Jason Seiken quits as editor-in-chief of Telegraph Media Group after just 18 months
Telegraph's editor-in-chief Jason Seiken has quit the newspaper after just 18 months at the helm.
Seiken joined in October 2013 and was responsible for driving the group's digital aspirations – although not without courting controversy.
He said in a statement: “I’m proud of how the Telegraph has become a digital leader, and I’m gratified that the Telegraph has seen such a large growth in its digital audience. The company has a great future and will continue to thrive. I wish all my colleagues at the Telegraph the very best for the future."
The divisive leader, who also held the role of chief content officer, has made headlines for his managing of the paper.
He sacked editor Tony Gallagher months into the role, oversaw a period of huge staff churn and was blamed by columnist Peter Oborne for ushering in a “click culture [whereby] stories seemed no longer judged by their importance, accuracy or appeal to those who actually bought the paper”.
But Telegraph Media Group's chief executive Murdoch MacLennan described his departure as "regrettable".
"We completely understand Jason’s regrettable decision to move on to new opportunities now that he has completed his work here,” he wrote in the same email.
“He has been a much-valued colleague, providing a great deal of input into identifying future strategy for the Telegraph Media Group to ensure we remain a world-class and commercially successful media organisation. We wish him well."
Chris Evans will remain as The Daily Telegraph's editor and director of content, where he is responsible for output across all its digital and print platforms.