A NEW editor has been appointed to the Irish Daily Mail. Thirty-six-year-old Conor O'Donnell is to replace Paul Fields as editor of the newspaper. Mr O'Donnell has worked for the company since November 2008. A native of Co Kerry, he previously held senior editorial positions at the Kerrymanand the Irish Examiner.
The current editor-in-chief Paul Fields is leaving the Irish operations to take up a senior position with the UK paper. He will be replaced by the current deputy editor of the Mail on Sundayin Britain, Eric Bailey, who will oversee the running of the Irish Daily Mailand the Irish Mail on Sunday,which will be edited by Mr O'Donnell and Sebastian Hamilton respectively.
In addition, Regina Lavelle is to join John Cooper as joint deputy editor of the Daily Mail'sIrish edition. The new appointments will take place towards the end of September.
Recent accounts for Associated Newspapers, which owns the Irish Daily Mailand Mail on Sunday,show the company's Irish operation has a deficit of €65 million, although its operating profit increased by 40 per cent to €1.6 million in the year to the end of October 2009.
Notes to the account point out that the company “is conscious of the need for continued financial support from its parent undertaking in order to continue as a going concern.”
According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations the Irish Daily Mail'scirculation fell by almost 9.7 per cent to 49,090 in the second half of 2009. It employed 135 at the end of October last year, according to the accounts.
