With its revolutionary wheel-shaped open plan office and an increasing commitment to new media, the Telegraph is transitioning from a stodgy old paper into an ambitiously modern multimedia group.  Fletcher comments on the fact that such changes can upend the entire power structure of a newspaper.  More specifically, who takes the reins as a company changes direction?

The two candidates at the Telegraph can be boiled down to two twenty-first century media archetypes: the old newspaper man and the new media man.  On one end of the spectrum is John Bryant, the acting editor in chief and an accepted member of the old guard.  On the other is Will Lewis, newly promoted editorial managing director and the force behind the paper’s recent changes.

With two opposing figures at the top of the Telegraph’s masthead, where should employees seek direction?

Fletcher outlines the tension at the heart of the matter as such: “The editor's interests, obsessions, hatreds, passions - or, through him or her, those of the proprietor - have traditionally been woven into the character of the paper. Now that the brand is so much more than the paper, where does that power stop?”

In short, what is the role of the editor in a new media operation?  Fletcher proposes that the editor will become a mere “line manager,” responsible only for his direct underlings.  However, it seems feasible that the exact opposite could happen: someone with enough charisma and pull could potentially exert his power over all aspects of a multimedia enterprise.  

Source: The Guardian