James Chessell has resigned as editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review to join independent media outlet Rampart, with the masthead’s editor, Cosima Marriner, promoted to succeed him.
Marriner will become the first woman to hold the publication’s top editorial role when she takes over on October 12. She has worked alongside Chessell as the Financial Review’s editor during a period in which the newsroom broadened its coverage while retaining its focus on business, finance and politics.
“Over the last few years we’ve worked hard to modernise the AFR and to broaden our journalism while staying true to our core of business, finance and politics,” Marriner said.
“My ambition for the AFR is to continue to build on our reputation for breaking major news stories, setting the agenda and being the authoritative voice which shapes our national conversation.”
Chessell became editor-in-chief just over two years ago, after serving as Nine’s managing director of publishing and as executive editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Nine owns the Financial Review.
Nine’s publishing boss, Tory Maguire, told staff of the changes at a town hall on Wednesday afternoon before confirming them in an internal note. She said the newspaper had increased its audience, subscribers and revenue during Chessell’s tenure.
“I am thrilled to announce that Cosima Marriner will be taking the reins as the new editor-in-chief,” Maguire said. “Cosima worked alongside James as AFR editor as together they modernised the newsroom and drove the agenda for corporate Australia. She is respected across the industry and perfectly suited to take AFR into its next chapter.”
James Chessell to join Rampart
At Rampart, Chessell will become editor and write for the publication, working alongside founder Joe Aston. The pair first worked together in the early 2000s in the office of then-Liberal minister Joe Hockey, and later at the Financial Review, when Chessell was an editor and Aston a columnist.
Aston spent more than a decade as a prominent Financial Review columnist before leaving to write a book about former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce and launching Rampart last year. The outlet announced last month that it had raised $2.3 million in funding and recruited several full-time journalists.
Rampart’s investors include former Nine chief executive David Gyngell and investor Ashok Jacob, a former adviser to the Packer family. The company was valued at about $29 million.
Some Financial Review staff were surprised by Chessell’s sudden departure. In a speech to colleagues, he said some journalists would be relieved to see him leave while others would be disappointed.
Chessell also referred to his predecessor, Michael Stutchbury, who led the paper for 13 years. “You can’t, unless you want a heart attack,” he said of remaining in the role for decades.
Nine has a commercial arrangement with Rampart under which it provides legal services in return for a share of the outlet’s revenue. Aston also writes a monthly column for the Financial Review, and there is no indication that either arrangement will change.
