Reuters.com loses technology editor

Smalera, pictured, was technology editor, Reuters Digital, and product manager, editorial tools, for the website’s content management system. His departure was announced in a note to staff on Thursday by Bill Riordan, head of product at Reuters Next – the name by which a major project to re-vamp and re-launch the website is known internally. The project aims to replace a website described as having been built on a legacy system conceived in the wire agency age.

“Paul has played a huge role on Reuters Next from its inception,” Riordan wrote. “From his contribution to the project’s initial vision through shipping its first piece of working code, he’s been an essential part of the product and editorial teams from day one. Prior to joining the Reuters Next team, Paul made many valuable contributions to Reuters Opinion, particularly in bringing in outside writers and shaping our technology coverage.”

Reuters has offered a preview of the website’s new look – the third in three years – but has not said when it will go live. Talk of a re-launch in the first quarter of this year proved premature. Reuters’ current website was launched in July 2011. The previous re-launch was in December 2009.

Others on the Reuters Next project who have left this year include Jim Impoco, executive editor of Reuters Digital and  one of several US journalists taken on by Reuters in a wave of high-profile hires over the last three years. His replacement as executive editor is Jim Roberts, who joined from The New York Times.

Impoco was one of the main deputies to Chrystia Freeland, managing director and editor, consumer news, who is responsible for editorial, product and design and commercial strategy for the company’s digital consumer products, and reuters.com’s head of global sales, Riley McDonough. Kenneth Li, global editor of reuters.com, was moved aside in May after being reprimanded with two others for failing to tell their superiors that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had raided the home deputy social media editor Matthew Keys. Keys was fired in April after he was indicted by a federal grand jury on three criminal counts alleging that he helped members of the Anonymous collective hack into computer systems of Tribune, publisher of the Los Angeles Times. The alleged events occurred before Keys joined Reuters in January 2012.

In other staff movements, Reuters appointed Tony Massey as head of global editorial operations, based in Barcelona. He has been doing the job in an interim capacity since January.

Ossian Shine, global editor, sports, lifestyle and entertainment, announced a new structure and three new regional editors-in-charge for the lifestyle and entertainment team. Shine himself takes on the additional role of global lifestyle editor.

Mary Milliken, a former Washington bureau chief, joins the team as Americas regional editor based in Los Angeles. Piya Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles and Patricia Reaney in New York will report to her.

In Asia, John O’Callaghan, chief correspondent in Singapore, joins the team as Asia regional editor.

London-based editor Michael Roddy becomes Lifestyle editor-in-charge for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 

Belinda Goldsmith, interim global editor, leaves the lifestyle and entertainment team to work in the London bureau as chief correspondent, Britain. 

Ben Berkowitz, deputy regional editor for company news, left Reuters on Friday to become deputy managing editor at CNBC.com. Berkowitz rejoined Reuters in Amsterdam in May 2009, covering the Dutch banking system and economy. He had previously worked for Reuters in Los Angeles and New York from 2001 to 2006.

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