The Sunday Times says Ben joined in 2020 as deputy editor, prior to which he served as executive editor at the Daily Mail. He succeeds Emma Tucker, who was named editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires late last year.
Prior to joining The Sunday Times, Ben spent 22 years working for the Daily Mail in a number of roles, including news editor. He is a French graduate and started his professional life on local newspapers in Birmingham.
Krissi, currently editor of The Sunday Times Magazine, joined the title in 2012 as features editor and was named editor in 2020. Prior to that, she spent three years as editor of the NME, where she was named new editor of the year by the British Society of Magazine Editors.
Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp, said: “Ben Taylor is a principled journalist who will certainly hold contemporary elites to account. Individual freedoms are being challenged by intransigent institutions and there is an epidemic of wokery and quackery, so reporters and editors with the objective of being objective will necessarily play an increasingly important role in Britain and beyond.”
Rebekah Brooks, CEO of News UK, said: “Ben has shown astute leadership and a clear understanding of what drives the existing audience of The Sunday Times, as well as what lures new readers, both digitally and in print. Krissi has been an inspirational editor of the award-winning Sunday Times Magazine. After a year of the fastest subscriber growth in the history of The Sunday Times, I know Ben and Krissi will build on these strong foundations and deliver stories that matter for the in-depth reader on a Sunday.”
Ben Taylor said: “I am enormously proud to take on the editorship of The Sunday Times, a newspaper I started reading as a young boy. I am honoured to lead a wonderfully talented team delivering unmissable journalism in digital and print. Having celebrated our 200th anniversary last year, I want to build on our unique heritage to create an exciting future for The Sunday Times and continue to increase its ever-growing audience.”
Krissi Murison said: “Editing The Sunday Times Magazine is one of the best jobs in journalism and it has been an honour to work with such a talented team of journalists and creatives. There are few roles that would tempt me away; deputy editor of The Sunday Times is one of them.”
Chris Longcroft, EVP, Publisher, Times Media, said: “The Sunday Times is a thriving modern media brand, as strong as it ever was and on a clear path to long term sustainable growth. Ben Taylor and Krissi Murison are two of the pre-eminent journalists of their generation. They have brilliantly complementary skills and will lead one of the best newsrooms in the business, setting the news agenda and bringing in new audiences each weekend.”
Ben Taylor, along with Tony Gallagher, editor of The Times, Chris Longcroft, EVP Publisher, Times Media and John Witherow, chairman of Times Media, report to News UK CEO, Rebekah Brooks. Krissi Murison will report to Ben Taylor.
The Sunday Times, founded in 1822, is one of the best-known news brands in the world and the UK’s top-selling quality Sunday paper, says the publisher. It has always been relied upon to challenge, entertain, inspire and inform its readers.
It celebrated its 200th year edition in October 2022 and has won a clutch of awards for its Insight team investigations unit, its foreign reporting and its magazine features and interviews, in particular. At the 2022 Press Club Awards The Sunday Times won Sunday Newspaper of the Year. The Sunday Times Magazine celebrated its 60th anniversary last year.
Times Media comprises all elements of The Times brand, including The Times & The Sunday Times, Times Radio, an award-winning portfolio of podcasts including Stories of our times and TLS. The Times & The Sunday Times currently reach 17.4M readers a month through print and digital platforms.
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