Following a big investment in journalistic talent from its owner DMGT, i has appointed 17 new writers and editors, including award-winning former Huffpost and Buzzfeed journalists.
With six more positions to fill, the size of i’s newsroom has now passed the 100 mark. The paper, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, started life as a sister publication to The Independent, with just 12 journalists in its team.
Appointments include former Huffpost UK North of England correspondent Aasma Day, who tweeted that she was “delighted to become part of such a trusted news brand which believes in quality journalism with integrity.
“Love everything they do now and all their aspirations for the future.”
Former Buzzfeed UK LGBT editor Patrick Strudwick is joining i as a special correspondent, focusing on exclusive investigations, interviews, scoops, feature and comment.
In a Tweet, he called i “a fantastic, fast-growing newspaper with the highest of editorial standards, a phenomenally talented team, and huge ambitions.
“To join at this time of expansion and to be able to draw on my background of original, hard-hitting journalism but applied across a wide breadth of subjects affecting Britain and beyond is a role I’m privileged to take on.”
i editor Oly Duff told Press Gazette the two appointments came as data shows readers “appear to value our news exclusives” and that Day was a “key hire as we develop coverage in the North of England, home to lots of readers”.
Other appointments include:
- Huffpost UK executive editor for politics Paul Waugh will begin a fortnightly iweekend column
- com.au’s Emma Reynolds joins as foreign editor
- Foreign editor Michael Day will become chief foreign commentator
- Sun assistant news editor Richard Wheatstone joins as assistant national editor, leading the focus on expert specialist reporting, investigations, series and analysis
- Four news reporters will join the breaking news desk: City AM politics and coronavirus correspondent Poppy Wood, PA reporter Taz Ali, freelancer Hugo Daniel and Guardian’s Molly Blackall.
- Former FT Weekend Magazine and CNN International journalist Aaliyah Harris, and Insider Inc.’s Kate Hutchison will fill the newly created audience executive roles
- Former freelancer Rachel Mantock as a features writer
- Former Independent lifestyle reporter Emily Cope as a writer for iweekend
- Former freelance Kat Lucas as a sports journalist
- Former Metro and Sky sports reporter Oliver Young-Myles as a sports journalist
i’s current app editor Harry Robertson takes the role of i homepage editor, while Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith has been named assistant breaking news editor.
