New editor at Irish Times as O'Sullivan steps down

Editor of the Irish Times Kevin O’Sullivan unexpectedly stepped down yesterday, with deputy editor taking over with immediate effect, writes Pádraig Hoare of the Irish Examiner.

Mr O’Sullivan joined the newspaper in 1997. He will take on a new position with the newspaper as environment, agriculture and science editor.

Mr O’Neill joined The Irish Times in 1989 as London correspondent. He worked as a news reporter, crime correspondent, deputy news editor and business desk editor before his appointment as finance editor in 2000. Following a short period in public relations, he returned to the Irish Times as deputy editor and was appointed to the board.

In 2011 he was appointed editorial director. He was responsible for operations across print and ‘digital identification’ and the installation of a new content management system.

Chairman of the Irish Times Dan Flinter said: “In making this appointment, the board was very pleased to have a candidate with an evident strong track record and experience, who has the necessary leadership skills and talent for the role and who has the ability to build on the current momentum of change within the organisation.”

Mr O’Sullivan said he had been honoured to lead the Irish Times for six years. “My term has coincided with unprecedented turbulence and uncertainty for media businesses. I would like to pay particular tribute to all on the Irish Times editorial team.

In an unrelentingly challenging period, they ensured a consistent output of public-interest journalism and content that informed and enriched the lives of a growing number of readers,” he said.

He said the company was on track to serve almost 60,000 subscribers in digital and print. Mr Flinter said that the former editor had made a major contribution to the development of the Irish Times over the past six years. The company reported an operating loss of €1.1m for 2015 in July last year, with advertising revenue growing 5% in print and digital.

Managing director Liam Kavanagh said at the time that the objective was to continue increasing its digital audience, especially on mobiles.