With the takeover of the London Evening Standard by Alexander Lebedev confirmed, his son Evgeny has spoken out about their vision for the publication. The younger Lebedev has been appointed senior executive director by his father but will play a part time role in the running of the company, due to his having no experience in the newspaper industry.

"The plan is to have more serious coverage of the arts and culture and to engage Londoners more, and more coverage of events in London," he said, speaking to the Media Guardian. "Business and City news will also be extended. [Finance] is very important in these difficult times." Lebedev also revealed plans to invest £25m in the Evening Standard over the coming three years, and asserted that the Russian duo will not be interfering in the Standard's conservative political stance. Attempts to beef up the long-standing newspaper are in order to distinguish it from, and compete with, the two free London evening publications: the London Lite and the London Paper.

The revelations come as The Sun Editor Rebekah Wade declares that quality journalism is the only way to save the newspaper industry - somewhat ironic considering her publication still features topless women as standard. Wade's views seem to fall in line with Lebedev's plans for investment and an improvement in editorial content; she believes that, "The quality of our journalism will make or break our industry, not the recession... Cost-cutting in this business only works if the savings are reinvested in journalism."

So for Wade and Lebedev, the way to put newspapers back on the path to success is to up the ante with more quality journalism and higher levels of investment. With publications rushing to lay off staff and cut costs in reaction to the financial crisis and competition from the Internet, could it be that they're running in the wrong direction?

Source: The Guardian