New Times editor is former Reuters trainee

The new acting editor of The Times, John Witherow (photo), cut his journalistic teeth at Reuters in the 1970s.

Witherow, 61 tomorrow, was taken on as a Reuters trainee in 1977 and worked in Madrid and London before joining The Times in 1980 as a reporter. Later he moved to The Sunday Times where he served in several positions including defence editor, diplomatic editor, foreign editor and managing editor of news before being appointed acting editor in 1994 and confirmed in the job the following year. He has become one of the longest-serving editors for one of Rupert Murdoch’s New Corporation titles.

He takes over at The Times following the sudden resignation of James Harding as editor last month.

Witherow’s replacement at The Sunday Times is his deputy at that newspaper, Martin Ivens.

Independent national directors of Times Newspapers did not accept News Corporation’s nominations of the two men as permanent appointments. They took legal advice on Murdoch’s undertakings in 1981 to preserve the separate identities of the daily and Sunday titles. News International approached the British government informally last year about enabling closer cooperation between the two newspapers.

Media-watchers have speculated that Witherow will usher in a tougher regime and substantial cuts at the daily title, which loses money. The shake-up is also expected to pave the way for a potential merger of The Times and The Sunday Times into a single, seven-day news operation, with Witherow becoming editor-in-chief. ■