Nine's James Chessell has resigned from his role as MD of publishing.
The role will transition to Tory Maguire in January in an acting capacity; Maguire currently serves as executive editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Brisbane Times and WAToday.
In an internal note to staff, Chessell said that it has been an "absolute thrill" to work in and around Nine's newsrooms for the best part of two decades.
"It’s understandable the newsrooms get much of the credit but it’s important to remember the success of Nine Publishing is a genuine team effort across all parts of the business," he said.
"While I look forward to working with Nine on an ongoing basis, today’s announcement represents a big change for me in the new year. I’ll miss being a direct part of the most important public interest journalism machine in the country. There’s nothing like it."
Since starting his career as a journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, he has gone on to work as a media adviser in the office of Joe Hockey, a senior media writer at News Corp Australia and an associate editor, deputy editor of business and Europe correspondent at The Australian Financial Review among other roles.
He served as the group executive editor for Nine's mastheads from March 2018 to June 2021 before taking over the MD of publishing role. He has served as a director of ThinkNewsBrands since July 2021.
CEO Mike Sneesby, in an internal note to staff, said that Chessell will continue to work with Nine in a new capacity leading its engagement with government and with digital platform partners.
"These areas are a high priority for our business - ensuring we have the right regulatory settings in place to support the future of local media and developing strong commercial partnerships with the global digital platforms," he said.
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