Senior editor leaves Reuters ahead of new digital strategy

A former editor at The New York Times, he has been investigations editor and part of the online editing team headed by Chrystia Freeland.

News of his departure was buried in an announcement by her on Tuesday, the website Capital New York reported.

It said Impoco’s departure was a surprise to some. It had been expected that he would be moving away from the digital side to concentrate full-time on Reuters, a client magazine he launched for Reuters last year, the third issue of which is expected to be published at the forthcoming World Economic Forum in Davos.

Impoco would not say where he was going but told Capital New York: “I have nothing but great things to say about Reuters. Chrystia Freeland is a rock star and a friend for life. And I am grateful to [editor-in-chief] Steve Adler for all the fun opportunities he threw my way. Looking forward to the next challenge.”

In her memo announcing the leadership structure of Reuters Next, the company’s new consumer-facing online strategy and soon to be re-launched website, Freeland said:

“As Steve Adler announced a few weeks ago, I’ll be taking on the role of Managing Director and Editor, Consumer News in the new Reuters structure, responsible for editorial, product and design and commercial strategy for our digital consumer products. This is an important and exciting time in the digital news space and I’m thrilled to be leading the team that will unveil the results of our ‘Reuters Next’ initiative over the next few months — a new suite of digital and mobile properties, including the launch of the long-awaited new Reuters.com and its mobile app versions. The new website and apps are an essential element of Reuters’ drive to create a consumer news platform which is a valued and effective showcase for all of our journalism, in every medium and around the world. Crucially, Reuters Next will be the public face of Thomson Reuters as a whole and will be organically connected with our paid-for subscription products, offering our clients an extra service and a wider community, and enticing new clients to try and buy our subscription products.”

Thomson Reuters will be hiring a commercial head of its consumer digital platforms. In the interim, Riley McDonough will continue to lead the global sales team before leaving the company. Freeland will also be creating a new role of managing editor of the commercial digital platforms who will be responsible for the editorial content on all consumer digital platforms around the world.

Separately, The New York Observer reported that correspondent Andrew Quinn, who has covered the US State Department for the past three years, was leaving Reuters after 25 years.

“It’s our sad duty to share the news that Andy Quinn will be leaving Reuters later this month, after a storied 25-year career serving the Baron,” an e-mail to staffers said on Tuesday. “To say we will miss him and his sardonic wit would be a gross understatement.”

Quinn joined Reuters in 1988 as a local hire in Taipei and went on to assignments in Beijing, Washington, San Francisco and Johannesburg. ■