A changing of the AFR guard as Chessell steps into Stutch's shoes
Leadership changes at legacy mastheads like the AFR are rarely simple, or bloodless. But the succession underway at the national business publication comes at a pivotal juncture for the title - and its parent company.
In a 2011 interview with the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers’ Association, the Australian Financial Review’s then-newly appointed editor-in-chief, Michael Stutchbury, made his ambitions plain.
The newspaper "Stutch" was returning to could be sharper, he said, pictured sitting in his new digs at One Darling Island building in Pyrmont, after spending about a decade at cross-town rival The Australian. The paper could also be better at covering international affairs, he told the camera. But most of all, it could be more competitive.
“[The] basic message I’ve told staff is three things: One, concentrate on breaking news. And it may sound a bit heretical these days that a newspaper that comes out every morning can actually break news — I mean, with the 24/7 news cycle — but I think it can and it needs to,” Stutchbury said.
By his own measure, Stutchbury succeeded. In a parting note after 13 years, following his resignation last week, the 67-year old rattled off the accomplishments he was most proud of, including his newspaper’s part in revealing impropriety within the top ranks of the CFMEU during his final weeks and the PwC tax leaks story that dominated much of last year.
