to the City. “He has almost unparalleled success in magazine editing and launches, combined with a career which started in newspapers and music papers. His titles, including Smash Hits, FHM, Heat and Zoo have been highly successful and we are confident that Barry can replicate this success at The Sport.” “With the rest of the tabloid sector increasingly feminised by focusing on reality TV there's a genuine opportunity to provide an array of humour, sport, glamour, motors and larger than life stories that will define The Sport as a unique publication.' McIlheney himself added that he was “thrilled” by the opportunity, while Andrew Fickling, the executive director of Sport Media commented: “Barry has a proven track record of creating significant circulation uplift, particularly in the men's publishing arena. "As just a small increase in the circulation of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport can deliver a significant increase in Group profits, this appointment is critical to the continued success of the business.” http://www.interactiveworld.com/ Something to add? Then leave a comment below or email us now.
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