From editor to CEO, it's Rebekah Wade wot won it

Gideon Spanier
24 Jun 2009

Rebekah Wade loves newspapers. So at a time when they face unprecedented economic problems, the promotion of The Sun editor to be News International chief executive in charge of all Rupert Murdoch's UK papers has not gone down badly at their Wapping HQ.

The inky passion that was so in evidence when she gave a rare speech, the Cudlipp Lecture in January, contrasts with her boss James Murdoch, who runs all his father's European and Asian interests, and has not had that same editorial experience.

Wade, a favourite of Rupert, was tipped for the job for so long that yesterday's appointment was no surprise.

She has been preparing by doing a part-time course in business management at the London School of Economics.

The 41-year-old has been an NI lifer for two decades, becoming News of the World editor in 2000 and Sun editor in January 2003.

There were rumours in 2007 that she was interested in editing The Times, a pointer to her ambitions.

Her new job, which begins in September, gives her power over The Sun, News of the World, The Times, Sunday Times and thelondonpaper. She will control all areas: editorial, commercial, marketing and technology.

It is quite a wedding gift from the Murdochs, after she got married to racing writer Charlie Brooks 10 days ago.

The turnout at that wedding - the Murdochs, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and many editors - underscored her remarkable clout and the range of her contacts.

She is one of the few editors who has moved effortlessly, chameleon-like, between the Blair circle, the Brownites and the Cameroons -even if she has Tory sympathies herself.

While Wade's demanding managerial reputation has not always gone down well with staff - her famed memos could be stinging - they say they appreciated her ability to network for the paper. Although tough, she can be charming - and kind, particularly to women.

No one doubts her commitment. She didn't go on honeymoon last week but threw herself into a series of corporate events as Rupert has been in town.

But friends say her new job is part of a wider life change. She is now contented, and has also given up smoking.

Wade is filling a role at NI effectively left vacant 18 months ago when Les Hinton, another ex-journalist and supreme fixer, was moved to run Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones.

Hinton, it's thought, used to earn as much as £2 million a year at NI. Now Wade will be the fixer, handling sensitive issues such as Press regulation or whether to buy up a disk of MPs' expenses.

For those of us in the audience at that Cudlipp Lecture, it was clear that Wade was already looking back with a valedictory air. She was upbeat - surprisingly so - and entertaining.

But then in a time of falling sales across the daily red-top market - down 21% from seven million to 5.5 million since 2003 - Wade has been able to use NI's commercial muscle and cover-price cuts to increase The Sun's share.

Her circulation has fallen from about 3.5 million but she has kept it close to three million. Significantly, the share of the popular, daily market has risen to 54%, from 51% when she began.

The Mirror and The Daily Record in Scotland have suffered. Her Sun is now vying with the News of the World as Britain's top-selling paper.

Wade regards her campaigning journalism as her greatest achievement as editor. Her most memorable campaigns were over paedophiles and Sarah's Law, Help For Heroes for Britain's soldiers, and the case of Baby P.

That first crusade over paedophiles was notable for its shrill tone - and many felt it went too far. But it also showed an ability to connect with a mass readership. As she made clear in the Cudlipp, for such journalism to succeed it is crucial to keep investing.

Wade is also known for mischief-making, which she helped inject back into The Sun.

The paper's first woman editor showed on her first day that she would keep Page 3 by featuring "Rebekah from Wapping" as the model.

As a manager, she also liked to order executives to spend time living and holidaying with Sun readers.

One of Wade's first tasks will be to help anoint her successor. The front-runner is Dominic Mohan, her deputy, who has edited for long stints as she took a back-seat role recently.

Another key issue is deciding how and when to start charging users to the newspapers' websites - an issue Rupert has made a priority.

Her relationship with James Murdoch will be interesting as he will be executive chairman. Staff get an insight tomorrow when the pair address town-hall meetings in Wapping.

Some think Wade's rise allows James to move to New York as the heir apparent. But insiders insist he is staying. Wade herself has been linked with America in the past.

While she is close to the Murdochs - particularly Rupert's daughter Elisabeth - Wade has not been on the board of NI until now.

The editors of The Times and Sunday Times sit on the Times Newspapers Limited subsidiary board but she has not had a seat on News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun and News of the World.

Insiders say Times editors sit on TNL's board as a condition of Murdoch's original purchase in 1981.

In commercial terms, it is News Group, not TNL, that matters. The red-top publisher made a profit of £55.2 million in the year to 30 June 2008, down slightly from £61.9 million a year earlier.

Those who work with Wade say her ability to woo advertisers as well as understand editorial will help. She argues that The Sun competes with ITV as one of the few media brands able to deliver mass audiences.

Wade is bound to have strong views on the News of the World, but as an ex-Sun editor will have to tread carefully with The Times and Sunday Times.

The Murdochs have always tolerated losses at Times Newspapers, which regularly lose £25 million - over £50 million last year.

Wade will want to look at The Sunday Times, which has been hit by falling classified adverts - profit is down "quite seriously", Rupert said in February. The Times won newspaper of the year but the Saturday edition is under scrutiny after a revamp and marketing push did not yield results.

Afternoon freesheet thelondonpaper, which lost almost £30 million in two years, is also on the agenda. NI is bidding for the morning free contract, currently held by Associated Newspapers' Metro, amid speculation that is the real prize that the Murdochs want.

"A second morning paper would be much smarter actually than the second evening paper," says journalism professor Piet Bakker, an expert on the global free newspaper market. "News International, however, is still afraid that a morning free paper would hurt The Sun's sales."

At Westminster, the big issue is whom The Sun will support.

Wade's paper has already called for an early election and backed the Tories in this month's European vote. Rupert will certainly trust her political antennae.

But in News Corp, it is still Murdoch who decides.