Evening Standard set for £25m investment
The London Evening Standard‘s new owners plan to invest £25 million in to the struggling title over the next three years, according to Evgeny Lebedev.
Speaking for the first time since the acquisition of London’s evening paper, Alexander Lebedev’s son said he plans to increase coverage of arts, culture and business in a bid to increase the title’s falling circulation.
In December, the Evening Standard experienced a relatively large month on month decline of 5.2%, taking its circulation to just over 287,000 copies last month (see City AM sees month on month circulation dip).
Lebedev plans to improve the Standard‘s content to ensure it “has enough in so that people feel they are getting real quality that you can’t get in a freesheet”.
The 28-year-old has been appointed as senior executive director of the paper, despite having no newspaper experience, according to reports.
He said: “The plan is to have more serious coverage of the arts and culture and to engage Londoners more, and more coverage of events in London. Business and City news will also be extended. [Finance] is very important in these difficult times.”
Lebedev also said he had no plans to change the political stance of the paper, which currently backs the Conservative party.
“It’s up to the editorial team and whoever we appoint as editor whether they change the political stance of the paper [but] we’re certainly not seeking to interfere in any way,” he said.
The Russian owners are currently looking for a new executive to run the title as Lebedev only plans to work part-time, overseeing the business side of things.
However, Lebedev indicated that a number of key executives would be retained – “The existing management team is very good,” he said.
The former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev acquired the Evening Standard for £1 from the Daily Mail & General Trust last week, following months of negotiations (see Lebedev buys Evening Standard).
Evgeny Lebedev said: “It’s been a long, long process. I’m relieved it’s over. It’s very exciting to be part of a fantastic British institution.”
Evening Standard: www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard