Mirror editor-in-chief Caroline Waterston is stepping down at the end of the year after less than two years in the job.
She will be succeeded by Chloe Hubbard, who has been UK editor at The Independent since the start of this year.
Hubbard’s start date will be announced in the coming days. Her remit, like Waterston’s, will also mean leading Reach’s magazines team including OK!.
Waterston’s departure comes shortly after a shake-up at Reach that saw Express editor-in-chief Tom Hunt become editorial director (brands), with the editors of the Mirror, Express and Star reporting to him. They remained “responsible for maintaining and developing distinctive brands with growing, loyal audiences”.
The Mirror was understood to have been among the hardest-hit titles by redundancies at Reach this autumn.
Just over half of National Union of Journalists members at the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror (95% of those who participated in the ballot) voted in favour of strike action, as reported in October, but no action has taken place.
Reach chief content officer David Higgerson said: “Caroline has led the Mirror with talent, integrity, and personal commitment.
“Under her guidance, the title has continued to hold power to account and to produce impactful campaigning journalism that has made a genuine difference. We wish her every success in her next chapter.”
Waterston has spent 25 years at Reach (formerly Trinity Mirror) starting as a trainee news reporter at the Sunday Mail, when she won an award for Young Journalist of the Year in Scotland.
Her other previous roles include deputy news editor and features editor of The People, features editor of the Sunday Mirror, and head of features and deputy editor on the Sunday titles.
Before taking on the leadership of the Mirror in early 2024, Waterston was editor-in-chief of Reach’s magazine portfolio. Reach said in this role she led OK!’s digital transformation and launched the OK! Beauty Box.
Waterston said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to the fantastic journalists and editors, production and art teams, picture desk and photographers, social and video teams and the EAs who have worked alongside me in my role as editor-in-chief of the Mirror and magazines and throughout my career.
“The foundations we have built over the last two years will hopefully allow this incredible team to continue to grow the Mirror and magazine brands in an ever changing media landscape – producing high quality, trusted journalism across print, digital and video.
“I am now looking forward to my next challenge outside of the Reach family and I wish everyone the very best for a brilliant future.”
Reach said that during her time at the Mirror, Waterston oversaw a period of transformation and upheld its tradition of campaigning journalism including with the Free School Meals For All campaign (which is shortlisted for the British Journalism Awards being held tonight) and Missed missing people project.
Agenda-setting stories highlighted by Reach from Waterston’s tenure include Rishi Sunak’s D-Day early exit, a fresh evidence probe in Jill Dando’s murder, and an attempted breach of The Princess of Wales’ medical records.
Last year Waterston defended page-view targets for Mirror journalists, saying: “I don’t think we should shy away from the fact that we want our journalism to be read or to be seen by as many people [as possible]. And if that means that we have a goal for our reporters, I believe that’s the right decision…
“Page views are essentially people with eyes on your content and as long as you are looking at that with other metrics whether it be engagement, whether it be most talked about, most commented, it’s something that actually I would say the newsroom are really coming along on the journey with.”
New Mirror editor-in-chief Chloe Hubbard
Hubbard’s current role as UK editor at The Independent means she is responsible for managing all its domestic editorial operations.
She joined the title in 2020, starting as executive editor. She is said to have led consistent year-on-year audience growth, revamped its live news approach for major events like the Women’s Euros and general election, and relaunched The Independent’s Pride List.
Hubbard said: “It is a privilege to take the reins at the Mirror at such a pivotal moment in history and at a time when the industry is experiencing seismic change. The Mirror plays a vital role in championing progressive politics, publishing entertaining and agenda-setting stories, and holding power to account at a time when the truth told by journalists is more important than ever.
“There’s so much potential to grow audience online for both the Mirror and magazines, as well as continuing to curate these beloved British institutions in print for readers across the country. I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in with the teams and building on the exceptional work already happening across the newsrooms.”
Reach editorial director (brands) Tom Hunt said Hubbard “has a stellar track record in the industry, has driven consistent growth during her years at The Independent, and I know comes full of excitement and ideas for these iconic brands”.
Before joining The Independent Hubbard held roles including editor-in-chief for Stuff in New Zealand, assistant editor online at The Telegraph, news editor at BBC Sport and Mail Online, and editor of the North Devon Journal.
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