SERRAVAL, FRANCE — The German news magazine Der Spiegel on Monday appointed a new editor, naming Wolfgang Büchner, the top editor at the wire service Deutsche Presse-Agentur, to a position that will for the first time include leadership of its Web site.
Like many news organizations, Der Spiegel has run its print and digital operations separately, but the company is now aiming to integrate the two.
“He has all the right credentials to lead the editorial teams of the news magazine Der Spiegel and the news Web site Spiegel Online and thereby to ensure the successful journalistic future of the Spiegel media brand,” Ove Saffe, chief executive of Spiegal Verlag, the publishing house that owns the magazine, said in a statement.
German journalists described Mr. Büchner as a detail-oriented and hands-on manager, rather than a visionary leader. He also has a reputation as something of a diplomat — a skill that could come in handy in integrating the print and online operations of Der Spiegel.
“He’s probably the right man for the job,” wrote Stefan Winterbauer, a media commentator, on Meedia, a blog. “He knows what makes the online types tick; they see him as one of their own. At the same time, he saw at D.P.A. how you can shake up an old structure without alienating all the old-timers.”
Three weeks ago, Der Spiegel dismissed the two editors who separately oversaw the magazine and the Web site, citing “differences over strategic direction.” Insiders said the two had been unable to cooperate on a plan to unite the print and digital operations.
The editor of Der Spiegel is one of the most prominent and coveted journalism jobs in Germany, given the reputation of the magazine for setting the news agenda. But Mr. Büchner will face considerable challenges.
Not only does he have to integrate two staffs that have, until now, operated with considerable autonomy, but he will also have to confront a decline in circulation. Sales of Der Spiegel fell to 883,000 in the first quarter from more than one million in 2009.
Like other news organizations, Der Spiegel is wrestling with the problem of how to generate more revenue from its Web site to compensate for the shrinking print business. One reason for the departure of the editor of Spiegel Online, Mathias Müller von Blumencron, was his opposition to charging for content on the site, insiders say.
Mr. Büchner’s résumé includes a previous stint at Spiegel Online, as well as posts at the now defunct Financial Times Deutschland and at The Associated Press and Reuters. He had served as the top editor of Deutsche Presse-Agentur since 2010.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/business/media/30iht-spiegel30.html?partner=rss&emc=rss