Rebekah Wade promoted to chief executive of News International

Sun editor Rebekah Wade is to become News International’s chief executive in September.

The announcement was made to News International’s Wapping staff earlier today, though Wade’s replacement at the Sun is not expected to be confirmed until later in the summer.

James Murdoch, who currently oversees the publishing group as chairman and chief executive of parent company News Corporations’s operations in Europe and Asia, will become News International’s executive chairman.

Wade’s promotion was anticipated after her six and a half year stint as editor of the Sun.

In the latest ABC release, the Sun had the highest overall circulation in the daily newspaper market, despite being down by 5.2% year on year, with just under 3 million copies (see ABC National Newspaper Round-Up: May 2009).