Seven has promoted Anthony De Ceglie to director of news and current affairs and editor-in-chief following the departure of Craig McPherson. He becomes the first major appointment since new CEO Jeff Howard began in the role on 19 April.
De Ceglie is currently editor-in-chief of Seven’s recently-launched digital newspaper The Nightly, plus The West Australian, The Sunday Times, PerthNow plus its suburban newspapers, and 19 regional newspapers.
He has been with SWM since early 2019, based in Perth, and will relocate to Sydney for this role. Before SWM, he spent more than 11 years in various roles at News Corp Australia.
In his new role, which he will start from tomorrow, De Ceglie will be responsible for 7NEWS, Sunrise, The Morning Show and 7NEWS Spotlight, and 7NEWS.com.au.
“It’s an absolute privilege and honour to step into one of the most important roles in news in the country, and to do such at such a pivotal and important time for our industry,” De Ceglie said.
“I can’t wait to work with the many, many brilliant creative people across the network who put all our products to air.”
Howard, SWM’s new managing director and chief executive officer, added of De Ceglie’s promotion: “Anthony brings a compelling vision to the director of news and current affairs and editor-in-chief of Seven West Media role. His absolute focus on news gathering and storytelling will underpin his approach, while his knowledge of digital and his innovative mindset will be just what SWM needs as we continue to build a better media business.
“This appointment reflects our ambition to think differently about the future of media in Australia. I look forward to working with Anthony in his new role.”
McPherson, Seven Network’s director of news and public affairs has stepped down after Seven’s Spotlight program became embroiled in Bruce Lehrmann‘s failed defamation battle against 10 and Lisa Wilkinson. In the wake of ex-Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach‘s evidence, EP Mark Llewellyn also left the network.
Howard thanked McPherson, saying: “Craig has been one of Australia’s preeminent news leaders and we wish him all the best for the future.”
McPherson also thanked Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes AC, CEOs past and present, and Seven staff for their support, saying, “It’s a decision I have been considering for a while and believe now is a good time for all to have a fresh start.”
“To the hundreds of staff who represent the 7NEWS brand across Australia and the globe, you bring it all to our viewers’ homes every day and night,” he added.
“As for me, I’ll be taking a long break to spend time with all my family and wish everyone at the network continued success.”
While Seven hunts for De Ceglie’s successor – the business said his replacement will be announced in due course – Chris Dore, former editor-in-chief of The Australian and The Nightly contributor, will be acting editor of The West Australian and other West Australian newspaper titles.